Something that has Challenged Me

Here at groundswell I encounter many things that are challenging and outside of my skill set and comfort zone. However, I do appreciate all of the challenging tasks that I am assigned. It allows me to grow as a person and gain knowledge from all of my experiences.

One of the many tasks that I have had so far really pushed me outside of comfort zone and has challenged me physically and mentally would have had to have been soldering. Soldering is the process in which two or more items are joined together by melting then flowing a filler metal (solder) into the joint. It is specifically used to form a permanent connection between electronic components. It is challenging physically because it requires a steady hand and mentally because it requires a lot of patience. This week I had the opportunity to work with one of the members of Groundswell on a project that pertained to soldering. The project consisted of altering the original state of the device and the functionality . It is a small device that’s placed on the head of the door. It’s sole purpose is to indicate when a gun has been set off in a room. Within 5 to 10 seconds it should alert police officers or the respected officials in the surrounding area. I really appreciate having an existing device such as this one because of the unfortunate events that have been taking place around the world, in regards to classrooms, nightclubs and workspaces.

Something else that I have also found interest in and that has also challenged me was doing market research. This pertained to finding research yielding target markets or customers. It has been pretty difficult finding relevant research that isn’t costly. Most of the research that has been needed usually cost anywhere from hundreds to thousands of dollars. Although it has been challenging finding loop holes to avoid paying for the needed data, I am now knowledgeable on conducting basic market research.

Overall I respect all of the tasks that has been awarded to me thus far, especially the most challenging ones. I look forward for what’s ahead to come during my time here at Groundswell.