Category: What I’ve Learned

The Black Mirror and Instagram Likes

 

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I spent my second week of winter break trying to convince my father to like my recently uploaded picture on Instagram.

An hour later, I received a notification acknowledging that my father had double-tapped on my picture- taking it from 59 to 60 likes- a small milestone. In exchange for the favor, I was told to watch “Nosedive,” an episode from the T.V. series Black Mirror.

The episode appears to be set in the future, a world where status and living is defined by an individual’s online rating. Interacting and gaining approval from individuals with higher ratings allows one to boost his/her own rating. A higher rating enables access to a better apartment, modes of transportation, and an elevated standard of living. A low rating can result in discrimination and social isolation, so characters go to considerable lengths to please their colleagues, thereby resulting in interactions characterized by superficiality.

While Black Mirror is dystopian, it is not unimaginable that society may evolve to a similar state. Technology has begun to penetrate all aspects of our lives. Our social media images have become vehicles through which we seek validation for physical beauty and popularity.

I admit that I went on a tech detox for two days after watching Black Mirror. On the third day, I was back scrolling on my Instagram and Facebook feed. This time, however, I tried to appreciate the picture itself rather than examining the number of likes it garnered.  It hasn’t been easy, but I’ve found this to be both pleasant and less toxic.

 

Coping with Homesickness

I took a plane from Chennai, India armed with two carry-on suitcases and a VISA that confirmed my attendance to Claremont McKenna College. I landed in a country where the culture was foreign, interactions were different, and accents were alien.

I was fortunate to have my parents to ease my transition but that safety net was lost on day two of orientation, when they headed back to India. Orientation week was a blur of new faces, activities, and discussions where I had little time to breathe. But, as soon as it ended, I was lost.

In other words, I was homesick.

“Homesickness is not merely missing a house; rather, it encapsulates a wide variety of emotions, feelings, and warmth that one associates with a place,” says clinical psychologist Josh Kaplow [and make his name a link to the article]

I agree. I missed the humidity, sounds of traffic, my native language, my extended family, and the warmth of people that I grew up with. As an incoming international freshman, this was heightened. I experienced anxiety, difficulty with communication, and even a loss in appetite – all common symptoms of homesickness.

As a sophomore,  I no longer experience homesickness. I do miss my parents; however, I am lucky to have found my own niche at CMC . For those who continue to struggle with homesickness, here are a few helpful tips that helped me get through it:

  1. It is important to call your parents but not too often. It’s always good to touch base with them but you need to establish your independence, too
  2. Don’ot be afraid of seeking help.Talk to a counselor or a friend if you are unable to cope or are experiencing any kind of physical or psychological difficulties
  3. Try to get involved on campus. This will allow you to immerse yourself into the campus culture while also getting to meet new people
  4. Put yourself out there, talk to people, and always try to maintain a positive attitude.

There is no easy fix to homesickness. A tendency to miss home is natural feeling. But, by being patient, positive, and being willing to seek help, you might find yourself slowly adapting to a new environment.

It’s hard to completely replace a home, but it’s not impossible to find your space in a new city, country, college, or continent.

 

Returning to Kaiser for the summer

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As an intern last summer at Kaiser Permanente, Sharon Chiang ’17 had the opportunity to explore a field she wasn’t familiar with. This summer, she returned with a goal: to gain more skillsets in healthcare innovation and technology.

So far, she’s worked on five different projects, ranging from presenting products at sales meetings to analyzing the concept of a “concierge robot.” She writes:

“Being exposed to the different stages of innovation, such as the pipeline technology intake meetings, to the mock-up stage, to the user experience interviews, and back to brainstorming, has made me gain a new appreciation for teamwork. Innovation welcomes many different perspectives…I feel like I am making a positive impact.”

 

CMC is for Life

by LillyBelle Deer ’15

Last year, I worked at the Berger Institute with the Work-Life team. Then, I graduated.

