1 00:00:01,080 --> 00:00:04,060 Welcome to Digication Scholars Conversations. 2 00:00:04,380 --> 00:00:06,160 I'm your host, Kelly Driscoll. 3 00:00:06,510 --> 00:00:09,719 In this episode, you'll hear my conversation with Thaddaeus 4 00:00:09,740 --> 00:00:13,780 Canuel, a recent graduate of Arizona State University. 5 00:00:14,199 --> 00:00:19,360 More links and information about today's conversation can be found on Digication's 6 00:00:19,470 --> 00:00:21,759 Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. 7 00:00:21,940 --> 00:00:25,930 Full episodes of Digication Scholars Conversations can be found on 8 00:00:25,940 --> 00:00:28,549 YouTube or your favorite podcast app. 9 00:00:29,520 --> 00:00:32,220 Welcome to Digication Scholars Conversations. 10 00:00:32,240 --> 00:00:34,080 I'm your host, Kelly Driscoll. 11 00:00:34,110 --> 00:00:38,099 And today I am so excited to introduce Thaddaeus Canuel. 12 00:00:38,099 --> 00:00:42,260 Thaddaeus is a recent alumni from Arizona State University. 13 00:00:42,730 --> 00:00:47,640 And I happened to learn about Thaddaeus from his ePortfolio, 14 00:00:47,650 --> 00:00:52,779 which was so beautifully shared in the school's ePortfolio directory. 15 00:00:53,320 --> 00:00:58,495 And I actually had a chance to Have a wonderful conversation with one 16 00:00:58,495 --> 00:01:05,365 of his teachers, Gina Woodall, who oversees many of the internships that 17 00:01:05,365 --> 00:01:10,495 happen at Arizona State University in the political science area. 18 00:01:11,005 --> 00:01:15,934 And Thaddaeus ePortfolio is a result of one of those ePortfolios. 19 00:01:15,934 --> 00:01:18,884 So Thaddaeus, thank you so much for joining me today. 20 00:01:18,884 --> 00:01:22,655 I'm really excited to give you the opportunity to tell your story. 21 00:01:23,565 --> 00:01:24,185 Yeah, thank you. 22 00:01:24,185 --> 00:01:25,025 It's a pleasure to be here. 23 00:01:25,025 --> 00:01:25,685 I'm excited. 24 00:01:26,625 --> 00:01:28,905 So I mentioned Thaddaeus is a recent alumni. 25 00:01:28,935 --> 00:01:32,314 Thaddaeus, could you tell us a little bit about what you majored 26 00:01:32,314 --> 00:01:34,544 in at Arizona State University? 27 00:01:35,405 --> 00:01:36,394 Yes, absolutely. 28 00:01:36,394 --> 00:01:38,515 So, um, I actually did a double major. 29 00:01:38,555 --> 00:01:42,605 And so, um, I studied political science, um, and psychology. 30 00:01:42,875 --> 00:01:46,435 And so, um, now I'm happy to say I have, uh, two bachelors. 31 00:01:46,455 --> 00:01:47,215 It's very exciting. 32 00:01:49,580 --> 00:01:50,880 Very exciting. 33 00:01:51,390 --> 00:01:57,639 And, um, as I mentioned, I, I learned about you from your ePortfolio. 34 00:01:57,700 --> 00:02:05,470 Um, at what point in your studies did you start, um, taking courses with Gina? 35 00:02:05,479 --> 00:02:08,699 How did you get involved in this internship experience? 36 00:02:09,639 --> 00:02:13,504 Well, it's actually really funny because this internship class was the first. 37 00:02:13,505 --> 00:02:17,475 first time that I'd really interacted with, uh, uh, 38 00:02:17,495 --> 00:02:19,635 with Gina, um, significantly. 39 00:02:19,695 --> 00:02:26,064 Um, I was in this, uh, it was the School for, um, Politics and Global Studies is 40 00:02:26,065 --> 00:02:28,605 the school at ASU, uh, that I was in. 41 00:02:29,144 --> 00:02:35,095 And, um, I'd been with several professors before who had spoken, um, very fondly 42 00:02:35,185 --> 00:02:41,915 of, uh, Gina and, um, like Professor Strickland, um, Things like that, um, and 43 00:02:41,915 --> 00:02:46,865 so it was actually Professor Strickland who got me onto this internship track. 44 00:02:47,225 --> 00:02:54,225 Um, it was last summer, summer 22, that, um, I interned in D. 45 00:02:54,225 --> 00:02:54,685 C. 46 00:02:54,765 --> 00:02:56,035 in the House of Representatives. 47 00:02:56,534 --> 00:03:00,474 Um, and it was because Professor Strickland had nominated me. 48 00:03:00,654 --> 00:03:05,795 Um, for this internship program, uh, with the Fund for American Studies, uh, TFAS. 49 00:03:06,285 --> 00:03:10,725 And, um, that just, basically, it lit a fire inside of me. 50 00:03:10,725 --> 00:03:14,064 I had a huge passion for working in politics then from that point 51 00:03:14,084 --> 00:03:18,244 on, and so then, um, I managed to get another internship in DC. 52 00:03:18,500 --> 00:03:23,130 And so I took that internship program, um, I took that internship class, uh, 53 00:03:23,130 --> 00:03:27,400 with Gina and, uh, working with her to do my portfolio and learning everything 54 00:03:27,400 --> 00:03:31,059 that I did for my, um, internship and doing the reports and everything. 55 00:03:31,059 --> 00:03:34,989 It was just, um, that, that semester was just a wonderful experience for me. 56 00:03:36,905 --> 00:03:37,365 Awesome. 57 00:03:37,405 --> 00:03:40,245 And I look forward to hearing more about that. 58 00:03:40,245 --> 00:03:45,855 And one of my questions, uh, about the, the latest internship, 59 00:03:45,855 --> 00:03:48,085 what was the duration of that? 60 00:03:48,085 --> 00:03:50,675 How long did you get to spend time in DC? 61 00:03:51,925 --> 00:03:54,924 So it was for about four, almost five months. 62 00:03:54,974 --> 00:03:58,995 Um, it was for the entirety of the, of the spring 2023 semester. 63 00:03:59,015 --> 00:04:03,395 I was there from January until I was there from early January to early May. 64 00:04:03,905 --> 00:04:05,325 Um, so yeah, four or five months. 65 00:04:08,000 --> 00:04:08,510 Nice. 66 00:04:09,049 --> 00:04:14,309 So, before you came to ASU, you mentioned that you had a double major. 67 00:04:14,320 --> 00:04:19,610 Had you always been interested in studying political science? 68 00:04:19,659 --> 00:04:22,640 What, what led you in that direction from the beginning? 69 00:04:23,490 --> 00:04:26,275 Uh, Yes, I have always been interested in that. 70 00:04:26,275 --> 00:04:27,735 It's actually a really funny story. 71 00:04:27,735 --> 00:04:34,715 So, um, I had been involved with politics and the law and the 72 00:04:34,715 --> 00:04:38,275 court since sixth grade, actually. 73 00:04:38,715 --> 00:04:43,994 I joined a court program, a mock trial club in sixth grade, yeah. 74 00:04:44,504 --> 00:04:49,675 And I had been involved with that for all three years of middle school, and 75 00:04:49,675 --> 00:04:53,820 then when I went to high school um, At my high school, there's this really cool 76 00:04:53,830 --> 00:05:00,710 organization called, um, the Arizona Teen Court Association where, um, I, uh, 77 00:05:00,710 --> 00:05:08,729 where we were able to have a peer jury trial for, um, adolescents in, um, our 78 00:05:08,729 --> 00:05:11,669 area who had committed misdemeanors. 79 00:05:12,074 --> 00:05:17,134 And, um, they had, in trial, they had already pled guilty, and so then the judge 80 00:05:17,155 --> 00:05:23,804 refers them to our program, and then we basically conduct a trial where we, um, 81 00:05:23,824 --> 00:05:31,360 find out, um, why they did what they did, and learn their story, um, And then from 82 00:05:31,360 --> 00:05:36,170 that, we determine what, um, reparations will be necessary for them to repair 83 00:05:36,170 --> 00:05:39,849 the harm that they've, uh, committed to their, uh, that they've inflicted 84 00:05:39,849 --> 00:05:41,460 on the community, things like that. 85 00:05:41,500 --> 00:05:44,739 And then it's really awesome because then, um, once they fulfill these 86 00:05:44,740 --> 00:05:48,590 reparations, their records are cleaned, um, it gives them a second chance, 87 00:05:48,650 --> 00:05:51,510 um, and the program is incredible. 88 00:05:51,510 --> 00:05:55,900 It's been proven to reduce recidivism rates dramatically, um, 89 00:05:55,900 --> 00:05:58,229 I think it's almost, it's over 90%. 90 00:05:58,390 --> 00:06:03,930 of the adolescents who come through the teen court program, um, do, do not get, 91 00:06:04,000 --> 00:06:06,699 um, do not get detained again by police. 