Journal 6: Professionalism, Gratitude & Insights

My experience working with Zooniverse was a very good one. I was able to learn about a topic I was very fond of but did not know much about. I was able to help the main researchers that built the project with my volunteering. Volunteering with Zooniverse made me feel like I was part of something bigger than myself which makes me want to continue to volunteer with different projects through Zooniverse.

Five Leadership Insights

– Through my volunteering, I learned about my time management. Since it is volunteering at the volunteer’s convenience, I took a little but longer to start than I should have and realized the issue with that quickly. I started planning out which days I was going to volunteer weeks in advance.

– This had led me into developing a growth mindset with things unrelated to my schoolwork. I feel as though a lot of times, I only focus on school. Volunteering let me take breaks from school and learn about something else.

– I also learned about the importance of building relationships. Since it was online volunteering, I was not able to have in person conversations with others and network. This made me realize how important building these professional relationships is.

– I also learned from Zooniverse how important it is to lead with vision. Zooniverse does not have one set goal in one set industry, like most nonprofit organizations do. They do, however, have a vision. This vision is to help researchers collect datasets from all around the world. Even though, there are so many different projects you can start, the overall vision remains the same.

– Leading with a vision led to showing the importance of teamwork. Without all the volunteers that work with Zooniverse, the researchers that build these projects would have done it for nothing. This is a prime example of showing the importance of everyone working together to make a better world for future generations.

Formal Email to Dr. Jessica Berkheimer

Good afternoon,

My name is Megan Almond, and I am currently a student the University of Central Florida studying Aerospace Engineering. I wanted to thank you for the project you built on Zooniverse, Gravity Wave Zoo. I did not know much about the topic but as someone who is interested in planes and flying, it sparked my curiosity immediately. I had done a project through Zooniverse before, and I think the community that has been built is great. The teamwork between the researchers and volunteers is favorite aspect of Zooniverse. I was able to learn a lot through the Gravity Wave Zoo and I am excited to learn more. Thank you again for building this project!

Best Regards,

Megan Alexandra Almond