When I thought about my post-­graduation plans, the ideal involved being a part of a research lab so that I could get experience for graduate school. I also wanted to be near Southern California so that I could be close to my brother, who is a sophomore at CMC. I told Professor Kanaya about my plans and she offered to hire me in the coming year to keep on top of the Work-Life project we had been working on together. It was an opportunity I couldn’t pass up: I would be able to gain more research experience while working with people I like, researching a topic I enjoy, and staying in Claremont.

Working at Berger post­-graduation has been a great experience. I’ve learned so much about how things really work in academia, and this has strengthened my passion for pursuing it. I’ve learned a lot about how research labs such as ours function, which makes me feel more prepared for graduate school.

One of the best part of my experience in my extra year with Berger has been developing a closer relationship with Professor Kanaya. She has been a resource for me this year for everything from grad school applications to life advice in general. I don’t think I would be where I am in my career path without her.

Throughout my time at CMC, I heard many times about how CMC is for life. Nothing has driven home this notion more than working for the Berger Institute. I now have the skills and experience necessary for me to be successful in graduate school and I have the Berger  Institute to thank for it!

On Consistency

by Adrienne Johnson ’16

I knew I wanted to become more involved with extracurricular activities at CMC but I didn’t know through what outlet. I hoped to find an on-campus job that would let me pursue my interests while developing my skills. The Berger Institute’s emphasis on gender and work-­life balance issues immediately jumped out at me as something I wanted to become involved in, leading me to apply and join the team.

Since my sophomore year (I’m now a senior), working as a research assistant at Berger has provided continuity for me throughout my time at CMC. While I have dabbled in other on­campus activities, at Berger I’ve worked consistently with a group of people and seen multiple projects through from start to finish. I’ve developed personal relationships with my team, and we’ve developed a strong group dynamic over the past three years.

Each of us brings a different element to the team. As an international relations major, I bring a unique perspective to the table, as most of our team looks at our work through a psychology lens. All together, we are able to bounce ideas off of each other and generate strong results.

In addition to continuity with this project and my peers, I have also developed a strong relationship with Professor Kanaya. She consistently asks the tough questions about my goals, summer internship (and now job) plans, pushing me to think critically about my future and offering feedback along the way. This is one of those quintessential student-professor relationships people talk about when you tour a small liberal arts college.

My college career has had many ups and downs, but Berger has always been a great point of stability for me.

It’s Who You Know

-by Kelsey Gohn ’16

I didn’t expect to find my junior year internship so easily given what I had observed from the experiences of my peers, but one of Berger’s partner summer internship programs turned out to be the perfect experience for me. During CMC’s Silicon Valley Program, I was able to connect with a Berger board member in the Bay Area and hear about her experiences both at CMC and with her work in healthcare. She also connected me to her network at Kaiser Permanente; it was great to have Berger in common.

When next summer rolled around, I knew I was going to apply to the Berger Institute’s internship at Kaiser because I had already met several members of the team. It was a great way for me to secure an internship at a company that I wanted to work at, while having the comfort of knowing that it had been vetted by CMC. Midway through the summer, Professor Kanaya met with our supervisor to ensure that we were getting a fantastic experience, and we were able to make a few tweaks so that the second half was even better.

At KP, I was able to work on innovation projects and their annual Bring Your Child to Work Day. I met so many wonderful people who made time to talk with me so I could see the range of full-time opportunities available. So far, this has helped make the transition into the senior year job search go much more smoothly.

When “They” Became “We”

by Lauren Livingston ’18

As a first-semester sophomore and the newest, youngest member of the Work-Life team, I had various concerns about transitioning and adding value to the team. At the beginning of the year, walking into the first team meeting was a daunting experience. How was I going to fit in? What was I going to do?

The team was already relatively established, consisting of two seniors and one alum, all of them with years of experience. Over the years, they had worked together and developed a strong team dynamic through their long nights and their successes. I joined the institute without any prior experience or knowledge about their current project and their members. However, to my delightful surprise, the minute I walked into the first meeting they spent the first hour explaining the project in­ depth to me and then updating me on their newest idea. In addition, I was immediately given an assignment to help the project by coding free response survey data.

