Fieldwork and Project

So the new student council leaders asked some of the 3td (!) years to jot down some ideas and thoughts on their fieldwork and project experiences. I should start by saying that if any new first years or the new second years have questions or anything, call me (573.239.7706) or email me (meredithbergin@hotmail.com)!

My project and fieldwork were combined. That is THE WAY to do it. It is possible to do them seperately, but you are signing yourself on for some misery in my opinion. I went to Amman Jordan with a International Volunteers group led by the amazing Hala and carefully monitored by the fantastic team of Carl (first three weeks) and Ray (last three weeks). I had a team of seven undergrads and we worked with the ministry of health on an anti tobacco campaign for college students. Well, technically i had two things going on. My technical fieldwork was doing presentations on nearby campuses and my project was designing curriculum and then implementing a small-group oriented tobacco cessation group. However, midway through the summer, my tobacco cessation group tanked, so I switched (with approval from my committee) the offical titles and made the university presentations my official project and the small group my fieldwork.

I sent emails to my committee once a week, and for the last half of the trip I was lucky becuase Ray, my chair, was in-country. If you do go internationally, go somewhere fun! But preferably not when the surrounding countries declare war on each other. It was definitely a growing and stretching experience. I didn't know that I could do half the stuff that I ended up doing.

You probably feel a little overwhelmed, and you should - its healthy! But remember that your committee is there to ensure that you succeed! Get to know your profs as soon as you can, find their research interests, and get the show on the road!