92 00:06:06,700 --> 00:06:09,300 And so it's a really incredible program and I loved it. 93 00:06:09,800 --> 00:06:13,629 And so, um, just being involved with this, this, these types of 94 00:06:13,629 --> 00:06:15,380 programs since middle school. 95 00:06:15,440 --> 00:06:19,060 All the way until I graduated and went to ASU, um, I just, I knew that 96 00:06:19,060 --> 00:06:21,540 it was always going to be something that I was going to be involved in. 97 00:06:21,600 --> 00:06:26,690 And so, um, yeah, I studied political science, um, just from the get go. 98 00:06:26,710 --> 00:06:29,440 I was just, I just knew that it was something that I always wanted to do. 99 00:06:30,939 --> 00:06:35,330 Well, what an incredible experience for you to have had in middle school 100 00:06:35,719 --> 00:06:40,670 and then in high school working with You know, you already got to have these 101 00:06:40,670 --> 00:06:47,070 kind of real world opportunities, and I imagine that that, you know, being 102 00:06:47,070 --> 00:06:54,659 able to see your impact on the youth that were really on both sides, right? 103 00:06:54,830 --> 00:07:01,955 Um, those that were involved in the, the trial and the, um, Individuals that were 104 00:07:02,015 --> 00:07:06,525 kind of growing from those experiences that they had that led them to be 105 00:07:06,525 --> 00:07:08,235 in that position in the first place. 106 00:07:08,785 --> 00:07:12,055 Um, and wonderful to hear that it's made such market change 107 00:07:12,055 --> 00:07:14,385 on the community there too. 108 00:07:14,465 --> 00:07:17,634 Um, sounds like that's really set people on a lot of. 109 00:07:17,895 --> 00:07:20,355 Positive paths on on both sides. 110 00:07:21,355 --> 00:07:29,194 Um, so I was curious before you were, um, working in the ePortfolio. 111 00:07:29,234 --> 00:07:34,364 I know 1 of the big reasons that it's been implemented at Arizona State 112 00:07:34,364 --> 00:07:39,164 University and used in the, um, political science kinds of disciplines is so that. 113 00:07:39,729 --> 00:07:44,849 Students are having an opportunity to really reflect on their various 114 00:07:44,929 --> 00:07:47,219 learning experiences that they're having. 115 00:07:47,229 --> 00:07:51,570 And was that something that you had been accustomed to before 116 00:07:51,570 --> 00:07:54,099 you started using the ePortfolio? 117 00:07:54,440 --> 00:07:58,299 And how did you use it as part of your internship? 118 00:08:00,445 --> 00:08:05,224 Um, well, yeah, I guess I would say I wasn't very accustomed to doing stuff 119 00:08:05,224 --> 00:08:13,145 like that before, um, it was, um, yeah, it was definitely, yeah, not something 120 00:08:13,145 --> 00:08:16,814 I was very used to, um, because then people would just, I would just, my 121 00:08:16,814 --> 00:08:19,184 previous internships, people would just ask me, it's like, oh, what did 122 00:08:19,184 --> 00:08:20,344 you do at your previous internship? 123 00:08:20,345 --> 00:08:21,479 And I was like, oh, I did it. 124 00:08:22,200 --> 00:08:25,130 Like this and that, just trying to like, come up with stuff off the top of my head. 125 00:08:25,590 --> 00:08:27,309 But then, um, right? 126 00:08:28,600 --> 00:08:34,469 Um, but then, um, this portfolio actually, it did really help me, especially, um, 127 00:08:34,890 --> 00:08:37,429 because with our, um, with our class. 128 00:08:37,615 --> 00:08:41,944 Um, it was like, you need to update your ePortfolio regularly, um, 129 00:08:41,985 --> 00:08:43,615 as like part of your assignments. 130 00:08:43,674 --> 00:08:45,855 And I was like, okay, yeah, I'm gonna do that. 131 00:08:45,894 --> 00:08:50,814 Um, and so any major project that I'd worked on in my internship, 132 00:08:50,844 --> 00:08:53,395 I made sure I got a copy of it to put into my ePortfolio. 133 00:08:54,314 --> 00:08:56,115 Um, I mean, you said you like looked over it. 134 00:08:56,115 --> 00:09:00,315 So like one of my One of my pages, it's that, um, there's several, like, 135 00:09:00,335 --> 00:09:05,855 reports that I wrote, or honestly, even I've managed to get one of the 136 00:09:05,865 --> 00:09:10,635 copies of, like, the bill text of, uh, of a bill that I had to analyze. 137 00:09:10,885 --> 00:09:12,405 Um, I was able to put all that in. 138 00:09:13,035 --> 00:09:16,985 And so, um, putting those things in on a regular basis and putting in those, 139 00:09:17,025 --> 00:09:22,454 um, trying to, trying to critically, um, evaluate, like, the skills that I 140 00:09:22,455 --> 00:09:26,985 was developing and honing while I was in this internship and putting those into my 141 00:09:26,985 --> 00:09:32,935 portfolio, I think it did really help me, um, and especially now that, um, even, I 142 00:09:32,945 --> 00:09:36,335 don't necessarily even have to refer to my ePortfolio to really know what I did 143 00:09:36,335 --> 00:09:38,045 in that internship when people ask me. 144 00:09:38,045 --> 00:09:39,515 It's because I did that. 145 00:09:39,790 --> 00:09:42,750 It's because I did that it, like, grounded me in my internship and 146 00:09:42,750 --> 00:09:46,640 really helped me to see everything that I did and everything that I 147 00:09:46,670 --> 00:09:49,060 benefited from, from that internship. 148 00:09:49,080 --> 00:09:52,490 And so now it's much easier for me if, you know, if they say, what did you 149 00:09:52,490 --> 00:09:53,610 do at your internship in the house? 150 00:09:53,610 --> 00:09:57,069 I'll still kind of be like, eh, like, let me think for a second. 151 00:09:57,070 --> 00:09:59,230 But then if they say, what did you do in your internship at the senate? 152 00:09:59,260 --> 00:10:00,380 I'll be like, oh, I got you. 153 00:10:00,380 --> 00:10:01,610 I got this, this, this. 154 00:10:01,640 --> 00:10:04,060 Like, so it definitely helped me. 155 00:10:04,465 --> 00:10:09,255 to fully realize the benefits that I gained from this internship. 156 00:10:09,255 --> 00:10:10,505 So yeah, I'm definitely grateful for it. 157 00:10:11,425 --> 00:10:12,525 Oh, that's wonderful. 158 00:10:12,525 --> 00:10:17,175 And those are definitely the stories that we like to hear. 159 00:10:17,594 --> 00:10:21,294 And it's one of the reasons that I think it's so important to include the student 160 00:10:21,324 --> 00:10:24,364 perspective in these conversations too. 161 00:10:25,104 --> 00:10:31,300 I know when Many, uh, educators start using the, um, what we 162 00:10:31,300 --> 00:10:37,680 kind of call folio thinking or, um, portfolio kinds of pedagogy. 163 00:10:38,189 --> 00:10:45,040 We often are aware that students may be creating the ePortfolios as part of a 164 00:10:45,399 --> 00:10:51,079 class experience, internship experience, but it's something that You know, 165 00:10:51,089 --> 00:10:55,979 those are, that are using it mindfully really want it to be a value for the 166 00:10:56,009 --> 00:11:02,209 student, even beyond that particular course or even time at the institution. 167 00:11:02,899 --> 00:11:09,219 And one of the things that research has shown is that The, as students are 168 00:11:09,219 --> 00:11:12,959 kind of going through that process and reflecting on their learning, whether 169 00:11:12,959 --> 00:11:17,219 they do have the opportunity to share their portfolio with people outside of 170 00:11:17,249 --> 00:11:22,659 the school or not, that they've become much better communicators about their 171 00:11:22,689 --> 00:11:28,759 skills, what those learning experiences, um, really did for them, how it's shaped 172 00:11:28,760 --> 00:11:36,095 them as a person and can often kind of You know, sometimes serve as solidifying the 173 00:11:36,125 --> 00:11:40,705 trajectory that they might be on, but also may bring some things to light that create 174 00:11:40,705 --> 00:11:46,465 opportunities for students to pivot and what they may want to do in the future, 175 00:11:46,465 --> 00:11:50,684 whether it's, um, you know, pursuing different things within their education or 176 00:11:50,684 --> 00:11:52,924 what kind of career path they may go on. 177 00:11:53,624 --> 00:11:56,899 Um, so I was curious as part of the. 178 00:11:57,319 --> 00:11:58,770 Internship experience. 