Since the first meeting, the team has kept me continuously involved in everyone’s project and asked for my feedback. From my experiences and interactions with the members, I have learned that the authenticity of the Berger Institute is reflected by individual members’ internal drive to research their passions. I have also been given the opportunity to perceive the Berger Institute as an inclusive, ambitious, and academic community.

Working at FWI

-by Kelsey Gohn ’16

Like everyone else at CMC, by January I felt very behind in my internship search. Luckily, as a research assistant at Berger, I had already connected with one of their summer internship partners, Families and Work Institute, and it was the clear choice for my sophomore summer.

At FWI, I was able to spend the summer in NYC working on projects that continued my research CMC research while developing professional skills. The FWI team lives their research about effective workplaces, which has been a huge asset for my professional development, especially since it was one of my first real office experiences.

My main project involved working on their massive annual national award program, “When Work Works,” with a mostly remote team reviewing surveys from thousands of employees from across the nation’s best companies. While in the trenches of data entry from the paper surveys, I learned a lot about data validity and survey management, but also how to effectively communicate with a remote teammate. It was a challenge to communicate expectations over email, but it allowed me to grow and learn what I need to ask for my supervisor to gain clarity on a project.  It was a big jump for me as a student to enter the real work world, but I enjoyed learning with a supportive staff and I had a blast with them both in and outside of the workplace.

I ultimately decided that I didn’t see myself working as research psychologist, but the knowledge I gained from the research and from my experiences really helped guide me through the rest of my time at CMC.

 

Completing 3 Years at Berger

-by Adrienne Johnson ’16

“Have you ever worked with numbers?” “Give an example of an experience you’ve had with analytical work.” “Have you ever worked on a team?”

These are questions I’ve recently had fired my way, since I’m a senior wrapping up my job search. Fortunately, I was able to immediately respond to all of these by thinking back on my past three years as a research assistant at the Berger Institute. While my international relations coursework provides me the opportunity to explore topics I find stimulating and strengthen my writing skills, my numbers-based analytical skills were lacking throughout my academic career at CMC. Working at Berger has helped fill this gap in my skillset. For example, while working on the Work-Life project, we performed statistical analyses observing the correlations between people of different college majors and their long­term goals. Gaining a basic knowledge of statistical analysis has thoroughly benefitted me in my career search, as my major is less applicable to my career goals.

Likewise, in interviews I spoke to my experiences working on a team at the Berger Institute. I know I can be a strong team player because I have been one for almost three years. We’ve conducted three-hour brainstorming sessions, planned our survey questions and bounced ideas off of each other. My Berger experience has allowed me to develop transferrable skills for my professional life, which I look forward to starting soon.

 

Networking

-Kelsey Gohn ’16

Through the Berger Institute I’ve been able to have the liberal arts in action experience: I’ve been able to expand my research interests into a real world application and connect with the CMC community in ways that without the board I never would have been able to.

While Professor Kanaya was visiting my summer internship at KP, we were able to meet with another wonderful board member, Dr. Andrea Neves. She had so many stories to share and gave fantastic advice from her broad range of experiences over an amazing dinner. She gave us direction on what she felt like were great skills to gather during our time at CMC, like how to critically think as well as how she felt like liberal arts were an incredibly important part of our education. I’ve definitely taken her advice with me into my senior year and appreciated the opportunity to connect with the larger CMC family during my summer in new city.

I’ve also had opportunity to connect with CMC board members on campus as well as meet incredibly interesting people through Berger sponsored events. Berger sponsored Congressman Jason Altmire’s Ath talk on the Affordable Care Act. Since Professor Kanaya knew I was interested in healthcare, she set me up to speak with him before the event and sit at the head table with him. It was definitely a once in a lifetime in an opportunity to connect with him and have a frank discussion about his experience drafting health care policy.  I’ve made some great connections through Berger network and all of the wonderful people I met have shaped my career at CMC. I’m not sure that’s something people realize when they become a research assistant at an institute, not only do they gain the experience of research, but also a community.