Blog 11 - Lesson 1 Reflection

1. What are you most proud of in your lesson, and why?
• I am most proud of being able to present good and valid information about my topic. I am also happy with the fact that I was able to explain how I came up with my working essential question. I think I did a pretty good job managing my time too. 
2. What assessment would you give yourself on your lesson? Explain why you earned that grade using evidence from the component contract.
• I think I deserve a P for my Lesson 1 assessment. I don't think I had any concern with volume, body language, eye contact, or engaging my audience. I think that the research I presented was clear and concise. I had with me three sources that were cited. I also mentioned my mentor and interviews 1 and 2 several times. 
3. If you could go back, what would you change about your lesson? How can you use that knowledge to give a better Lesson 2?
• I would definitely want to rehearse more so that I could sound more professional and provide more valuable information to my audience. I think the overall change I would make when giving my Lesson 2 would be to be more organized than I was for this first lesson.

Interview 2 Reflection

Interview 2 Audio

1. Please explain how you are spending your mentorship time. 
• I spend my time in a dentist office mostly shadowing my mentor and also another dentist that works in the office. I like that I am able to speak with the patients sometimes as well as watch my mentor and learn new things in the office. My mentor is an expert seeing as he has gone to dental school and has a degree of Doctor of Dental Surgery. I definitely do enjoy speaking to patients as well and observing them, which has helped me steer the direction of my topic and think of my EQ. 
2. How did you find your mentor? How did you convince this person to help you?
• My mentor is my dentist. I felt comfortable asking him to be my mentor because when I had braces Dr. Chen did my ortho work and over the course of 18 months I felt more comfortable with him. I wouldn't really say that I had to convince Dr. Chen. He was more than willing to help me out with my senior project and be my mentor once I had asked him. 
3. How would you rate your comfort level with your mentor at this point in your relationship? How does this relate to the time you've spent so far at mentorship with this person?
• On a scale of 1 to 10 I would say my comfort level is at about a 6. That meaning I feel comfortable enough with my mentor to talk about stuff other than dentistry and make jokes and stuff like that. He has known me for about 4 years. Of course having him as my mentor and going in to the office twice a week for a total of six hours has helped develop the comfort. 
4. What went well in this interview? Why do you think so? What do you still need to improve? How do you know? How will you go about it? 
• I was able to get some valuable answers and information from Dr. Chen. I think the questions I asked were what really helped me get some good and helpful information from my mentor. This interview was a bit rushed seeing that although I had made an appointment with my mentor, his appointments ran over closing time and caused a rush in the interview. Hopefully next time I will make the interview way more in advance in order to allow sufficient amount of time to comfortable complete the entire interview. 

Blog 9 - Advisory Prep 3

1. State whether or not you currently have a mentor, and what the status of your interview is with that person.
• My mentor is Chris Chen, DDS at Puente Hills Dental Group. I have scheduled a time for my second interview with Dr. Chen for October 27th. 
2. At this point, your research is probably guiding your studies toward more specific areas within your topic. Name the area or two you feel most promising and explain your reasons. 
• Patient Care/Easing a Patient: I will focus more on the psychology of dentistry, that is why so many people are afraid of the dentist. My mentor has told me that many people view dentists as "villians" or the dental office as a scary place. I could explain what makes a patient the most comfortable or why patients might have dental phobias or fears. 
• Ortho Care: I will be able to explain the anatomy of the mouth and teeth. I will also be able to educate my audience on how to take the best care of their oral hygiene. 
3. What kinds of sources do you think will help you in the next month to gain more research depth? Where will you go to get them?
• My mentor will definitely be able to provide me with more information about my topic. 
• I can go to the library and hopefully find some books about oral hygiene and tooth anatomy.
• Articles about the psychology behind dental fear/phobia/anxiety will really help me do more in depth research. 
4. Write down a possible EQ. 
• What are the best ways to maintain good dental hygiene/what is the most effective preventative care?
• How might a patient develop orthophobia's and how could a dentist best ease a patient? 

