Welcome guys, gals and non-binary pals – sorry for the delay on this post! The past few months have been a whirlwind. In episode-recap style, here is what happened last time. I mentioned I was offered layoff from my program, CPAESS, and I would be unemployed starting August 1^st 2020. I also talked about my start with the Red Cross. Finally, I was slated to take the GRE at the end of August and was in the midst of studying. I’m glad to announce I have updates on all three of those topics!

Let’s start with the big one – my job. The week after I published my previous post, a neighboring program in UCAR, The GLOBE Program, turned around and offered me a role under a temporary reassignment term (not a permanent position). In this term, they would take me on full time for 90 days of work. I eagerly accepted and started with them on August 1^st. This role specifically ends on October 31^st.

Let’s talk about GLOBE. The Global Learning and Observations to Benefit the Environment (GLOBE) Program, funded primarily by NASA, provides science education for students and teachers grades K-16 in countries across the world. They do this through scientific protocols and resources which create a foundational STEM knowledge for students both domestically and internationally. They also have resources for collecting and storing data. The GLOBE Observer Mobile Application allows students/teachers/community members to submit scientific data that is stored in a database. They can then later use this data for teaching, analyzing, and even for research projects. This is a form of citizen science. Citizen science is people who aren’t scientists (often members from a specific community or students) contributing to scientific findings/research. Here is a paper authored by a NASA Scientist and GLOBE Educator, Marilé Colón Robles, about the uses of GLOBE’s citizen science collected data on cloud observations! Each year GLOBE also hosts the International Virtual Science Symposium (IVSS) where students from around the world can submit their research projects to be reviewed and scored. These projects must use GLOBE collected data and anyone in the GLOBE community across the world can submit their projects, with various age groups being scored on different rubrics. To learn more about what GLOBE does, check out their Overview page! (And starting next week I can change all of those “they”s to “we”s!!)

So, why am I interested in GLOBE? Throughout my start in the professional working world, I have discovered that I am much more Mission and Vision driven than I originally thought I was. Meaning, I am inspired by the work that I do that helps achieve various goals for a program, rather than driven by money, title or status (which is a very valid way to work so don’t take this as hate if this is you!). I am very inspired by GLOBE’s goals for scientific unity across the world and want to contribute to their larger goals. GLOBE aligns my passion for science with my passion for people, which is an intersection I knew I wanted since college. I’m so excited to take this next step in my career and begin with GLOBE!

1. Buy the practice question book. I think this has been one of the most useful items I have had while studying (especially since I haven’t taken a standardized test since the ACT in 2013). Practicing with standardized test questions has been essential to get back into the rhythm. I also know these books are expensive so look on Craigslist or Facebook marketplace for a resells – I didn’t write directly in any of my books and used a separate notepad so that I could resell mine. This may cut down on the cost!
2. Here is a pool of prompts to practice the Analyze an Issue and Analyze an Argument writing sections. Time yourself whenever you do a prompt to see how long your estimated time is. Make a rough outline on the prompt, but spend less than 5 minutes on this outline so you still have plenty of time to write things out!
3. Take practice tests along the way. This ETS GRE site has 2 free practice tests (minus grading on writing section) and several paid tests (with grading on writing). Start with the free ones and take a paid one or two once you are closer to the test if possible.
4. My last tip is a bit out of left field and is one I received from a coworker. Subscribe to The Economist. I didn’t completely understand it at first but later discovered that The Economist used vocabulary that matches with the Verbal Section of the GRE. By reading it in the Economist, rather than just through flashcards, you can learn the words from context, and can then study them from there on.

With all that said, I would also like to add that standardized testing is not an accurate reflection of intellect. I support colleges as they remove the weight of or separate from the GRE. A standardized test is not only exclusive financially (when applying to schools is already so expensive!) but is also another physical barrier for the BIPOC community, women and other under-represented persons in Graduate Education. Now, in the wake of a pandemic when going to take a test is challenging or straight up unsafe, is the perfect time for Grad Schools to move on not just temporarily but permanently. Also, you can check out #GRExit stories on Twitter.

Now, onto Red Cross. I have finally gotten to stay volunteering with them over the past few months, and it has been a disastrous year in the US (as if 2020 needed more chaos…). What I’m doing has been pretty basic to help me get engrained in the company. I was first put on a hurricane team in New Orleans working on metadata and organization. I am now working back in my Colorado-Wyoming Region with ESRI’s ArcGIS Online as well as learning Microsoft’s Power BI in order to help with the recent fires. While I can’t dedicate a lot of my time, I am enjoying volunteering a bit and contributing when I can. Especially with the fires becoming more devastating, I have a desire to help and am glad I have an outlet to do so.

Have I mentioned that one of my quarantine hobbies has been gaming? I have been playing Zelda Breath of the Wild for several years now but never branched beyond during that time. I recently picked up Super Mario Odyssey on the Switch and am beginning to understand why Mario games have such a cult following. The music is joyful and catchy. The graphics are vibrant. The tasks have the perfect ratio of challenging, trivial and stimulating. I’m a few worlds in and am very entertaining. I love playing on a lazy weekend or after a long day of work to decompress. If you are looking for another time sink in this endless time void of COVID, I recommend it! So far, Zelda Breath of the Wild is still my favorite but Mario games might be my next binge.

That’s all for now! You can subscribe to get notices when I post a new blog by adding your email to the bottom right corner. Stay well everyone!