Cultural Intelligence

Dr. Renee Bhatti-Klug gave a presentation on cultural intelligence and the strategies taken to be more inclusive.

My understanding of cultural intelligence is the knowledge and the actions taken to understand people from other cultures. My understanding of cultural responsiveness is the actions we do in response to being inclusive for other cultures.
In my future professional and personal life, I would incorporate asking people how can I accommodate them to be more inclusive. 

Professional Identity

    Ms. Dakota Webber from ASU’s Career and Professional Development Services presented to us on making a good LinkedIn profile and networking. My understanding of a professional identity is how you appear in a professional setting online and in person. 
    The professional identity needed to successfully pursue a career in STEM is networking and an updated profile. I saw the importance of networking but never really actually tried to network. I was always shy and just didn't know what I was doing. Now that I learned LinkedIn makes networking easier, I'll definitely use it more often. Some ways that networking is made easier is that you could request to follow people in your fields of interest and even people in organizations that interest you as well. It never hurts to shoot them a message if you want information or opportunities.

TRAIN Mixer 2023

    I did come late to the train mixer due to traffic when I took the shuttle to the West campus. So I did not get the pleasure of talking to any of the new TRAIN transfer students.

    But I can offer helpful tips on relieving anxieties about transferring. I would say to embrace the change. It would be helpful to talk to advisors and get a tour of the campus. Joining clubs to meet people is a very good idea to not feel alone on campus. In the area of stress and anxiety, getting a support system is very important. There were a lot of times in my academic career where I wanted to give up and drop out from school but it important to remind yourself why you are here to keep going forward.

About Me 2023

    Hello! My name is Burabari Akeeh. I am a currently a senior at Arizona State University. I am a Biology major.

    This semester is my last semester. This semester, other besides this STEM Success class, I am taking a internship class and a class about the Mexican Foods in the Southwest. I am excited I already got assigned to ASU's Wellness Center to help make wellness resources available for the ASU community. The class on Mexican food in the Southwest is a B sesion class, but I am very interested on how the class will be conducted and learn more about the cuisine.

My goals this semester is to finish strong and be more active in the on campus clubs I have signed up for but never got to attend. Another goal of mine this semester is to rest and take it easy since obtaining this degree has very stressful.

Database Project Reflections 12.2.22

Describe your understanding of relational databases versus spreadsheet

Spreadsheets have raw data that are categorized. Spreadsheets can be used to do calculations with the data. Relational databases can connect the data from spreadsheets and show the relationships between specific pieces of the data. 

Provide an overview of the database class project
The database project was to create a database from data found on the corgis site. After picking a topic that you were interested in (I picked broadway), we used DB Browser for SQLite to make the database. We arranged the data in an ER diagram and used the ER Diagram to organize the data into csv files. We created tables and queries with commands. Then the csv files were put back into the database to fill in the tables.      

What did you learn about databases through the application of the concepts on the project? 

I learned that organization really matter. I put my table in the csv in the wrong order and it did not match up to the order in database table. Also that consistency matters. You can mess up the data is you change the name of a category or even spell it wrong.

Has learning about databases influenced your future plans? 

I am not sure if I can say it has. It was interesting to learn but in my whole degree, I have never learned how to create a database until this class. I think the lesson we had on spreadsheets were more beneficial to me and my future path. But now I can say I can make a database and can add that to my skill sets.

Reflections 4.22.22

    I plan to be able to continue caring for my physical and mental health. In recent years my health over has declined and I really learned to treasure my health. I plan to continue my journey to overcome my digestive issues, get fit, learn to deal with stress better, and burnout. 
    My career goals has stayed the same since I started college. But sometimes I do feel regret not pursuing an art degree because of this workload of being a Biology major. I think that is just self doubt due to being so close to graduating.
    The advice I have to give to my peers in STEM is let it go. If the assignment or task can still be done tomorrow, just go to sleep. It's good to find a trusted person to get emotional support from but let that person be a licensed therapist, the help is way better. Also get a posture brace to perfect posture when sitting and working on your laptop. Also find a hobby or anything that makes you happy and indulge yourself in it. Lately I have been getting into nail art to satisfy my creativity needs and listening to music I loved back when I was in junior high to high school.

Persistence in STEM 3.25.22

     After reading the book Daring Greatly by Dr. Brene Brown, the topic that just stuck to me was scarcity and never enough. I am always saying I don't have enough time to: sleep, workout, relax, study, and practice selfcare. The only thing I would get out of saying these would be me just staring at a wall when I finally get some time to rest.

    I am very hard on myself because of this lack of time and I find it hard to own up to my vulnerabilities. I do compare myself to others a lot especially when it comes to graduating. Many of my peers from highschool had already got their bachelors. I even started to doubt myself and think I wasn't smart enough or hard working enough. I know I'm still young and I am only slower than them by 1 year; it's a struggle to fight off the feminine urge to have your whole life put together by the time you're 25.  I hate being vulnerable with a passion because even sharing a bit of my emotions is embarrassing. Even writing this post was too much for me. I am working on this though and the book was a great addition to my growth.

    Her ideas are able to be applied to persistence in STEM by understanding people are feeling the same way you do. That it is important to own your vulnerability. Being a perfectionist looks great but in the end you're just stopping growth and opportunities. Instead it's okay to try hard and put yourself out there even if you're unsure of the outcome of your work.