Alexander writes: “We will visit the rock climbing gym in the morning and reflect on our experiences in the afternoon. Question: how does pushing your limits during rock climbing help you understand yourself better? How can the act of challenging yourself be applied in the classroom?”
Author: Michael McElreath, Experiential Learning Director
Artificially Intelligent
Jack writes: “I am doing a research project on artificial intelligence with Professor Ricardo Henao, who teaches Biostatistics and Bioinformatics at Duke University. We meet in the morning to go over the project, then I spend the day working on my AI model. For my reflection questions I can describe what I accomplished in the day and the next steps will be how I continue the project into the end of the semester.”
Pi Me to the Moon
Jacob writes: “I recently got a mini computer called a Raspberry Pi, with an included program called SmartSim (SS). SS is a program designed by a MIT student in order to help people understand and design circuits. No tutorial came with it, so I need to learn how to design circuits. My hope is to research everything I can about circuitry, program a tutorial for SS, and try to get that tutorial added to SS to make it more accessible.”
What’s It Like to Be a Realtor?
Lakshmi writes: “I have always been super interested in real estate and interior design, and I have thought about going into real estate after college. I have talked with a realtor and she will show me some spreadsheet work, social media content design for homes, an intro to real estate, the home inspection process, and things to look for in a home.”
Helping Feed Hungry People in Our State
Will will spend Nov 9’s X Day volunteering with the Food Bank of Central & Eastern NC. He will post about his work and his reflections on it here.
Get ‘Er Done!
Evan’s main aim is to wrap up applications for universities with a November 1 deadline. “This would allow me to greatly reduce the work required on weekends and minimize the stress of doing applications in conjunction with other class/homework.”
Food: the Soul of the World
We will use our love for cooking/baking to learn about different places in the world and different cultures by learning about recipes from all over and learning about how those recipes impact the community they are made in. We created a list of different foods that were popular in multiple countries and religions that we were hoping to make and then research about how certain things were important to that culture. Some of the foods we want to make are crème brulee, dumplings, tuna steaks, nanaimo bars, risotto, pumpkin chocolate chip muffins, pretzels, stollen, potato salad, samosas, butter chicken, and latkes.
Jordan Lake Is Chilly & Wide
How does experiencing a state park affect our views on nature preservation? We will kayak on Jordan Lake in the morning, prepare and enjoy a cookout on the lake for lunch, and then test Jordan Lake’s water quality and make predictions about the lake’s biology. Throughout the day, we will explore, appreciate, and think critically about Jordan Lake and special places in nature in general.
What makes a great café?
What is the role of coffee & cafés in our daily lives? We are eight student Hub workers in search of coffee culture excellence… Exposing the participants to coffee shops beyond The Hub café can help improve customer service, drink-making, and inspire new ideas (e.g., seasonal drinks). All the places we are visiting sell their own coffee grounds and are local, non-chain cafés. Starting with shops that only sell drinks to a brunch-esque café, the participants will explore how businesses incorporate, sell, and market various products, similar to the Hub’s collection of items. Why are there so many cafés? What challenges are they facing, and how can we better support The Hub?
All About Pumpkins!
Upcycling has become increasingly popular as eco-consciousness and sustainability become priorities amongst the masses, but most upcyclers stop at clothes or décor. We thought: what if we upcycle food? Pumpkins are a fall staple as a table arrangement or a spice, but the gourds hold so much potential beneath their orange exterior. We plan to dissect the pumpkins, utilizing all their pieces to make delicious food and fun fall decoration. Pumpkin puree, pumpkin bread, roasted pumpkin seeds, and jack-o-lanterns are all on the agenda for this sustainable, fall-centric X-Day activity. Not only will we learn life skills such as baking and pumpkin carving, but we will learn about the value of sustainable practices and the impact of waste.