179 00:11:58,989 --> 00:12:04,219 You mentioned that there's a number of different examples of work that you 180 00:12:04,219 --> 00:12:06,930 did during your time at the Senate. 181 00:12:06,939 --> 00:12:11,349 Some of the reports and, um, things of that nature. 182 00:12:11,349 --> 00:12:13,540 What was the process like for you to kind of. 183 00:12:14,325 --> 00:12:19,835 Choose what you wanted to include within the ePortfolio, because it seems like that 184 00:12:19,835 --> 00:12:25,285 was somewhat open, um, because everybody was having different kinds of experiences. 185 00:12:25,305 --> 00:12:29,115 So what kind of artifacts or pieces of work were you selecting 186 00:12:29,115 --> 00:12:30,575 that you wanted to share? 187 00:12:31,015 --> 00:12:36,495 And were there any kind of permissions that you needed to get from the people 188 00:12:36,495 --> 00:12:38,255 that you were working with at the Senate? 189 00:12:38,265 --> 00:12:41,094 How did you kind of handle what you wanted to put in? 190 00:12:41,489 --> 00:12:44,079 Who you were going to share it with and how you were going 191 00:12:44,079 --> 00:12:45,489 to get the okay to do so. 192 00:12:47,589 --> 00:12:48,810 Um, yeah, absolutely. 193 00:12:48,810 --> 00:12:50,489 Well, it was actually pretty easy. 194 00:12:50,489 --> 00:12:55,469 I mean, uh, basically for my, uh, for how I decided what I wanted to include, 195 00:12:55,880 --> 00:13:00,959 I was basically the things that took the most effort and the most time. 196 00:13:01,399 --> 00:13:07,770 Like, um, I know I put in the, um, NDAA, uh, the National Defense 197 00:13:07,800 --> 00:13:10,439 Authorization Act for 2023. 198 00:13:10,895 --> 00:13:16,944 Um, because, um, that's, like, basically the budget bill for the Department 199 00:13:16,944 --> 00:13:25,040 of Defense, and, um, it, I spent, like, It must have been two, three, 200 00:13:25,120 --> 00:13:27,620 maybe even four weeks, like, almost an entire month, like, working on this 201 00:13:27,620 --> 00:13:31,320 bill, analyzing it, going through all the appropriations, and seeing, like, 202 00:13:31,320 --> 00:13:37,779 what, where funds got appropriated to, um, if Arizona got any, um, bill, if 203 00:13:37,980 --> 00:13:41,080 Arizona got any funds, because, um, I'm from Arizona, I was working for an 204 00:13:41,099 --> 00:13:48,560 Arizona senator, um, and, yeah, it was just so much work, and so I got to the 205 00:13:48,570 --> 00:13:50,520 end, and I was like, Oh, no, no, no. 206 00:13:51,010 --> 00:13:52,750 We are, we're putting this in the Portfolio. 207 00:13:52,800 --> 00:13:58,020 Like, I'm gonna, I'm gonna, I'm gonna get credit for this. 208 00:13:58,050 --> 00:14:02,419 Like, um, so I think definitely those ones. 209 00:14:02,420 --> 00:14:06,120 But then it's also, you know, on a less pragmatic note, it's just like, those are 210 00:14:06,120 --> 00:14:08,820 the ones that were the most significant to me, that meant the most to me. 211 00:14:08,820 --> 00:14:10,910 And I was like, I did really good work here. 212 00:14:10,910 --> 00:14:13,550 And so I want to, I want to demonstrate that. 213 00:14:13,980 --> 00:14:20,040 Um, And then, um, a lot of the other ones were reports on committee hearings, um, 214 00:14:20,050 --> 00:14:22,060 so those ones were pretty interesting. 215 00:14:22,070 --> 00:14:24,979 Those ones took me usually the better part of a day, um, because 216 00:14:24,979 --> 00:14:28,120 they'd be transcribing and summarizing the questions and the 217 00:14:28,120 --> 00:14:30,340 comments made and things like that. 218 00:14:31,430 --> 00:14:35,000 So yeah, just the things that I was basically the proudest of, uh, were the 219 00:14:35,010 --> 00:14:36,930 things that I put into the Portfolio. 220 00:14:37,460 --> 00:14:42,670 Um, and then actually getting permission was really easy, uh, because, um, 221 00:14:42,680 --> 00:14:46,489 honestly everything that I put in, um, I didn't really need permission 222 00:14:46,509 --> 00:14:48,080 because it's, it's all public record. 223 00:14:48,249 --> 00:14:57,845 Um, the NDAA, um, was, is publicly available on congress.gov, um, and Um, all 224 00:14:57,845 --> 00:15:03,855 the committee notes, um, I mean, yes, they were my work for the office, but the thing 225 00:15:03,855 --> 00:15:09,165 is, they were transcriptions and summaries of committee hearings that were also 226 00:15:09,165 --> 00:15:12,634 publicly available and things like that, so I didn't really need permission for 227 00:15:12,635 --> 00:15:16,985 any of those, um, just because they were already public knowledge, so I was just, 228 00:15:17,055 --> 00:15:21,555 yeah, just threw them in, so, but yeah, so yeah, that was my process, definitely 229 00:15:21,555 --> 00:15:26,125 the stuff I was the proudest of, um, and yeah, it's easy to put in, um, so yeah. 230 00:15:26,945 --> 00:15:32,475 So Thaddaeus, you mentioned as part of your internship in DC that it 231 00:15:32,475 --> 00:15:35,415 lasted around four to five months. 232 00:15:35,835 --> 00:15:42,515 And as part of this kind of reflective practice, how often were you adding 233 00:15:42,524 --> 00:15:45,674 new materials to your ePortfolio? 234 00:15:45,714 --> 00:15:52,040 And with all of the, um, Many things that you were handling day 235 00:15:52,040 --> 00:15:54,090 to day as part of the internship. 236 00:15:54,090 --> 00:15:55,400 I know you were very busy. 237 00:15:55,410 --> 00:16:01,639 How are you able to kind of set aside time to create those beautiful 238 00:16:01,640 --> 00:16:06,639 reflections that you have shared alongside the various documents and 239 00:16:06,649 --> 00:16:08,900 experiences within your portfolio? 240 00:16:10,155 --> 00:16:11,715 Um, yeah, absolutely. 241 00:16:11,715 --> 00:16:15,255 So, um, honestly, I feel like one of the first things I should do 242 00:16:15,275 --> 00:16:19,085 is, um, thank Professor Woodall, Gina, because, um, the way she set 243 00:16:19,085 --> 00:16:20,485 up the class was kind of genius. 244 00:16:20,854 --> 00:16:21,284 Um, so, 245 00:16:24,365 --> 00:16:30,245 it's almost like she knows what she's doing, like, yeah, but, um, so the way she 246 00:16:30,255 --> 00:16:36,995 had the class set up was that, um, I think she had us, um, Update our portfolios as 247 00:16:36,995 --> 00:16:41,915 an actual assignment, um, maybe four or five times across the entire semester. 248 00:16:42,375 --> 00:16:48,785 Um, however, in addition to that, we also had these, um, assignments where 249 00:16:48,835 --> 00:16:53,324 each week we had to submit an update of our internship and what was going on. 250 00:16:53,785 --> 00:16:57,579 And so then what I did was I had a little notebook with me. 251 00:16:57,580 --> 00:17:03,050 And I would have, um, the days of the week written on my, in my 252 00:17:03,050 --> 00:17:05,310 little notebook, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday. 253 00:17:05,810 --> 00:17:10,139 And so then, at the end of each day for my internship, I'd just take, like, 254 00:17:10,280 --> 00:17:14,369 10, 20 seconds, just jot down, like, the, like, the two or three, like, 255 00:17:14,409 --> 00:17:15,929 big things that happened that day. 256 00:17:15,929 --> 00:17:19,000 It'd be like, this is the project I worked on, this is what was 257 00:17:19,000 --> 00:17:20,440 going through my head at the time. 258 00:17:20,660 --> 00:17:24,010 Or like, this is the big thing that went through my head that day and, um, 259 00:17:24,120 --> 00:17:29,150 this is, um, you know, the thing that had the biggest impact on me, um, and 260 00:17:29,150 --> 00:17:32,160 sometimes those would be, sometimes that would be, like, a committee 261 00:17:32,160 --> 00:17:37,399 hearing, um, or sometimes that would be, um, uh, sometimes that would just 262 00:17:37,400 --> 00:17:40,040 be talking to a constituent on the phone who just had, like, a really 263 00:17:40,040 --> 00:17:44,390 powerful story that I really enjoyed hearing about, um, that kind of thing. 