SolarSPELL is delighted to introduce ten new interns for the summer! ASU students in this internship cohort are from a variety of academic backgrounds, including Journalism, Innovation in Society, Computer Science, Physics, Political Science, Transborder Studies, Material Science and Engineering, and Software Engineering. We are thrilled to see what comes from this group of such diverse backgrounds and knowledge!
(Back row from left: ASU Librarian Dan, Ricardo, Ryan, Jeremy, Vianca, Victor, Ruth, ASU Librarian Lisa. Front row from left: Bruce, Maddie, Kusum, Brooke, Dr. Hosman, Adriana, Kristen)
Each member will be working on various projects throughout the next 8 weeks. The main focuses for the summer involve curating content for the Puerto Rico and Tonto Creek Camp library versions, programming software, web design, user interface and experience, social media and marketing, and participating in the implementation process for the first Arizona SolarSPELL location at Tonto Creek Camp.
When discussing her role this summer, Ruth shared: “I will specifically be working on curating content for the Tonto Creek/Arizona Natural Resources Library, so that the camps that take place up there will have a large cache of information to access when the campers have questions about all that they are observing in nature.”
In addition to learning about the history and purpose of SolarSPELL from Dr. Hosman, the simplicity and sustainability of the hardware and software from Bruce, and about content curation for open access educational resources from ASU librarians Lisa and Dan, the new members took part in a team building activity focused on finding solutions to challenges. In this activity, each individual identified and wrote down a challenge, before coming up with the first two possible solutions and placing those ideas on sticky notes attached to the poster. Leaving their poster with the challenge in place, the team rotated to each other’s posters, offering their own suggestions to each challenge. Following this initial round of solutions, participants were asked to think of someone whom they admire the thinking or thought process of, and to go around once again offering suggestions as if they were that person. This method of thinking with a new frame of reference seemed to evoke entirely new ideas that may not have come up before!
Outside of the scheduled activities, the cohort bonded after hearing the effects of Hurricane Maria, from the Puerto Rico team, and how the team could see Puerto Rico benefitting from SolarSPELL’s resources. This conversation really put things into perspective for their fellow team members, giving them a more personalized purpose behind the objectives they plan to accomplish over the summer.
Ryan reflected on the opportunity, stating: “After seeing the real impact that SolarSPELL has had and hearing real stories/experiences, I am excited to be working on a project that will help those in need. I’m amazed by how much the SolarSPELL has already done and can’t wait to see the impact it will have in other locations.”
Thank you to everyone who participated or contributed to this training workshop! We are excited to have such a diverse team and to see the impact they will make. Stay tuned for what’s to come!
