Harshini Srinath
About Me
In the beginning, I did not have access to research opportunities because my family does not have a lot of money. My impression of research was that it was something complex which takes a lot of time and effort. I never expected myself to write my own paper. By participating in Talaria, I have realized that I can write research papers on my own about topics that I am passionate about. I also learned that research is something that I can do as long as I manage my time wisely and am interested in the topic!
Research Experience
I was really excited during the first week of the program. After I talked with my mentor and figured out my research project, I researched things related to my project on my own, and I tried to get started with the installation phase. I wanted to see how much I could accomplish over the course of a month! I became more comfortable with my project throughout the program. I also started reaching out to my mentor more for help with troubleshooting and for next steps. We had meetings over Zoom to discuss my progress and to troubleshoot. I also became more independent and was able to do more tasks by myself. Participating in Talaria has allowed me to have a greater love for robotics and programming. I enjoy building and programming robots and am the captain of my school's robotics team. As a result, I was really excited to work with ROS to learn more about programming robots that are used in real life. I am pretty sure that I want to major in either computer science or mechanical engineering due to this experience!
Mentorship Experience
I had such a great time working with my mentor, Samuel Lensgraf. Sam was so helpful and would always answer my questions. He would explain concepts to me in an easy to understand manner. He was also patient with me when I ran into errors or when my code did not work. Most of our communication was over email, but sometimes, we called on Zoom for troubleshooting. We bonded over our love for robotics, AI, and computer science! I could not have asked for a better mentor!
Favorite Part of Talaria
My favorite part about participating in Talaria was presenting at the final conference. I was so excited and proud to present my work to my fellow scholars. I also had fun making my slideshow and adding pictures. I enjoyed listening to my scholars' presentations, and their research was so interesting! I enjoyed talking and hanging out with the other Talaria participants! The Discord server is such a positive and friendly place where people can talk with each other about STEM topics or other things such as television shows and songs. The program managers always answered questions in the Discord server and were really nice. I hung out with some people from the Fremont Chapter, and I had a great time!
Who I Recommend Talaria For
I would recommend students who are passionate about STEM topics, can work independently, and are willing to put in the work and effort to write their own paper!
Advice for Future Applicants
I would encourage them to apply! This program is such a wonderful experience, and I was able to learn so much! I strengthened my programming skills and learned about how to write a research paper. The mentor that you are assigned will have a similar interest to you, so your research project will be unique and very interesting! The other events that Talaria has are also fun, and overall, the whole program is a great way to learn more about something that you are passionate about!
