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Hello! My name is Ayesha Rawal, and I am a senior at ���Ҵ�ý�ƽ������ studying creative technology and design in engineering, which is essentially a combined art, design, and engineering degree. I am fascinated by the intersection between art and engineering and how it can better our lives and the lives of the people around us. I am also deeply interested in natural systems and how we can highlight conservation through innovations in creative technologies and design fields. I have worked with the ���Ҵ�ý�ƽ������ Natural History museum to design audience experiences, and I would love to work in this field to facilitate interactions with nature and promote a sustainable future. Ultimately, I want to help ignite a movement for a more compassionate and sustainable community through my skills in design, technology, and creativity.

On Finding Balance

As students explored their definitions of success, some of the main facets of “success” that came up for this group were: (1) finding balance, (2) being a changemaker, (3) embracing life pivots, and (4) overcoming obstacles. In preparing for their final showcase, students reflected on one of these aspects and how they related to this aspect of success.

What is your story around this topic/What have you struggled with in regards to this aspect of success?
Balance is something that I have always struggled with in life. Finding balance has never been easy, and as I grew up and started adding things to my plate, it has only gotten harder. I have always been a perfectionist and I have significant issues with executive functioning, so getting things done in any realm of my life is hard. If I was on top of school, then I would be behind/unbalanced in life, and vice versa. I am still working on wrangling my life into some semblance of balance, it’s always going to be a continuous journey.

Where have you shined on this aspect of success?
I would say that I don’t feel like I have done well in this aspect of success at all, but I also feel like that’s a disservice to the monumental efforts and energy I have put into gaining balance in my life. I have found very reliable ways of regulating myself when I am overwhelmed from a lack of balance (animal/plant care, reading, working on my terrariums, exercise, painting) through this process, which is a plus.

What tools have you found to be helpful in navigating this aspect of success?
Like I mentioned above, finding ways to center myself and regulate through activities like animal/plant care, reading, working on my terrariums, painting, and exercise have been very helpful. Talking to my mom/loved ones is also very helpful- having someone to keep me accountable has been a great tool, but one that I have mixed feelings about (I hate when people tell me what to do haha).

CHANGE Collective program reflections

Embarking on this program

The first team session was pretty exciting, but also felt a little unsure and new “territory-y.” I was surprised that I actually knew someone there (Jose!) and how well we got along right off the bat. I’m super excited to delve deeper into the topics we talked about as well as learning some new skills that I previously didn’t know. I’m also excited to be on that side of campus more often, it’s so beautiful and I love it so much more than the main campus. I’m pretty nervous/uneasy about all the user research and primary research we will be doing, that has never been my forte and I have always wanted to just jump straight to ideation and fabrication. I do know that it is essential though and it’ll be great to get more experience with it! I am most hoping to gain a new community and new experiences in this job, as well as getting to step out of my comfort zone and into a new role in my life.

Mid-year reflection

My experiences with the Change Collective so far have been a little mixed, but overall positive. It’s been a struggle for me to integrate it into my schedule, but I’m figuring it out and I think it’s falling into place! I really like working in a museum setting and the people I’ve met through this program. I think the one thing that would help me is having more clear guidelines around the start/end times of our meetings, specifically the end times. From this experience, I am gaining a better understanding of my own limits and capacities, and the ways in which I struggle in a professional setting. However, I have also discovered a whole new field of work that I want to pursue!

Final program reflection

What are you most proud of?
I am most proud of the relationships that I cultivated through this program. I have always had trouble making friends, especially making and keeping friends after programs like these. I think the space that was created allowed for vulnerability and was really conducive to making deeper connections.

What was the best thing you gained from this program?
The best thing, by far, that I gained from this program is my FRIENDS! I adore every single person in this program and genuinely appreciate them all. I know I am going to be long term friends with many of the people I have met through the program, and they’re already people who I feel comfortable with, admire, and respect so much.

If you were to recommend changes to the program, what would you recommend? What didn't work so well for you? Feel free to consider the structure of your museum job, the bi-weekly sessions, the microcredential requirements, how you were hired.
I know this was the guinea pig year for the program, but having a solid idea of the time commitments (like the smaller team weekly meetings and stuff) before even applying to the program would have been very helpful. I would also streamline the microcredential requirements and have just one, in-depth reflection for every full team meeting (every two weeks). Some of the assignments ended up feeling kind of redundant and like busy work, whereas some of the reflections actually did add a lot to the program.

What about this program would you recommend keeping the same? What worked really well for you?
I would keep the structure of the smaller groups that meet more often and the less frequent large group meetings. I liked having a smaller group to work with and then also being able to touch base with the rest of the Change Collective.

How do you hope to build upon what you've gained from this program (including any insights around the types of work or experiences that did not work for you)?
I hope to keep the connections I’ve made and the experiences I have had working on the various events and projects throughout the year, and use them as a foundation for where I might want to go in the future.

How was your experience with the Sustainable Futures Fest? What felt successful? What would you have changed?
I LOVED the Sustainable Future Fest, and had a really great time being a part of it. It was really fun to see how excited people got about terrariums, and we were able to have some really cool conversations as well. I would have tried to solidify exactly what we were doing and simplify it a lot from the beginning of the year to really flesh it out. We had a great idea with the video project but I think if we had started from the beginning with deciding on the project and the event and then spending the first semester on one project, and the second semester on the other, it would’ve been much more successful.

How was your experience with the Showcase/Open House? What felt successful? What would you have changed?
I liked the showcase, but it did feel a little rushed. I think that somehow combining the purpose of the showcase with the Sustainable Futures Fest could have made it a little more purposeful.