264 00:17:45,120 --> 00:17:49,290 And so, then, at the end of the week, when the assignment was due, I'd go over 265 00:17:49,290 --> 00:17:54,880 those notes, and then I'd type up my, um, update, usually, like, paragraph to, 266 00:17:54,880 --> 00:18:00,789 like, a page, about, and I'd submit it, um, and then, when those assignments came 267 00:18:00,790 --> 00:18:04,780 up to update the Portfolios, actually, what I did a lot of times was that I 268 00:18:04,780 --> 00:18:08,950 went back to those notes, and I went back to those weekly updates to read 269 00:18:08,950 --> 00:18:11,719 through, kind of, all of them and be like, okay, I can see, like, the overarching 270 00:18:11,719 --> 00:18:19,790 themes here, and Um, I can see how my skill set in this specific area, um, 271 00:18:19,960 --> 00:18:22,060 was improved and things like that. 272 00:18:22,060 --> 00:18:27,179 And so I was able to work on those and, uh, I was able to 273 00:18:27,190 --> 00:18:29,100 update my portfolio in that way. 274 00:18:29,450 --> 00:18:34,550 And, um, I feel like those, um, that self reflection stuff, um, that stuff 275 00:18:34,550 --> 00:18:39,770 is, um, kind of for a while it's been kind of easy for me now because, um, I 276 00:18:39,770 --> 00:18:42,760 also, I love to, um, I love to write. 277 00:18:43,250 --> 00:18:49,110 In my, um, kind of in my free time, um, I play around with like fictional stories 278 00:18:49,110 --> 00:18:50,820 and I write stuff like that all the time. 279 00:18:50,820 --> 00:18:53,619 And so, you know, like one of the big facets of that is, you know, kind of 280 00:18:53,620 --> 00:18:56,639 delving into a character's mindset and kind of like, what are they thinking? 281 00:18:56,639 --> 00:18:57,250 What are they feeling? 282 00:18:57,350 --> 00:18:59,819 So the thing is, is that in my free time, I do that. 283 00:18:59,820 --> 00:19:01,239 So I'm already kind of used to it. 284 00:19:01,260 --> 00:19:05,320 So it's definitely easier for me to, you know, write down a reflection 285 00:19:05,370 --> 00:19:09,509 about a project that I worked on or my reflection on how my skills 286 00:19:09,509 --> 00:19:13,965 in this one area, um, were honed over the course of the internship. 287 00:19:14,034 --> 00:19:20,114 Um, so, yeah, I feel like, uh, my proclivity in my hobbies, 288 00:19:20,274 --> 00:19:22,894 um, and then also, um, Dr. 289 00:19:22,945 --> 00:19:28,955 Gina Woodall's, um, genius, um, class structuring is definitely helping me, 290 00:19:29,094 --> 00:19:33,074 uh, definitely helped me to hone in this portfolio, um, to the point where, 291 00:19:33,074 --> 00:19:38,425 yeah, I think I, um, I think I worked on that portfolio, um, Maybe once every few 292 00:19:38,425 --> 00:19:41,215 weeks, um, maybe once every month, maybe. 293 00:19:41,304 --> 00:19:45,345 But, um, because of, like, all the groundwork that I was laying, because 294 00:19:45,345 --> 00:19:50,385 of the internship class, um, I was able to put so much into that portfolio every 295 00:19:50,385 --> 00:19:53,365 time that I came to look at it, even if it was, like, really once a month. 296 00:19:53,364 --> 00:19:53,814 Yeah. 297 00:19:53,874 --> 00:19:54,314 Yeah. 298 00:19:54,664 --> 00:19:59,804 And I think it's a great strategy that you had during your day to day to just kind 299 00:19:59,804 --> 00:20:06,524 of jot down for yourself some of the kind of key things that were happening, you 300 00:20:06,524 --> 00:20:11,274 know, these kinds of learning moments and feelings that you were having experiences 301 00:20:11,274 --> 00:20:15,564 that happened that day that you could draw from as you were drafting these. 302 00:20:15,829 --> 00:20:20,819 Longer form kinds of reflections within the, within the Portfolio. 303 00:20:20,839 --> 00:20:29,199 And were you provided with any kind of, um, prompts as part of developing 304 00:20:29,199 --> 00:20:31,539 the Portfolio, where there are things that were kind of embedded in the 305 00:20:31,539 --> 00:20:36,379 Portfolio pages that you were responding to, or maybe that were part of the 306 00:20:36,379 --> 00:20:41,099 assignment that you had received that were helping kind of guide how 307 00:20:41,099 --> 00:20:43,249 those reflections might be written. 308 00:20:45,099 --> 00:20:47,499 Um, I guess not. 309 00:20:47,944 --> 00:20:53,154 Um, not like explicitly, um, it was kind of one of those things where, um, Dr. 310 00:20:53,154 --> 00:20:57,624 Woodall had, um, the assignment on, and then, um, you know, at the very beginning 311 00:20:57,624 --> 00:21:01,284 of the semester, she was like, your big thing is going to be this ePortfolio, 312 00:21:01,304 --> 00:21:04,764 um, at the end of the semester, you should have, like, a gorgeous ePortfolio 313 00:21:04,784 --> 00:21:09,644 that fully encompasses your entire internship, um, and so then, right, 314 00:21:09,724 --> 00:21:15,754 pretty much, like, um, but then, uh, she would, uh, she had several examples down. 315 00:21:16,054 --> 00:21:19,264 Um, and then she did kind of have like kind of a basic overview, a basic 316 00:21:19,264 --> 00:21:22,994 description, um, I can't even quite remember what it was, but um, I got 317 00:21:22,994 --> 00:21:25,704 the general idea, but I think most of the inspiration did come from the 318 00:21:25,704 --> 00:21:32,744 examples, um, honestly, actually, what I did, I think was, um, I, um, 319 00:21:32,775 --> 00:21:36,124 basically, whenever I was working on my portfolio, I'd have like one or two 320 00:21:36,124 --> 00:21:41,109 of the examples, like in another tab, on my computer so I could look and see 321 00:21:41,109 --> 00:21:42,839 like, okay, I see what they did here. 322 00:21:43,129 --> 00:21:48,129 Um, and so I see it was like, oh, they did like these three, four 323 00:21:48,349 --> 00:21:52,739 skills, characteristics, and they expanded on them in this portfolio. 324 00:21:52,999 --> 00:21:57,679 So let me think what three or four characteristics or skills that I feel 325 00:21:57,689 --> 00:21:59,599 were the most relevant to my internship. 326 00:21:59,619 --> 00:22:00,609 And let me expand on that. 327 00:22:00,999 --> 00:22:06,729 Um, a lot of that, I was going into, um, a lot of that went into. 328 00:22:06,729 --> 00:22:09,789 So I drew a lot of inspiration from the examples that Dr. 329 00:22:09,789 --> 00:22:10,839 Woodall had provided. 330 00:22:11,109 --> 00:22:18,489 I was just gonna say that I think it's, um, wonderful that you were 331 00:22:18,499 --> 00:22:24,729 able to see examples that were created by students in the past. 332 00:22:24,899 --> 00:22:30,549 Um, I know ASU has put a lot of time and. 333 00:22:31,274 --> 00:22:38,414 Thought into creating, um, templates for students that have some guidance and 334 00:22:38,594 --> 00:22:44,134 scaffolding in place, um, for different experiences that they might be having. 335 00:22:44,134 --> 00:22:48,984 And you mentioned that many of the different pages kind 336 00:22:48,984 --> 00:22:51,614 of right at the beginning. 337 00:22:52,109 --> 00:22:56,489 Set several different skills right at the top. 338 00:22:56,829 --> 00:23:01,559 So for those that are actually viewing the Portfolio as you're going through 339 00:23:01,559 --> 00:23:07,534 different pages, You see those skills listed and that almost gives you a 340 00:23:07,534 --> 00:23:14,884 kind of sense of the narrative that you're going to have the opportunity 341 00:23:14,934 --> 00:23:19,884 to read more into as your, you know, interests may carry you through 342 00:23:19,884 --> 00:23:21,774 the various pages of the Portfolio. 