IRIS/PASSCAL Summer Intern Reflections on Experience
Submitted by Michael on Wed, 2007-01-03 20:20.
The last three months have flown by at an amazing rate and I can hardly believe that my time is over. This is undoubtedly because I have been at all times so very busy. I have had the opportunity to experience many aspects of IRIS / PASSCAL and this has been beneficial. I was never bored, and I was never sat alone in my office twiddling thumbs or feeling alone. I will admit that this was a concern at first, especially with my “oh so” far away office. However I always felt that I could show up in someone's office and ask about what they were doing, or whether they needed assistance. In fact on many occasions, even when I was in my office working at the computer, various members of the team would appear at my door to lure me away with some other activity.
Many of the PASSCAL team assisted me with training and certainly most were also helpful in answering my many questions and making me feel welcome at the instrument center. Everyone was happy to tell me about their role greasing the wheels of the PASSCAL machine. I can not thank the team enough for making my time in Socorro not only enjoyable, but also worthwhile...you have a good team here, keep up the good work!
Prior to arriving at PASSCAL I had never comprehended the many facets and the shear volume of the work carried out at the instrument center. The center has grown at quite a rate recently, and things are still settling down, but I was impressed with the overall system and the flow of tasks and information.
Along with the educational part of my internship, coming to New Mexico also provided me with an opportunity for traveling to and around a part of the world I had never been to. I spent most weekends exploring, and I visited many of the cultural and natural beauties of the state. I was also given the opportunity to visit Washington state for a project, another place I had never been. During the deployment we were given a day off, and I grasped the chance to visit Mount St Helens volcano. This is a majestic area, despite the devastation that was caused by the 1980 eruption. This eruption heralded the onset of modern volcanology, and to a certain degree, my path through the geosciences to geophysical studies and in turn my visit to PASSCAL.
I am sad to be leaving PASSCAL for a number of reasons; I feel like there are still many more things to be learned from the people here. Additionally, I have to admit it was nice having evenings and weekends for exploration. My time here was a good break away from my research and the place where I now live, and I am sincerely saddened to be leaving such a beautiful place and all the people I have met here. I am certain that the genuine kindness I experienced was due to a combination of the lifestyle and workstyle that the PASSCALians experience here in Socorro.
Many of the PASSCAL team assisted me with training and certainly most were also helpful in answering my many questions and making me feel welcome at the instrument center. Everyone was happy to tell me about their role greasing the wheels of the PASSCAL machine. I can not thank the team enough for making my time in Socorro not only enjoyable, but also worthwhile...you have a good team here, keep up the good work!
Prior to arriving at PASSCAL I had never comprehended the many facets and the shear volume of the work carried out at the instrument center. The center has grown at quite a rate recently, and things are still settling down, but I was impressed with the overall system and the flow of tasks and information.
Along with the educational part of my internship, coming to New Mexico also provided me with an opportunity for traveling to and around a part of the world I had never been to. I spent most weekends exploring, and I visited many of the cultural and natural beauties of the state. I was also given the opportunity to visit Washington state for a project, another place I had never been. During the deployment we were given a day off, and I grasped the chance to visit Mount St Helens volcano. This is a majestic area, despite the devastation that was caused by the 1980 eruption. This eruption heralded the onset of modern volcanology, and to a certain degree, my path through the geosciences to geophysical studies and in turn my visit to PASSCAL.
I am sad to be leaving PASSCAL for a number of reasons; I feel like there are still many more things to be learned from the people here. Additionally, I have to admit it was nice having evenings and weekends for exploration. My time here was a good break away from my research and the place where I now live, and I am sincerely saddened to be leaving such a beautiful place and all the people I have met here. I am certain that the genuine kindness I experienced was due to a combination of the lifestyle and workstyle that the PASSCALians experience here in Socorro.
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