My mentor was and still is instrumental in fulfilling my expectations of my Kenan Fellowship in Wearable Devices at NC State University. His staff and student workers were extremely helpful, patient and knowledgeable during the summer internship. To date, if I email them with any questions they respond promptly. Dr. Jess Jur is scheduled to visit my class in February to talk about wearable devices. In addition, he has shared his knowledge of textiles with my First Lego League team. The Neal STEM Scholars. The Trash Trek competition is centered on reducing pollution and textiles is a huge way that pollution/trash is produced. The Neal STEM Scholars team is scheduled to be in compete in the state competition in Greensboro on January 23rd.
During my internship, Dr. Jur and his team held progress meetings with our team at least twice a week. We also were encouraged to ask questions and get help during the development phases of our products. We shared our progress and he or his team provided us with ways to help improve the creation of our product. We were divided into teams of three or four and charged with developing a wearable device to monitor a health conditions. My mentor and his team also did a great job reminding us of timelines!
I hope to continue our relationship in the future. As a STEM school we are also looking for ways to ensure that students are prepared for college. I will be also reaching out to him to serve as a judge for our school Shark Tank: Wearable Device competition. The winners for that competition will compete in the One Health Wearable Device at NC State University in April 2016.
As I progress in my teaching career, I have realized the importance of mentors. It is really difficult to make personal growth when great mentors are not accessible. Money, time and resources are wasted without them.
