S-STEM Scholar Joshua Clugston's Blog

This past semester has been a great opportunity to do some much needed self reflection about mental health. For instance, there have been many chances to think about how to care for oneself mentally. I personally have learned that there are some important aspects of mental health that will help me be successful in my future studies. Things such as taking more breaks, seeking emotional support when needed, and reaching out for help have been put into the discussion, and something that I have attempted to implement into my college routine. I have found that practicing some of these things has helped with my stress tremendously, and has made me more productive and successful overall. As a further consequence of my reflections, I have accomplished many of the goals that I previously struggled with. I plan to continue to focus on mental health, as its importance is clear based on the improvements that I have noticed until this point. 

It is difficult being vulnerable in STEM, since by the very nature of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics, the goal of these fields is to be precise - something which intuitively seems contradictory to the very concept of being vulnerable. Although, by being vulnerable, we may actually achieve greater progress in STEM. In particular, vulnerability will allow us to be OK with potentially making mistakes, so that we may try more even if we are not successful. In turn, this will allow us to be accepting of our faults and consider the possibility of being creative in our endeavors, instead of demonstrating hesitation in fear of potentially making a mistake and displaying vulnerability. Consequently, this is further explained by what Dr. Brown describes as shame. Should we accept our vulnerability and allow ourselves to be shameful, we may break past any barriers which hinder us from making great advancements, which we otherwise might not have made due to fear of being faced w...

There is an old philosophical question which asks whether we innately inherit certain beliefs or if we instead develop our perceptions and understanding of the world from our experiences. Personally, I tend to agree with the latter in most cases, but there may exist some form of seemingly cogent neuroscientific argument in favor of the former. My belief, at least, is that from birth we may not be necessarily a "clean slate," as someone who may adhere more closely to the philosophical paradigm mentioned second might believe. More precisely, I believe that as we age we develop in synchronicity with our surroundings and therefore cultivate our identities by similar means as well. Things such as mindset might also be developed along side any of the aforementioned processes. Consequently, my general belief is that because of my family, culture, rural/urban upbringing, I have become who I am today - with the mindset that I have today.  Despite my current sense of belonging...

In some sense I feel that I exhibit a more malleable/growth mindset, much like described by Dr. Dweck. Although, when reflecting on my recent behavior, it may be acceptable to consider possible areas for improvement. Specifically, in my school work, as this is something that I deem very important.  Lately, I feel as though I may not have been displaying the growth mindset described by Dr. Dweck. The way I have been approaching problems more recently makes me feel as if I have been rushing to find the solution, instead of attempting to really accept the "not yet" philosophy emphasized in Dweck's Ted talk. Consequently, this has made me more prone to error and ultimately very critical of myself. Taking Dweck's advice, I feel that the learning experience that can be achieved from common mistakes will help shape me further into what I wish to be in the future, so long as I am able to accept that they may happen from time to time.  I have found that my educational journey ...

During my education, I have been able to learn many technical skills. For instance, during several of my classes I have used computer programs such as MATLAB and Java, which have allowed me to solve complex problems. By learning these programs, I have developed a skill that is useful in many areas of employment, as they transfer to several tasks - whether the tasks be extremely computationally intensive and difficult to solve without a computer's assistance, or mundane/routine and would be useful/cost-saving to automate.  In several of my classes, I have had the opportunity to be involved in projects which required collaboration in group sizes which allowed for interpersonal development among myself and my peers. Given these occurrences, I have developed the skill of working in teams effectively. This skill is especially useful in environments where solving complex issues requires teams to be able to work together efficiently. Another technical skill I have developed during my educ...

In the past, it has been noted in my Blogger that I wish to do a form of research. While this is still true, I hope to make clear in this writing that I am striving to preform mathematical research. To accomplish this, I aspire to become a mathematician by profession, whether it be either in industry, government, or academia. I hope to be able to some day solve complex tasks in an area that I am interested in, using the skills that I have worked so hard to develop.  Lately, with the abundance of opportunities for internships I have encountered, I have been able to give a great deal of thought to the above statement.  In particular, there are many fields I have found where there appears to be a larger proportion of research jobs readily available. For instance, machine learning, quantum computing, and statistical and mathematical modeling have peaked my interests as prospects for my future career aspirations. With this being said, it is clear to me that I want to involve mysel...