Cumulative Reflection

Reflect on your 4-year experience at Iowa State University. Remember to highlight things like your
ability to communicate, utilize your engineering knowledge, and function within teams as well as what is
highlighted below. Here are some questions to answer as a part of your reflection:

CR1. How do you think ISU has prepared you to:

a. Design systems or processes?
b. Formulate and solve engineering problems?
c. Impact engineering solutions in a global/societal context?
d. Consider ethical implications of your engineering decisions?

Many of my classes here at ISU has tasked me to design new systems and processes. My Com Sci 409
class in particular had tasked my group and I with developing an Augmented Reality Program. We came
up with a Basketball Assist program that would help you find the right angle in which to shoot the ball
into the basketball hoop. So we had to figure out exactly how to design this system and figure out how to
get over some of the hurdles involved in making this program such as the image processing. This project
would also have a global and societal affect because it could help millions of kids around the world play
basketball better. But we also had to sometimes consider the ethical issues of the program because it
could also be visually distracting to the user and get them hurt in some way.

This is just one example from numerous classes Ive had at ISU that tasked me with creating a program
and solving engineering problems.

CR2. What things have you done at ISU to prepare you to:
a. Work in groups?
b. Recognize contemporary issues?
c. Understand professional and ethical responsibilities?

Through my classes at ISU I have had many group projects with at least 5 of my classes being 100%
group work. So Ive had a lot of experience working with other people. Through these experiences Ive
learned how to divide work between members of the group, how to get everyone focused on the work at
hand, and how to deal with group members who arent contributing as much as they should be.

Group work has helped me get better at being more professional and ethical. Through senior design Ive
had to work with a client which requires us to be professional, this includes dressing professionally and
speaking professionally in emails and in person. Im also experienced with giving professional
presentations which most of my classes require so Im very comfortable with speaking in front of many
people in a professional manner. Ive also had to deal with ethical responsibilities through senior design.
As we are working with Unity Point we have to deal with patient data so we must insure that patient data
is kept as secure as possible meaning our program must take the appropriate measures to keep the data
safe.

CR3. In class projects & problem solving tasks, did you draw upon information, research or
experiences beyond what was provided in class to successfully complete your work? Please state
which resources here and how they helped you to complete work (e.g. library resources, specific
professional journals, experts in field, other students).

In classes where the provided material is not enough I do what any good programmer does. Use Google.
This includes Stack Overflow, other Universities lecture notes, or even watching YouTube videos.
CR4. How did learning activities outside of the classroom (required 124.5 credits), such as Student
Orgs, Career or Study Abroad Fairs, Undergraduate Research Experience (REU), or other university
programs help you to understand the importance of Lifelong Learning?

One of my regrets here is that I have not really participated in any learning programs through ISU
directly. I have attended a few career fairs and did learn a lot about how to talk to future employers. But I
havent really been involved in any clubs or research through ISU. Instead I have been working part time
with Thomson Reuters where I have learned to work in a corporate environment and much more.

CR5. Have you started to undertake any new learning to improve your ability to apply skills or
knowledge to new problems and to develop confidence in taking risks? Please explain.

Outside of school and work I have

CR6. In the context of the first four questions, if you were to do your undergraduate work again, what
things would you change?

If I were to start over I would try to get more involved in learning opportunities on campus either through
clubs, research, or even being a TA. I think I could have learned more and made many friends if I had
chosen to do that. However I am still happy with my decisions as they led me to getting an internship with
Thomson Reuters and I still feel that I have learned enough to be successful in the work place.