343 00:23:21,824 --> 00:23:27,054 So it's a really smart kind of strategy in guiding viewers. 344 00:23:28,414 --> 00:23:32,264 Through the various types of content and skills that you're going to be 345 00:23:33,144 --> 00:23:37,294 describing and, you know, kind of setting the stage as you're moving through the 346 00:23:37,294 --> 00:23:43,214 Portfolio, everything that you've been able to gain as part of this experience 347 00:23:43,294 --> 00:23:49,064 and growth that you've had, um, having these kinds of real world experiences. 348 00:23:49,944 --> 00:23:53,744 Um, and it's interesting to hear. 349 00:23:54,239 --> 00:23:58,799 You know, as you were crafting the various portfolios that you were kind 350 00:23:58,799 --> 00:24:07,129 of thinking about those skills first and using that as a kind of guiding structure 351 00:24:07,139 --> 00:24:14,379 for developing the reflections and narratives that, um, now live alongside 352 00:24:14,380 --> 00:24:19,339 those, um, incredible documents that you've shared in the, in the Portfolio. 353 00:24:20,179 --> 00:24:24,339 Um, so I had a, um, question for you. 354 00:24:24,834 --> 00:24:29,224 You know, when you were taking part in this internship experience, you 355 00:24:29,224 --> 00:24:33,534 mentioned that you were sharing the Portfolio as it was being 356 00:24:33,664 --> 00:24:36,774 developed with your, uh, professor. 357 00:24:37,684 --> 00:24:44,205 At any point, were you sharing it with other peers that were in your classes? 358 00:24:44,284 --> 00:24:52,114 Did you ever, um, share, you know, links with family or did you 359 00:24:52,114 --> 00:24:53,944 share it with people that were? 360 00:24:54,139 --> 00:24:58,379 Also participating in the internship, whether it's people that were supervising 361 00:24:58,379 --> 00:25:02,659 you there or other peers that I don't know if you were placed with other 362 00:25:02,659 --> 00:25:07,369 peers in the same place, but you know, what was the kind of audience around 363 00:25:07,369 --> 00:25:10,259 your portfolio as it was being created? 364 00:25:10,260 --> 00:25:15,159 And has that changed at all since you've graduated? 365 00:25:15,159 --> 00:25:18,189 I don't know if it's something that you still share with others today. 366 00:25:19,459 --> 00:25:26,509 So, um, yeah, so during my, um, semester, it was, um, I think one of the things 367 00:25:26,539 --> 00:25:33,360 that I was kind of bummed about, um, in this class was that, um, most of the other 368 00:25:33,389 --> 00:25:40,459 students in the program were, uh, mostly in Arizona, and were studying there. 369 00:25:40,659 --> 00:25:45,409 Um, and then here I am, um, clear across on the other side of the country, 370 00:25:45,829 --> 00:25:47,559 across like three different time zones. 371 00:25:48,099 --> 00:25:49,169 here in DC. 372 00:25:49,899 --> 00:25:54,349 And so, um, that was one of the things that I was slightly kind of bummed out 373 00:25:54,349 --> 00:25:58,659 about because, um, I didn't really have much chance to interact with the other 374 00:25:58,659 --> 00:26:02,509 students in the, um, in the class. 375 00:26:03,319 --> 00:26:04,509 Um, yeah. 376 00:26:04,679 --> 00:26:07,779 So, um, I mean, the most opportunity that I had to interact with them was 377 00:26:07,779 --> 00:26:12,829 that we had a couple of, um, we had a couple of, um, discussion boards, 378 00:26:13,279 --> 00:26:15,129 um, in Canvas for the assignment. 379 00:26:15,569 --> 00:26:20,594 Um, So, yeah, I would have liked to have interacted with them more, um, but I mean, 380 00:26:20,594 --> 00:26:25,614 besides that, um, I did share it with some of my classmates, um, or I did share it 381 00:26:25,614 --> 00:26:29,854 with some of my, um, colleagues, sorry, in the internship, um, one of my colleagues, 382 00:26:29,874 --> 00:26:35,834 um, she's still a very good friend of mine, um, she was here, um, she was also 383 00:26:35,834 --> 00:26:41,994 from ASU here in DC, um, in a different program, um, and she was also doing... 384 00:26:42,184 --> 00:26:48,519 Uh, I think she was also doing an ePortfolio, um, and, uh, so we kind of 385 00:26:48,519 --> 00:26:53,269 compared notes, um, talking about, or, like, sharing kind of like, oh, okay, 386 00:26:53,269 --> 00:26:55,679 like, this is what I'm getting from the internship, or this is what I'm doing, 387 00:26:56,079 --> 00:27:02,664 um, and, um Yeah, it was kind of a really cool experience to kind of compare our 388 00:27:02,664 --> 00:27:06,314 portfolios because like, we were having the same, we were from the same school, 389 00:27:06,314 --> 00:27:10,334 we were from the same state, we were working for the same senator, and we 390 00:27:10,334 --> 00:27:15,234 were doing the same Portfolios, but then even then, our portfolios were actually 391 00:27:15,234 --> 00:27:16,704 kind of like significantly different. 392 00:27:16,944 --> 00:27:21,184 And I was, um, it was very intriguing to like see the differences between 393 00:27:21,184 --> 00:27:24,804 our portfolios because like, oh my gosh, like, I didn't even realize 394 00:27:24,805 --> 00:27:25,774 that you were getting this from this. 395 00:27:25,934 --> 00:27:28,114 I didn't even realize you were getting this from this internship. 396 00:27:28,144 --> 00:27:29,214 Like, that's really cool. 397 00:27:29,574 --> 00:27:30,954 Um, that kind of thing. 398 00:27:31,634 --> 00:27:34,554 Um, so yeah, definitely. 399 00:27:34,734 --> 00:27:38,144 Um, it was definitely really cool to be able to compare our portfolios. 400 00:27:38,144 --> 00:27:41,634 And I do wish I did have a chance to, uh, share my portfolios 401 00:27:41,644 --> 00:27:45,384 more and kind of engage more with my classmates in the class. 402 00:27:45,394 --> 00:27:47,324 Like, I definitely would have loved to have met with them and 403 00:27:47,324 --> 00:27:50,974 be kind of like, Hey, let's go over our portfolios and stuff. 404 00:27:51,174 --> 00:27:53,245 And I would love, I would have loved to learn more about their 405 00:27:53,324 --> 00:27:55,824 internships as well, because I know some of them were interning 406 00:27:56,154 --> 00:27:59,164 for the, um, Arizona State Senate. 407 00:27:59,384 --> 00:28:01,144 Um, and I know some of them were interning. 408 00:28:01,174 --> 00:28:03,914 I think one of them was interning for like, the Arizona Attorney 409 00:28:03,914 --> 00:28:05,404 General and things like that. 410 00:28:05,454 --> 00:28:08,964 Um, so I would have been like, oh my gosh, I would have, I would love to, 411 00:28:08,974 --> 00:28:12,434 I would have loved to have been able to learn more about their internships, 412 00:28:12,464 --> 00:28:15,224 but I think it was just like, just the distance and the time difference. 413 00:28:15,264 --> 00:28:18,964 It was, wasn't very feasible, but you know, it's okay. 414 00:28:18,964 --> 00:28:20,594 I'm still very grateful for my experience. 415 00:28:24,349 --> 00:28:30,999 And I also wanted to, uh, ask you to, um, you mentioned that, you know, you 416 00:28:30,999 --> 00:28:39,219 do a lot of creative writing in your free time and may have kind of a natural 417 00:28:39,369 --> 00:28:43,499 inclination and and passion for writing. 418 00:28:44,079 --> 00:28:52,764 Um, for, for students that might not have, um, You know, that same kind of drive, 419 00:28:52,914 --> 00:28:59,534 uh, for writing that may be embarking on this, uh, portfolio experience. 420 00:28:59,854 --> 00:29:06,684 Do you have any advice for them about how to kind of maybe think about 421 00:29:06,694 --> 00:29:08,554 the experiences that they're having? 422 00:29:08,554 --> 00:29:11,554 What, what are some of the kind of mindsets that you have when you 423 00:29:11,554 --> 00:29:17,504 sit down to, to write about your, yourself and your experiences? 424 00:29:19,219 --> 00:29:25,859 Gosh, that is a, that is a good question, because, um, in my interactions 425 00:29:25,859 --> 00:29:31,099 with a lot of people, I have really found that there are pretty much, 426 00:29:31,119 --> 00:29:34,549 like, in that world, there really are, like, two types of people. 