Blog 8 - Independent Component 1 Proposal

1. Describe in detail what you plan to do for your 30 hours?
• I don't yet have a solid idea on what I would like to do for my 30 hours. Through my project I really want to focus on accessing things like what makes people afraid of the dentist and/or how to get people to be more aware of the importance oral hygiene. I was hoping I could make some dental care packages (filled with things like information, toothbrushes, floss, toothpaste, mouthwashes, etc.) and give them to the homeless shelters. I was hoping I would be able to go and talk with those people about proper oral hygiene and maybe find out if any of them have fears of the dentist or maybe bad experiences. Another idea would be to build a mouth out of paper mache. The whole structure would include the gums, teeth, nerves, etc.
2. Discuss how or what you will do to meet the expectation of showing 30 hours of evidence.
• I could document it with pictures, a video log, and even actual logging of hours on paper. 
3. Explain how what you will be doing will help you explore your topic in more depth.
• By making dental care packages I would be able provide help for people who don't have access to a dentist or maybe who don't have proper supplies to maintain good oral hygiene. I would be able to talk to those people about their past experiences with the dentist (if any) and their oral hygiene. 
• By building a paper mache mouth I will be able to learn about the anatomy of the mouth such as things like nerves, bones, blood vessels, placement. 
4. Update your senior project hours log. 

Blog 7 - Second Interview Preparation

1. Who is your mentor and where do they work? If their workplace does not reflect their expertise, what makes them an expert? 
• My mentor is Chris Chen, DDS. Dr. Chris Chen works for the Puente Hills Dental Group in Hacienda Heights, CA. He is one of two dentists apart of the group that perform regular exams and cleanings, orthodontics, root canals, etc. that are apart of general dentistry. Dr. Chris Chen has obtained degrees in biology and chemistry from University of California Irvine and doctorate degree at Columbia University School of Dental Medicine. He has been working under the title of doctor of dental surgery since 2005.
2. What five questions will you ask them about their background?
• When and where were you born?
• Can you tell me where your family comes from?
• What role did your parents play in your education?
• What were you like growing up, what were your focuses/aspirations/goals/dreams/morals/etc.?
• When did you know that the path to dentistry was the right path for you? 

Blog 6 - Advisory Prep

1. What has worked well for you concerning senior project this year? What has made it a positive experience for you? 
• What has worked well concerning my senior project has been me finding a good mentor. I feel I was very lucky to get a mentor that is willing to help me with my project and even with anything else that I may need.It has made it a positive experience being able to go in to an environment where I feel comfortable and encouraged to learn more about my senior topic (Dentistry). 
2. What are you finding difficult concerning senior project? How can you adapt to make that portion work better for you? How might the senior team help? 
• I am finding it a bit difficult to really find a certain part of dentistry I would like to focus on. I want to be able to learn about and present something that other people would be interested in learning. I think I will be really doing more research to find a specific part of dentistry that really interests me and I would be able to teach people. Also, I'm having trouble thinking about things I would be doing for my Independent Components. Most of the difficulties I'm having I should probably figure out myself, so I'm not yet too sure what the senior team could do to help. 

Blog 5 - Interview 1 Reflection

1. What is the most important thing I learned from the interview? Is there anything I would do differently for other interviews?
• The most important thing I learned from interviewing my mentor Dr. Chris Chen was that although Dentists generally have a bad aura, they are apart helping so many people change or improve their lives. What comes along with being a Dentist and being able to change someones life, is the chance to be able to be apart of their life in a more personal way. Through Dentistry you are able to make a difference in people's attitude about themselves or their appearance, but also allowed the chance to have them be apart of your life in return. One thing I would probably do differently would be to have my interviewee in a more controlled setting. When we performed the interview, I feel like it should have been in an office and maybe not out in front of other people. I think that difference would have made the interview a lot more personal. 
2. Did I get additional resources and contacts? What is the most useful? Why? 
• When I asked my mentor who he would recommend I speak to or what he would recommend I read, he didn't really have a specific answer. However, he did suggest that I speak to the two other dentists in the office that I mentor at to be able to get different views and ideas. One of the dentists is a pediatric dentist, which means she is a dentist with a specialization. I feel the pediatric dentist would be someone who I would be able to get great information from. 
3. What makes my interviewee qualified to help me?
• My interviewee is qualified to help me because he is a Doctor of Dental Surgery, and a dentist of the Puente Hills Dental group. As previously stated, he is also my mentor. 

Blog 4 - House Advisory Prep 1

Things I hope to accomplish through my senior project topic:

1. I would like to have a basic understanding of what the occupation of Dentistry is like (day to day routine, procedures, patient interactions, etc.).
2. I want to learn how to make a patient feel most comfortable and at ease when going to the dentist and how to communicate with patients who may be overly anxious or difficult. 
3. Hopefully, I will be able to gain knowledge (more than I already know) about proper oral hygiene. 

Blog 3 - First Interview Preperation

1) Who do you plan to interview? Why?

• For my first interview I plan to interview my mentor Dr. Chris Chen. I chose to interview him first because he is my mentor and I plan to ask him these questions in order to get some general answers about my topic. I knew Dr. Chris Chen before asking him to be my mentor because he has been my family's dentist for the past several years. I feel very comfortable in interviewing him and knowing he will provide me with honest and helpful answers.  

