It has been a busy week for sure! Week 7 has been full of last-minute data collection, TONS of data analysis and statistics, polishing our final presentations, posters, and manuscript, and a field trip to the Indiana State Museum for our third and final extension event.

Emily and I decided to survey one more tree family, to improve our statistical analysis and results. After cranking out another 10 trees of data collection, we spent hours this week organizing and analyzing our data. Charts, graphs, and statistics filled our days and now that we have reached the end of the week, we are feeling good about where our research project is at. We are excited to present our findings next Friday and share all of the work we have been doing throughout the summer.

Wednesday afternoon we all loaded up the vans and drove to Indy for an “IMAX premier” of a Purdue professor’s soundscape research. Mia and Avery presented their research, which also included collecting, recording, and analyzing audio from the forest. They even mentioned my name on their poster as a contributor to their research, for helping them collect data in the field this summer. It was really cool to walk around the museum and explore the different exhibits. I also thoroughly enjoyed the experience of participating in the “Soundscape IMAX” experience and I learned a lot about researching sound in the field.

It’s hard to believe that next week is our final week of the program! This summer has really flown by faster than I ever imagined. Honestly, where did the time go?! I am beyond excited to see everyone’s presentations and support the other groups as they share their summer experiences. WARNING: This is about to get cheesy… I am so incredibly grateful for each and every member of this program, including all of the mentors, advisors, faculty, and grad students that helped us accomplish all that we did. I can’t imagine a more supportive group of people to spend my summer learning from and working with. I will be very sad to leave them all at the end of next week, but I plan on making the most of every minute left in this program.

SEND GOOD THOUGHTS OUR WAY AS WE ALL WRAP UP THIS FINAL WEEK WITH THE 2019 REEU INTERNSHIP!!!