CHC Summer Adventures: Nour Abdulmajid and Sean Bannon
By Nina Prenosil
Content
Our summer series rolls on with summer experiences from Nour Abdulmajid and Sean Bannon. From the glitz of Hollywood, CA to the historic charm of Oxford, England, their adventures encapsulate the diverse passions of our Honors students. Dive into their tales!
Nour Abdulmajid
Nour, a junior studying architecture with a minor in building construction technology, spent her summer at the UMass Mount Ida campus. During this time, she was able to find her spot amongst the faculty and staff and left with a rewarding experience.
Q: Tell us a little about your summer plans?
A: So, first of all, I applied for a facilities management and capital internship position on the Mount Ida campus. And then I started working here on June 2nd. And then three weeks into the internship, another role arose. And the campus director on the Mount Ida campus reached out to me and said that the department head of architecture at Amherst was looking for a TA for the summer pre-college class that was supposed to take place on this campus. And he said that if I'm interested, the position is mine. And I just accepted it, and that's how I became a TA.
Q: What are you most excited about regarding your summer plans?
A: I got to know the professor who was leading the class pretty well, and that was pretty interesting because I got to learn a lot from his experiences and just get better connections and better networking skills. And I felt more confident in what I learned in school through TA-ing over the summer. And from the internship, I think it made me more confident in standing my ground when it comes to adults and just getting my ideas across without feeling like they're not good enough.
Q: How did you go about finding this job?
A: For that internship, I went on Handshake and I was applying to a bunch of them. I got three callbacks, but I was accepted to this one. And then the campus director interviewed me again, and he said that I'm ready for this position.
Q: How do you plan to balance relaxation and self-care with your summer activities?
A: I knew that it was going to be a lot, so I decided to invest in my health as well. And I started going to gym classes and doing more workouts and just keeping my body active. And whenever I feel like I'm isolating myself from friends and stuff, I would reach out to them and plan something.
Q: What are you most looking forward to for the start of the semester?
A: I've learned a lot from this internship and the TA position. And since I'm on the board of the Arab Cultural Association, I have a bigger role this year since I'm the events coordinator. What I've learned in this internship is I'm capable of handling big responsibilities, and it fits into the role of events coordinator. Getting work done on time, organizing everything, and just being a well-rounded person when it comes to the workforce — I feel like that really applies to the club that I'm a part of. So, I'm just excited to see how the switch from being an intern to being a board member is going to work out during the semester.
Sean Bannon
This summer Sean was able to further pursue his passions and interests. As a senior studying kinesiology, Sean was able to spend his summer working in that field while also working towards all of his many goals.
Q: Tell us a little about your summer plans?
A: This summer I am conducting research as an Undergraduate Research Fellow at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN. At the Mayo Clinic I am working with the Biomaterials & Regenerative Medicine Lab to help develop an implantable therapeutic for patients with intervertebral disc degeneration (IDD). The Mayo Clinic is hosting 100 other students and this has been such a rewarding experience.
Q: What are you most excited about regarding your summer plans?
A: The best part of my experience this summer was definitely having the opportunity to do the in vivo studies. Our lab at the Mayo Clinic is working to 3D print biocompatible scaffolds which would fully replace the intervertebral disc. Currently, we are working on an in vivo model in which we are testing the feasibility of these scaffolds in rats by surgically implanting them into the tail. We are currently waiting for a few more weeks to see how the rats fare. A lot of undergrads don’t get this experience so I am very glad I have this opportunity.
Q: How did you go about finding this experience?
A: I knew I wanted to get out of Massachusetts for the summer so I applied to a few places around the country. I also reached out to a PI in my lab that does research on cigarette smoking and they helped me along.
Q: How do you plan to balance relaxation and self-care with your summer activities?
A: I have always been a busy person so I sort of just got used to dealing with it but something that really helps me is exercising and keeping physically active. I am training to do the English Channel next summer so that has been a huge time commitment in terms of preparing for it. But I also have taken time to hike, camp, and explore the city. Another thing that I’ve found to be helpful is writing down my goals and separating them into categories. I have my athletic, creative, and academic goals set, and seeing them written down is really beneficial.
Q: What are you most looking forward to for the start of the semester?
A: I’m excited to finish up my last year at UMass Amherst and to just see all of my friends again. I also am moving into a lot of leadership roles, those being operations supervisor at the rec center, a lab work leadership role, peer mentor, and a teaching assistant in the kinesiology department.