Week 4:
Practice Makes Perfect

July 8, 2021

Growing up, my mom used to quote her high school track coach; she’d say, “proper preparation prevents poor performance.” Proper preparation has definitely been the theme of the past few weeks. Since I started working in the production room, I’ve been learning and practicing SMT and die attach techniques. Ultimately, all this practice aims to prepare me for the project that MyPhuong and I designed when I first arrived at Microtek. After this past week of practice, I’m nearly ready to start!

I’m excited to get started on my project. I’ve had a passing interest in materials science for a few years now, but I’ve yet to have the opportunity to explore the field.  My project at Microtek will give me an introductory look into materials science and help me determine whether it’s a field I’d like to pursue further. This introduction to materials science is one of the things I most appreciate about working with MyPhuong and Leah this summer. Microtek is a biotech company and generally takes interns with a stronger background in engineering than I have. Despite this,  MyPhuong and Leah have been more than willing to work with me and develop a project that will be both beneficial to Microtek and allow me to explore my own interests.

After 4 weeks, I finally feel like I have a good feel for San Diego. So far, my favorite thing is the weather. Over the four and a half weeks I’ve been here, the temperature has been fairly consistent between 60 and 75 degrees. It’s much cooler than Iowa and Colorado (both of which saw temperatures well above 80 during the past few weeks), and the lack of humidity is ideal. I also appreciate the highway system. From my room in Rancho Bernardo, I can get just about anywhere in 30 minutes. Granted, I’ve been fortunate and managed to avoid traveling during high-traffic times, so I may change my mind when I inevitably get stuck in a traffic jam. Of course, I also love the beaches. This week, I returned to Solana Beach and walked down to Fletcher Cove. It was crowded, but I managed to find a piece of sand to claim for myself. It was very relaxing to sit in the sun, watch the surfers, and read a book.

Although I definitely like San Diego, I also feel like it’s a bit too big, and there are a few too many people. As of 2019, there were 1.41 million people in San Diego. For comparison’s sake, I grew up in Colorado Springs, which has a population of just under half a million. Although I’ve managed to avoid the worst of San Diego traffic, there are still far too many cars on the road for my taste, especially when I don’t know where I’m going. Additionally, it really is expensive to live in California. Right now, gas prices are over $4/gallon, which is the highest gas price I think I’ve ever seen!