427 00:29:34,549 --> 00:29:40,289 There are the types of people who, uh, will just, who love to read, like, live 428 00:29:40,289 --> 00:29:43,049 and breathe the stuff, and love to write. 429 00:29:43,710 --> 00:29:48,340 And, um, their brains are just spouting out, like, entire universes, 430 00:29:48,500 --> 00:29:50,600 and stuff like that, and it just comes so naturally to them. 431 00:29:51,479 --> 00:29:53,510 And then there are those who aren't like that. 432 00:29:54,780 --> 00:29:59,360 And there isn't really, there isn't really any in between, I've noticed. 433 00:30:00,090 --> 00:30:05,180 Um, and so And it really does seem to just be, like, people's 434 00:30:05,260 --> 00:30:08,490 brains just work differently, and so people who are proclu... 435 00:30:08,490 --> 00:30:12,629 Who have a proclivity for, like, reading or writing, it's really something 436 00:30:12,630 --> 00:30:15,539 that's, like, innate in them, and then, yeah, the people who aren't, 437 00:30:15,590 --> 00:30:19,000 I mean, they're usually, like, so smart in other ways, like, oh my gosh, 438 00:30:19,030 --> 00:30:21,295 math, They'll be like math geniuses. 439 00:30:21,305 --> 00:30:25,965 And I'll be like, you know, I, you know, I got algebra. 440 00:30:26,515 --> 00:30:27,505 I understood that. 441 00:30:28,005 --> 00:30:29,004 I got the calculus. 442 00:30:29,125 --> 00:30:30,235 I was like, what the heck is this crap? 443 00:30:30,775 --> 00:30:33,464 So, um, I'm like, good on them. 444 00:30:33,824 --> 00:30:34,995 Like, love that for them. 445 00:30:35,545 --> 00:30:41,155 And so, gosh, trying to think, um, so it was a very long winded way of saying, 446 00:30:41,155 --> 00:30:45,125 like, it's a difficult question because these people who don't, these people 447 00:30:45,125 --> 00:30:49,184 who aren't inclined to read and write, their brains work very differently. 448 00:30:49,560 --> 00:30:55,920 And so, um, I'm trying to come up with advice for them is, um, really difficult. 449 00:30:55,920 --> 00:31:02,069 I mean, I would say, um, maybe for, I could see, like, with movies and 450 00:31:02,070 --> 00:31:04,940 stuff like that, when, like, characters talk about themselves, like, in 451 00:31:04,940 --> 00:31:08,760 movies or Um, anything like that. 452 00:31:09,140 --> 00:31:12,900 Um, just, um, thinking about, like, what's going on in their 453 00:31:12,900 --> 00:31:16,310 heads during the movies, um, that's something that I try to do as well. 454 00:31:16,629 --> 00:31:20,840 Um, or like, you know, like, in the rom coms, there's always that, like, that 455 00:31:20,850 --> 00:31:25,770 tension rises up, and then there's the, there's the obligatory, like, Burst of 456 00:31:25,780 --> 00:31:29,750 love confession that always happens in, like, the rom coms, and it's hilarious. 457 00:31:29,750 --> 00:31:31,580 And the thing is, I think of it kind of like that. 458 00:31:31,620 --> 00:31:34,630 If, um, if people aren't inclined to, like, read and write, I'd 459 00:31:34,630 --> 00:31:35,419 be like, think about that. 460 00:31:35,429 --> 00:31:37,770 Like, think about something where suddenly they're just spewing 461 00:31:37,770 --> 00:31:43,879 everything out, um, or, um, you know, writing letters to people and things 462 00:31:43,879 --> 00:31:45,550 like that, explaining how they feel. 463 00:31:45,870 --> 00:31:49,700 Um, just kind of those Kind of maybe putting it into, like, a real 464 00:31:49,700 --> 00:31:53,170 world context, be like, pretend that you are talking to somebody else. 465 00:31:53,650 --> 00:32:00,430 Try to explain how you felt or, um, what you learned, what you experienced. 466 00:32:00,500 --> 00:32:04,180 Um, just try to put it into a real world context, pretending that you are writing 467 00:32:04,180 --> 00:32:05,870 a letter or writing a report for somebody. 468 00:32:06,260 --> 00:32:08,610 Um, I think, like, that's how I would do it. 469 00:32:08,660 --> 00:32:13,175 Um, Because I feel like real, real world applications are always so important, 470 00:32:13,205 --> 00:32:16,735 especially for those people who are usually more grounded in, you know, 471 00:32:16,975 --> 00:32:19,795 logic and math and that kind of stuff, I would definitely be like, put it in 472 00:32:19,795 --> 00:32:24,390 a real world context, pretend that it is Something that you're doing like for 473 00:32:24,390 --> 00:32:27,550 a superior or you're writing a letter to somebody who needs to know like 474 00:32:27,770 --> 00:32:29,210 your experiences and stuff like that. 475 00:32:29,540 --> 00:32:30,820 I guess that would be how I'd do it. 476 00:32:30,870 --> 00:32:35,039 Um, real world applications are always, um, a great thing. 477 00:32:35,230 --> 00:32:36,970 Um, I'm a very hands on person. 478 00:32:37,009 --> 00:32:38,630 I love real world applications. 479 00:32:38,709 --> 00:32:41,770 So I guess that would be like my number one, uh, recommendation. 480 00:32:43,150 --> 00:32:44,040 Thank you. 481 00:32:44,210 --> 00:32:46,800 I think that's very useful. 482 00:32:46,800 --> 00:32:53,415 And it kind of goes back to this conversation about the The audience around 483 00:32:53,435 --> 00:32:59,805 the ePortfolio too, you know, if you're thinking about as you're writing the 484 00:32:59,825 --> 00:33:06,525 reflections, you know, who, who do you want to, who do you want the reader to be? 485 00:33:06,535 --> 00:33:10,565 Who do you want the viewer of your experiences to be? 486 00:33:10,665 --> 00:33:14,480 Um, Even if it may be more limited in the beginning, how might you 487 00:33:14,480 --> 00:33:17,600 share it more openly in the future? 488 00:33:17,700 --> 00:33:20,850 Um, you know, if that's your, if that's your preference. 489 00:33:21,860 --> 00:33:28,949 Um, so I was also curious, um, Thaddaeus, that, um, do you think that this kind 490 00:33:28,949 --> 00:33:35,720 of reflective practice, um, now that you had it as part of that internship 491 00:33:35,720 --> 00:33:37,720 experience is something that you'll. 492 00:33:37,735 --> 00:33:41,995 continue using now that you've graduated? 493 00:33:43,545 --> 00:33:44,105 Oh, goodness. 494 00:33:44,155 --> 00:33:45,765 Um, I certainly hope so. 495 00:33:45,955 --> 00:33:49,025 Um, because I think it was so valuable. 496 00:33:49,065 --> 00:33:54,254 Um, I think, um, oh, goodness gracious. 497 00:33:54,334 --> 00:33:58,845 Um, because I feel like there's always room for self reflection. 498 00:33:58,845 --> 00:34:04,594 I think self reflection and introspection is always such an important part of life. 499 00:34:05,064 --> 00:34:10,115 Um, because I feel if you don't, Um, I feel like you're not going 500 00:34:10,115 --> 00:34:14,695 to make any real progress unless you really understand yourself. 501 00:34:14,705 --> 00:34:17,025 You're not going to be able to understand what's going on outside 502 00:34:17,025 --> 00:34:21,815 of you without the context of understanding what happens inside of you. 503 00:34:22,364 --> 00:34:28,015 Um, because, um, I think one of the things I learned a very long time ago, and it's 504 00:34:28,015 --> 00:34:36,414 something that I say a lot actually, um, that, um, perspectives are subjective. 505 00:34:37,370 --> 00:34:46,120 And we experience reality through our, uh, perspective, and so even if we are 506 00:34:46,129 --> 00:34:52,800 observing, like, an objective reality, that is still, our observation of that 507 00:34:52,820 --> 00:34:57,239 objective reality is still gonna be a subjective, is still gonna be subjective. 508 00:34:57,279 --> 00:35:00,770 Because the way we interpret it and the way we perceive it is subjective 509 00:35:00,780 --> 00:35:05,340 based off of our own, um, our own minds and our own, the way our brain works. 