When I first signed up for my pre-orientations, I was thinking purely along the lines of fun and the types of activities we would be doing. I saw pSearch in the list and quickly disregarded it because it involved research, something I was in no rush to even think about. However, I received an email from Dr Jules Odendahl-James and it contained a “special invitation” to pSearch with a description of eye-catching activities like meeting professors, seeing the Rubenstein Library archives, and the DiVE (now Wired!) Lab. I thought that it sounded like fun and put the research in the back of my mind.
Now that I have completed my project, I can’t believe I actually did it. It’s a little rushed and not the highest quality work and I know if I had extra time, I’d take much more time to be a little lighter content-wise and focus more on my analysis of the sources. However, I wrote almost 3500 words in about 2 days after checking out upwards of 6 books (one of which has translated primary sources) from the library among several articles found in the online database. Frankly, I’m impressed and feeling back in the groove regarding schoolwork. It was a bit of a trial by fire but I’m grateful to have been exposed to real research and the resources at Duke. I was worried I wouldn’t remember everything we were told but now I feel very well versed in Duke’s programs, internships, labs, classes, and libraries. I can’t imagine what school would be like without knowing how to request a box from the archive or how to find and use microfilm.
It was overwhelming to meet so many new people, do so many activities the first week, and have so little time to craft a research project at times. Also, I felt myself grappling with some homesickness and worries about social life moving forward. However, I think some of pSearch’s greatest strengths were our staffers, faculty director, and speakers. Professor Stern was always a great comfort through his humor and sometimes very sincere advice. The staffers were also so willing to engage and be our friends. My project was stressful but immensely rewarding for the experience gained. The worst day was definitely the first. Just doing background research to figure out what my question even had made me very worried because I knew the clock was ticking. However, as soon as I was “launched” as Helen would say I had a blast. I felt it too when I reached my question and even the professor and graduate student panel seemed pretty satisfied which surprised me. Every day afterwards got better and I’m so excited for my presentation now. I’m ready to treat myself and bath in the bliss of having completed this project. Thank you, Dr. O.J., for the email and thank you Professor Phil Stern for a surprisingly convincing “special invitation” letter!
