Intern of the Week: Uvonne Andoh at UMBC for IS

Fri, 08 Mar 2013 22:04:53 -0500

Name: Uvonne Andoh
Internship, Co-op or Research Site: University of Maryland, Baltimore County (Information Systems)
Location of the Organization (City, State): Baltimore, MD
Title of Your Position: Research Assistant
Major(s)/Minor(s): Management of Aging Services/ pre-physical therapy
Expected Graduation Date (Month & Year): 2014

1. Briefly describe your internship, co-op, research or service-learning position/assignment, including your day-to-day tasks and responsibilities.

What I do at my internship site includes Learning fundamentals of Assistive Technology and getting hands on experience working with older adults. I have also learned how to design and build 3D prototypes for a 3D printer to explore the possibility of older adults building their own assistive technologies.

2. What have you enjoyed the most about your position or organization/company and what have you found most challenging?

I have enjoyed learning 3D modeling and how to use a 3D printer, preparing materials for a focus group with older adults on rapid prototyping and helping run a focus group. I have also enjoyed the assistance gotten from my supervisor Amy Hurst and other students and working as a team. What I found most challenging at first was conducting a “focus group”, I was really nervous and did not know what to expect, but being able to work with Galina Madjaroff I learned a lot from her on how to conduct a focus group with our targeted population being the older adults.

3. What have you gained from your experience that you could not have gained from another summer activity?

I have gained the advantage of networking, being a leader and being able to see what my day-to-day of working in my field will be like. Not only do I know how to use a 3D printer, I have been able to design my own object and build it as well as teaching others who have no idea about what 3D printing is and offering a little bit of tutoring on how to use 3D printers.

4. How do you see your summer work as meaningful? Has it given you a chance to work on issues or with communities that matter to you?

I see my summer work as meaningful because it has made me to master my skills giving me the advantage on understanding what I would be doing in the future in my field and also being able to work with others as a team. My internship has given me the chance to visit CharlesTown resident home and conducting a focus group, presenting and explaining the research I have helped with here at UMBC.

5. How has your summer experience shaped the way you think about your power to impact the world? This might involve skills you’ve gained, information you’ve learned, mentors you’ve connected with, or projects you’ve completed.

My summer experience has shaped me in a way of really understanding the needs of older adults and providing them with assistive technology to help them with their day to day activities. So many times people tend to see older adults as only handicap and incapable of taking care of themselves, but what they don’t know is that they are capable of doing the activities younger people do and are more aware on how to use the latest technologies out there such as Iphones and Ipads. Connecting with people who are interested in incorporating technologies in older adult’s life and me being involved in research has made me have the passion for helping older adults even more.