510 00:35:05,710 --> 00:35:13,160 And so I feel that introspection and that self reflection and examining how 511 00:35:13,160 --> 00:35:18,369 we're learning, how we're growing, how we're thinking is so important because 512 00:35:18,369 --> 00:35:23,710 we need to have that understanding to put our surroundings and our environment 513 00:35:23,779 --> 00:35:26,199 into the context of our perceptions. 514 00:35:26,920 --> 00:35:32,380 Um, and so, I definitely hope that I will continue using these skills, and 515 00:35:32,380 --> 00:35:36,960 I, um, I think I have been, maybe not so much, um, maybe not so explicitly 516 00:35:37,050 --> 00:35:42,480 as, like, writing down a paragraph of, like, this is how I'm reflecting on this, 517 00:35:43,170 --> 00:35:46,850 but definitely using those skills in my head more, kind of being like, okay, I'm 518 00:35:46,900 --> 00:35:49,910 seeing how I'm learning from this, I'm seeing how this can affect me down the 519 00:35:49,910 --> 00:35:54,290 road, um, and that kind of thing, but no, I definitely, um, I definitely want to 520 00:35:54,290 --> 00:35:57,880 make sure that I keep this in my life, because, um, um, Again, I don't feel 521 00:35:57,880 --> 00:36:02,920 like, I don't feel like you're going to be able to move forward in life and truly 522 00:36:03,510 --> 00:36:08,479 learn and grow from your surroundings without putting it into the context of 523 00:36:08,480 --> 00:36:13,740 your own personal perspective because your personal perspective, um, is the strongest 524 00:36:13,770 --> 00:36:18,930 influence in your life because, again, it is how you, your perspective is how you 525 00:36:18,930 --> 00:36:20,990 process everything in your surroundings. 526 00:36:21,410 --> 00:36:25,770 So, um, definitely understanding that and making sure that you're able to grow and 527 00:36:25,770 --> 00:36:27,790 recognize that growth is so important. 528 00:36:28,659 --> 00:36:29,510 Thank you. 529 00:36:29,589 --> 00:36:32,610 Um, that was Really beautifully said. 530 00:36:32,610 --> 00:36:36,500 And as you were speaking, I was recalling a conversation we had. 531 00:36:36,500 --> 00:36:40,770 We weren't, um, recording at the time, but we were having a conversation 532 00:36:40,770 --> 00:36:48,609 about how, um, life can often provide opportunities to pivot. 533 00:36:48,850 --> 00:36:56,240 And, um, I was wondering as part of your own kind of journey and, and growth, if 534 00:36:56,560 --> 00:37:01,890 you have any moments like that, that you might like to share with our listeners. 535 00:37:03,855 --> 00:37:06,255 Oh my gosh, um, I definitely have one. 536 00:37:06,405 --> 00:37:09,865 Um, I might have another, I'm just trying to remember, but the number 537 00:37:10,205 --> 00:37:14,755 one that I think is the most, is the most hilarious is, um, yeah, my big 538 00:37:14,775 --> 00:37:17,645 pivot in my senior year of high school. 539 00:37:17,754 --> 00:37:21,974 Because, um, as I was saying, I'd been doing court works and teen work, 540 00:37:22,084 --> 00:37:25,255 teen court, um, like through middle school and through high school. 541 00:37:25,465 --> 00:37:28,335 It was like, it was my, that was my extracurricular. 542 00:37:28,345 --> 00:37:29,345 Like, that was what I did. 543 00:37:29,840 --> 00:37:35,340 Um, and even for the Teen Court, um, I, um, I joined, in my 544 00:37:35,340 --> 00:37:38,100 freshman year of high school, I joined the Teen Court Association. 545 00:37:38,410 --> 00:37:42,310 Um, sophomore year, I became the treasurer, and then junior and 546 00:37:42,339 --> 00:37:43,609 senior year, I was the president. 547 00:37:44,059 --> 00:37:47,269 Um, and so, um, that was like, that was my thing. 548 00:37:47,790 --> 00:37:52,340 And, um, but it was really funny because this entire time I have been 549 00:37:52,340 --> 00:37:57,040 wanting to go into engineering because I am a sci fi junkie, I love Star 550 00:37:57,040 --> 00:38:00,040 Trek, I love Star Wars, I love it. 551 00:38:00,420 --> 00:38:03,010 And so I wanted to be an aerospace engineer. 552 00:38:03,030 --> 00:38:06,009 I wanted to design, like, the spaceships and the space stations 553 00:38:06,019 --> 00:38:09,190 that we would use to, like, launch ourselves into the space age. 554 00:38:09,350 --> 00:38:10,580 Like, that's what I wanted to do. 555 00:38:11,300 --> 00:38:17,060 Um, but then, in junior year, I took Calculus 1. 556 00:38:17,640 --> 00:38:18,920 And I did not do well. 557 00:38:20,930 --> 00:38:28,140 And so, um, I went into senior year basically realizing, like, 558 00:38:28,210 --> 00:38:30,540 wow, engineering is not for me. 559 00:38:30,540 --> 00:38:36,299 And so then, um, I basically had, like, kind of this, this crisis, 560 00:38:36,349 --> 00:38:38,990 because I'm like, oh my gosh, I'm going into my senior year of high school. 561 00:38:38,990 --> 00:38:42,590 I'm going to college next year, and I have no idea what I want to do. 562 00:38:43,370 --> 00:38:44,030 Um. 563 00:38:44,515 --> 00:38:49,745 But then, um, I kind of re evaluated myself, and then I realized, I was 564 00:38:49,745 --> 00:38:53,845 like, oh my gosh, I've been doing court, I've been doing, like, court 565 00:38:53,854 --> 00:38:56,675 and law stuff since middle school. 566 00:38:57,104 --> 00:38:58,344 Why don't we try that? 567 00:38:58,655 --> 00:39:02,054 And so then, my senior year of high school, I, um, took a ton of, I 568 00:39:02,244 --> 00:39:04,645 took a ton of, um, elective courses. 569 00:39:04,675 --> 00:39:08,855 I took, uh, criminal justice, I took AP psychology, um. 570 00:39:09,330 --> 00:39:13,120 All these different classes, and I fell in love with these classes. 571 00:39:13,240 --> 00:39:15,450 Um, Criminal Justice was my absolute favorite class. 572 00:39:15,890 --> 00:39:18,620 Um, AP Psychology was my absolute favorite class. 573 00:39:18,670 --> 00:39:21,340 It was just the best experiences I'd ever had. 574 00:39:21,390 --> 00:39:26,950 Um, I was a TA for my government teacher, um, in my senior year as well, and I 575 00:39:26,970 --> 00:39:28,399 just loved working with her as well. 576 00:39:28,399 --> 00:39:31,870 It was just absolutely incredible experience, and it was like a whole 577 00:39:31,870 --> 00:39:33,350 new world had been opened up to me. 578 00:39:33,350 --> 00:39:35,710 I was, I always tell people it's like senior year. 579 00:39:35,960 --> 00:39:38,660 Those classes I took, it was like a fish finally being, 580 00:39:38,670 --> 00:39:39,880 like, thrown into the water. 581 00:39:39,990 --> 00:39:41,240 And I was like, oh my gosh! 582 00:39:41,850 --> 00:39:48,279 So, um, definitely, um, a huge pivot in my senior year of high school. 583 00:39:48,279 --> 00:39:51,030 So, like, honestly, probably, like, the most inopportune time, or maybe 584 00:39:51,040 --> 00:39:54,379 the most opportune, because it's definitely, I'm definitely glad that 585 00:39:54,380 --> 00:39:58,280 I went into college with the intention of studying political science. 586 00:39:58,830 --> 00:40:01,700 instead of going into college with the intention of studying engineering. 587 00:40:02,230 --> 00:40:08,690 So, um, yeah, definitely the, the big, big pivot of my life. 588 00:40:08,730 --> 00:40:15,710 Um, and then I think the other big pivot of my life was when I was in my, um, 589 00:40:15,780 --> 00:40:23,670 Summer Internship last year, um, and then, um, I was just kind of going through 590 00:40:23,670 --> 00:40:29,689 the motions and everything, but then I was at an event for my program, um, and 591 00:40:29,690 --> 00:40:36,770 then my Arizona Senator was speaking at this event, and so, um, Senator Kirsten 592 00:40:36,770 --> 00:40:41,610 Sinema, um, love her, she's great, um, and so she was speaking at my event, and 593 00:40:41,610 --> 00:40:44,510 then suddenly I had the idea in my head, just popped in my head, I was like, why 594 00:40:44,510 --> 00:40:49,510 don't you stand up from your table, And like, go out and basically ambush her 595 00:40:49,600 --> 00:40:51,700 outside of the, outside of the hall. 596 00:40:52,450 --> 00:40:56,530 Um, and so, and so I did. 597 00:40:57,130 --> 00:41:03,699 Um, and that singular moment, I didn't realize it at the time, um, but that 598 00:41:03,719 --> 00:41:07,424 singular moment was a huge pivot as well. 599 00:41:07,635 --> 00:41:13,555 Because, um, that one moment, that one decision, that one bold 600 00:41:13,565 --> 00:41:14,985 action, like, I was terrified. 