2) Five questions will be assigned to all seniors to ask. What additional questions do you plan to ask? 

• "In your personal opinion, what do you find to be the pros and cons about being a dentist?"
• "Through your many years of being a dentist, what is your method for calming down a scared or anxious patient and putting them at ease for an appointment, procedure, etc.?"

Blog 2 - Summer Mentorship

1. List the contact name, phone number, and organization of the person with whom you volunteered.
• Dr. Chris Chen & Julia Gaytan 
• (626) 854-9530
• Puente Hills Dental Group
2. What qualifies this person as an expert in your topic of choice?
• Dr. Chris Chen has achieved a doctorate degree at Columbia University School of Dental Medicine in New York. Dr. Chen furthered his career in dentistry at the Center of Esthetic Dentistry. He is also an active participant in the community as members of both San Gabriel Valley and Los Angeles Dental Societies. He has volunteered his services at local health fairs in Los Angeles and loves traveling with the NATMA (National America Taiwanese Medical Association) every summer to service those in need in other countries. 
3. List three questions for further exploration now that you've completed your summer hours?
1. What is the best way for a dentist office to help make patients feel comfortable and at ease?
2. Do patients find that the cosmetic look of teeth is just as important as dental hygiene?
3. Why is it so important for a dentist to stay up to date on current medical research and advancements? 
4. What is the most important thing you gained from this experience? Why?
• The most important thing I gained from this experience is a new understanding of what it's like to not be the one in the dentist chair. In other words, I got a better understanding of how things work behind the desk and from the dentist's and dental assistant's point of view. I was able to see what happens when the dental team preps for a patient, how they communicate with each other, and how the patients personal information is handled and filed.
5. What is your senior project topic going to be? How did mentorship help you make your decision? Please explain. 
• My senior project topic is going to be on Dentistry. From seeing how things work at the reception desk to watching how a dentist treats the various patients, I plan to focus on the basic ins and outs of the dentist experience. Mentorship helped me make my decision because it helped me to realize that from the moment you walk into a dentist office everybody working plays an important role in the experience of caring for a patient and making them feel comfortable. 

Blog 1 – Senior Final Lesson/Interview Reflection

1.  What three lessons were most helpful for you to see, and why?

• Fashion Design: This lesson helped me see how interesting a presentation can be when the presenter knows all of his material. The presenter was very knowledge able and showed passion when talking about his topic. 
• Field Dog Training: In this presentation I didn't really find myself attaining much of the material presented. I feel this is because the presenter did not seem enthusiastic about their topic. I was able to see what it felt like to have a presenter who didn't seem enthusiastic about their topic. It makes me want to make sure I present my topic in an appealing manner when I present next year. 
• Early Childhood Development: In this presentation I was also able to see what a good presenter looked like. The presenter was really engaging and enthusiastic about their topic and it made me interested in wanting to know more about the topic. I actually did walk out of that presentation with gained knowledge.

2. List one thing that you learned about the senior project in interviews that will help you get off to a good start?

• The main thing I learned about senior project in the interviews was to pick a topic I will truly enjoy learning about. The seniors I spoke with stressed the importance of picking a topic that I am passionate about due to the mass amount of research that will have to be done. I also learned that senior project is all about time management. The seniors told me as long as deadlines are met and my work is thorough, senior project shouldn't be a real big problem.

3. What topic(s) are you considering, and why?

• Yoga: I have always been curious about yoga and have wanted to try it. I feel like learning about yoga would greatly benefit me especially because yoga is said to help with stress.
• Firefighting: This is something I never would have thought of doing if it wasn't for senior project. I feel that if I choose this to do my senior project on then I could find out if it is a career option I would like to pursue in the future.
• Makeup Artistry: I love makeup. I like applying makeup and learning about new techniques and products. This is something I would really be passionate about learning more about. 

4. What EQ do you think might be interesting to consider in guiding a project like this? (Please don't worry about any sort of formula...we want this question to come from your genuine interest).

• Yoga: What is the best way to get the most out of the yoga experience?
• Firefighting: What can a fire fighter do to make sure he/she is well prepared for a dangerous job?
• Makeup Artistry: What techniques and products can be used to get the most out of makeup application and achieve your desired look?

5. What are some ideas you have about finding summer mentorship?

• Yoga: Ask a yoga instructor from a yoga class I could attend. 
• Firefighting; Los Angeles County Fire Department, finding a firefighter to be my mentor by joining the explorers program. 
• Makeup Artistry: Joining a makeup class held at my local community center and inquiring about being mentored by the makeup teacher after taking a few classes.