Collaboration - The Key to Change, by Pavithra

Collaboration - The Key to Change, by Pavithra - January 2022 Scholarship Essay

With renewed optimism, I purposefully strode towards the microscope. For weeks, we had been unsuccessfully attempting to mimic literature and breathe life into the chemical equations. Assertively staring into the optical microscope’s eyes, perhaps I hoped to scare the solution into submission. Impulsively, I let out a squeal. I quickly jumped back, fearing accidentally distracting the microscope's delicate focus. For a moment, we, the members of Dr. Chyan's IEMR research lab, stood staring at the small silver monitor. We had finally gotten the Ferricyanide solution to form the tell-tale cyan clumps of Prussian blue!

This process of wonder, confusion, and discovery has already occurred countless times in our lab and yet each time feels just as magnificent as the last. At first, constantly bombarded with new knowledge, answerless questions, and stacks of literature, I dreaded the unknown. However, escaping between classes into the world of color-changing catalytic transformations, I now find exhilaration in treading uncharted territories. Collaboration continues to drive our research as we divide and conquer, devouring research papers with an astounding fervor, and come together, attacking the whiteboard with diagrams, ideas, and questions. To me, knowing that the team has grown professionally and personally and perhaps even added to the scientific world, is the epitome of collaboration.

But I wasn’t satisfied with merely engaging with collaboration at the research level. As isolation swept through communities due to the pandemic, I felt inadequate, desiring to share the warmth of family, laughter, and love with the community around me. As a co-committee head for Denton Nursing Home, I’ve made it my mission to connect my peers with senior citizens. That overused, undeniably cliche, phrase, “teamwork makes the dreamwork” came to life as I worked with the other officers to connect students with senior citizens. By the end of our very first club meeting, the common area was teeming with creativity, cards, and a desire to connect. In a matter of 30 minutes, we had somehow collected over 50 cards for the nursing home, filmed an encouragement video, and written thank you cards for the staff.

These collaboration skills that I gained outside of the classroom, directly correlated to my academic success. Arguably, along with Tamil and English, math was the first language that I learned. So naturally, the transition from Calculus I to Calculus II was seemingly seamless. However, many of my peers struggled to comprehend those idiosyncratic numbers that were strung together to form integrals, derivatives, and an all-consuming confusion. Forming a study group, we collaborated in order to transform numerical nonsense into meaningful magic. Then, what was once purely an application of topics became theoretical. The new unit, series, and sequences left me confused, concerned, and considerably struggling. However, the very peers I had previously assisted now, explained concepts to me with astounding accuracy. Together, we had worked together to achieve what had initially seemed impossible. Taking advantage of each other’s strengths, and helping to patch our peer’s weaknesses, teamwork has allowed us to master calculus and refine our collaborative skills.

Now, as I look towards my collegiate experience, I am beyond excited to continue engaging with my peers. I’ve rarely found contentment with learning technical concepts; rather, I’m interested in applying theoretical ideas to real-world issues. Thus, true excitement in learning undoubtedly stems from its application and working with peers, professors, and professionals in the field to make profound impacts through collaborative, cutting-edge endeavors. Collaboration has been essential in my educational journey and is now a skill that I’ve found, fostered, and come to fearlessly wield.