601 00:41:15,005 --> 00:41:18,705 It was so scary when I did that, but that changed my entire 602 00:41:18,705 --> 00:41:20,245 trajectory, like, forever. 603 00:41:20,635 --> 00:41:25,064 And so, um, yeah, that was another big pivot of my life. 604 00:41:25,384 --> 00:41:27,355 Um, but yeah, no, I definitely agree with you. 605 00:41:27,355 --> 00:41:34,095 Life is, um, life is just a ton of unexpected pivots. 606 00:41:34,545 --> 00:41:37,965 Um, and yeah, just kind of going with the flow, um, but also, yeah, 607 00:41:37,965 --> 00:41:40,595 just being intentional when you see opportunities, like, going for them. 608 00:41:40,825 --> 00:41:45,725 Um, but, yeah, those are, like, my two big pivots, I think, so far in my life. 609 00:41:45,745 --> 00:41:46,724 We'll see how many more I go. 610 00:41:49,925 --> 00:41:50,105 I know. 611 00:41:50,244 --> 00:41:51,084 I can't wait. 612 00:41:51,084 --> 00:41:55,014 I hope we can talk again and see where you have gone. 613 00:41:55,135 --> 00:42:01,555 Um, so, I know there's been some exciting things that have happened for you since. 614 00:42:01,740 --> 00:42:02,860 Graduation. 615 00:42:02,860 --> 00:42:09,100 And maybe it was related to this brave moment that you had to go talk to Arizona 616 00:42:09,130 --> 00:42:13,460 Senator, but could you tell us a little bit about what you're doing today? 617 00:42:15,150 --> 00:42:15,610 Oh my gosh. 618 00:42:15,610 --> 00:42:16,770 Yeah, absolutely. 619 00:42:16,920 --> 00:42:21,840 So, um, as I was saying this past semester, I was interning in the Senate 620 00:42:21,850 --> 00:42:28,040 for the Arizona Senator, Kirsten Sinema, and, um, my internship ended in May. 621 00:42:28,665 --> 00:42:34,255 Um, but, um, here I am again, um, I am once again in D. 622 00:42:34,255 --> 00:42:40,655 C., um, and this is a permanent move because I am now holding a permanent 623 00:42:40,665 --> 00:42:46,085 position in Senator Kyrsten Sinema's office, um, so, um, you know, the, the 624 00:42:46,095 --> 00:42:50,625 dream scenario for every intern, um, my internship turned into a permanent 625 00:42:51,165 --> 00:42:56,565 position, so, um, absolute dream come true, so yes, I am now here in the 626 00:42:56,565 --> 00:42:58,845 Senate, um, on a permanent basis, yes. 627 00:42:59,415 --> 00:43:03,335 Um, and so, yeah, I'm very excited to be here. 628 00:43:04,525 --> 00:43:06,795 Yes, congratulations! 629 00:43:07,015 --> 00:43:14,105 So, um, do you know what some of your new roles and responsibilities will be? 630 00:43:14,115 --> 00:43:18,340 Have you already started, or is that something that's Coming up soon. 631 00:43:20,190 --> 00:43:23,980 Yes, um, I have been here for, um, a few weeks now. 632 00:43:23,990 --> 00:43:24,610 I'm trying to remember. 633 00:43:24,610 --> 00:43:30,260 I think this is my fourth week I'm currently in right now. 634 00:43:30,750 --> 00:43:35,310 Um, and so it's been pretty slow because we're out of session right now. 635 00:43:35,385 --> 00:43:43,945 So, um, it hasn't, um, been very busy, um, but, like, also extremely busy because, 636 00:43:43,945 --> 00:43:45,145 like, you know, the Senate never sleeps. 637 00:43:45,185 --> 00:43:48,214 I mean, just because, um, just because the Senators aren't here doesn't 638 00:43:48,215 --> 00:43:50,094 mean that we're not still doing work. 639 00:43:50,155 --> 00:43:53,164 Um, because, you know, we've still got constituents to serve, I mean, Arizona 640 00:43:53,185 --> 00:43:54,185 doesn't take a break for a month. 641 00:43:54,845 --> 00:43:59,005 Um, although, yeah, so, the Senators definitely deserve this break, 642 00:43:59,035 --> 00:44:01,935 they use it, and actually most of them use it to go back home. 643 00:44:02,150 --> 00:44:05,340 and meet with constituents and serve with their constituents 644 00:44:05,340 --> 00:44:06,400 and find out what they want. 645 00:44:06,400 --> 00:44:09,710 And so this is a very productive time for the senators, um, for them 646 00:44:09,710 --> 00:44:10,760 to go back to their home state. 647 00:44:11,210 --> 00:44:15,280 Um, but you know, we stay here, um, we, we hold the fort, 648 00:44:15,760 --> 00:44:18,029 um, we serve as best we can. 649 00:44:18,199 --> 00:44:20,089 But yeah, so mostly what I've been doing is kind of finding my 650 00:44:20,089 --> 00:44:22,209 feet, um, getting ready to go. 651 00:44:22,529 --> 00:44:27,569 Um, I've already been, um, parts, I've already been in several meetings 652 00:44:27,820 --> 00:44:33,900 with our legislative correspondents, um, meeting with Um, different, um, 653 00:44:34,000 --> 00:44:36,580 organizations, um, just learning. 654 00:44:36,670 --> 00:44:37,970 Learning so much. 655 00:44:38,000 --> 00:44:40,060 This entire month has just been so much learning. 656 00:44:40,450 --> 00:44:42,160 Um, and I absolutely love it. 657 00:44:42,610 --> 00:44:45,219 And, um, yeah, it's been great. 658 00:44:45,240 --> 00:44:49,390 I've learned so many things, um, in so many different policy areas now. 659 00:44:49,830 --> 00:44:57,120 Um, and so I am definitely Very excited to see what I will be able to do, um, 660 00:44:57,140 --> 00:45:01,210 in the future to, you know, help in the Senate and, you know, help my, 661 00:45:01,760 --> 00:45:03,940 help, um, help my fellow Arizonans. 662 00:45:03,989 --> 00:45:08,520 It's very exciting to be serving them, um, in this capacity, um, and 663 00:45:08,979 --> 00:45:12,585 I really hope that I can, you know, make, uh, make a good, Make a good 664 00:45:12,585 --> 00:45:17,155 difference for Arizona and, um, you know, for the United States as a whole. 665 00:45:17,195 --> 00:45:17,855 Very excited. 666 00:45:20,425 --> 00:45:21,525 Wonderful. 667 00:45:21,565 --> 00:45:28,475 Well, Mattias, thank you so much for joining me today and sharing 668 00:45:28,475 --> 00:45:31,185 your story and experience. 669 00:45:31,214 --> 00:45:37,645 It's very inspiring and, uh, wonderful to hear how the ePortfolio benefited 670 00:45:37,645 --> 00:45:42,215 you throughout your internship, but very pleased to hear how it is also. 671 00:45:42,780 --> 00:45:47,140 Through that experience provided you now with this kind of exciting next 672 00:45:47,220 --> 00:45:50,290 step in starting your, your career. 673 00:45:50,340 --> 00:45:52,260 And, uh, I wish you all the best. 674 00:45:53,925 --> 00:45:55,495 Yes, thank you so much. 675 00:45:55,505 --> 00:45:57,095 It was so great talking to you. 676 00:45:57,155 --> 00:45:59,045 Um, yeah, absolutely. 677 00:45:59,115 --> 00:46:00,205 Um, the highlight of my week. 678 00:46:01,695 --> 00:46:02,335 Oh, good. 679 00:46:02,345 --> 00:46:03,375 Glad to hear it. 680 00:46:03,475 --> 00:46:04,955 I'll take good care of Thaddaeus. 681 00:46:06,175 --> 00:46:08,335 This concludes our conversation. 682 00:46:08,565 --> 00:46:12,934 To hear our next episode, be sure to subscribe to Digication Scholars 683 00:46:12,934 --> 00:46:18,515 Conversations on YouTube, iTunes, Spotify, or your favorite podcast app. 684 00:46:19,355 --> 00:46:22,215 The Digication Scholars Conversations series. 685 00:46:22,380 --> 00:46:26,840 is brought to you by Digication, a technology platform powering the 686 00:46:26,840 --> 00:46:31,790 most innovative ePortfolio programs in K 12 and higher education. 687 00:46:32,510 --> 00:46:35,390 Our website can be found at digication. 688 00:46:35,390 --> 00:46:35,810 com. 689 00:46:36,679 --> 00:46:39,590 If you enjoyed today's conversation, please like, 690 00:46:39,679 --> 00:46:41,740 subscribe, and share with a friend. 691 00:46:42,230 --> 00:46:43,340 Thanks for tuning in.