Waterloo, Promise to Love You Forevermore: A BRAVO! Summer Experience
This past summer I had the opportunity to participate in research in Waterloo, Ontario as part of the Biology Research Abroad: Vistas Open! (BRAVO!) Program. During this time, I did research in Dr. Clark Dickerson’s Digital Industrial Ergonomics and Shoulder Evaluation Laboratory (DIESEL) at the University of Waterloo. In this lab, I got to observe multiple aspects of the research process including the preparation of thesis proposals and thesis defenses as well as the writing of manuscripts, prepping for conferences, data collection, and data processing. At the University of Arizona, I participate in lower body biomechanics research that focuses specifically on injury prevention and return-to-sport testing after ACL reconstructions This summer, I got to expand my knowledge into the realm of upper body biomechanics and through interacting with the other members of lab and getting to learn more about their projects, I gained insight into everything from ergonomics projects with exoskeletons overhead manufacturing to studying the impact of mouse sensitivity on muscle activation while playing video games. For my project, I took part in disc golf biomechanics research with a focus on X-factor as a way to tie together both upper and lower body kinematics with the intent of obtaining a more holistic view of a disc golf drive. In addition to the work I did on this project, one of my fellow lab mates and I got to set up and utilize two new motion capture systems in lab.
Alexis Henderson
Outside of the lab, I loved having the opportunity to immerse myself in the region I lived in. To me, this chance to really understand what it is like to live and practically work in a place and not just be there as a tourist was one that I will always appreciate. This mindset led to days spent walking in the local park near my apartment or taking the public transit to the farmer’s market. Waterloo is an area that was very active in community activities whether it be outdoor movies in the park, community campfires uptown, or even social events held at local businesses and the farmer’s market. One of my favorite moments from the entire summer was going to a festival-like event at the farmer’s market where I got to not only visit the local vendors but also meet a family during musical bingo and learn how to west coast swing dance with a group of complete strangers. There were also times when I took the time to be a tourist in the area as well. This led to me taking a trip with some of the members of my apartment complex to Toronto to explore downtown and watch the Toronto Blue Jays take on the Los Angeles Angels.
The perspective and knowledge that I gained from this experience will continue to impact my life both within and outside of the research lab. One of the biggest takeaways from BRAVO! that I have is the desire to truly explore and be an active member of the communities I live in moving forward. Having all of the opportunities to meet members of the Waterloo regions and take part in activities with all kinds of other individuals and see what the area around me had to offer made me realize that I had not looked at the places I have lived in the U.S. with that same mindset. I want to take that desire to the places that I will call home. I also believe that the research that I conducted this summer further solidified my career goals and pathway that I want to follow to get there and my desire to incorporate full body human biomechanics for injury prevention and recovery and performance enhancement in athletes into the clinical and research aspects of these goals. In experiencing a different lab environment, I gained further insight into the types of environments I want to be a part of during the research I take part in for the rest of my academic career.