Final Presentation Night

On Friday, May 20th, we had our Final Presentation Night at Liberty High School. Over the course of the week, I had practiced my speech at least once each day, so I felt fully prepared to deliver a strong speech by FPN. The event was divided into three parts: a brief research showcase, mentor recognition in the auditorium, and lastly presentations in our individual classrooms. Because I had two volunteers helping me set-up and transition from one part to the next, I was able to get everything done on time with minimal stress. For the research showcase, I was surprised by how quickly the hour went by, since I had a lot of fun talking to those who visited my table and asked me questions about my field and overall ISM experience. Because I had built two prosthetic legs for my Final Product, I was also able to draw more people to my table, since they wanted to learn more about the building process and how I chose the design specifications. Next, we had the mentor recognition in the auditorium, and I felt really calm as I thanked my mentor in front of a few hundred people and handed him a plaque stating his role as an ISM mentor. Afterwards, I went back to my classroom and gave my 30-35 minute speech detailing my entire ISM journey and the knowledge I gained through this experience. As I spoke, my mentor was grading my presentation, but because I had practiced my speech several times, I felt comfortable and confident speaking in front of everyone watching, which was about 15 people! As a whole, I'm extremely proud of how well FPN went, and I couldn't have asked for a better conclusion to my ISM journey. I can definitely see how much I've grown as a person from this experience and the incredible opportunity to learn so much about prosthetics and biomechanics first-hand helped me realize that I truly do want to pursue a career in this field!