Author: Arim Baek, Email: baeka3@unlv.nevada.edu
Date Last Modified: 04/13/2025

To be honest, it wasn't a special day. Some of my friends teased me for spending my weekend at the lab. But for me, it was a pretty great day. I finished an assignment earlier than the deadline, solved a problem that I couldn't figure out during the week, and finally understood something from class that has confused me. It might sound like a boring day to someone else, but for me, it was full of victories and small joys. Maybe it was the sense of accomplishment, but even a quick shopping at the store on my way home, watching the beautiful sunset, and the big and bright moon made me so happy. With only a month left in this internship, each of these simple days feels more meaningful and special.

I visited Anson's house again and met his friend who is from India too. She said that she is majoring in chemistry and it is her third semester. We talked about our cultures, and even though they were different, it was really interesting and surprising to see how similar they were in some ways. My friends and I cooked Korean food to share with them, and they treated us to Indian dishes in return. We had a wonderful evening together.

I noticed that the U.S. is a much more diverse place than Korea. While Korea is mostly made up of Koreans, the U.S. is home to people from all over the world. Zahir and Francis were both born and raised here, but their parents are from Mexico and Philippines, respectively. We ended up having a lively debate about which food is the best, and it was really interesting to discover that some Mexican and Filipino dishes are surprisingly similar because both countries were once ruled by Spain.

I realized how fun and interesting it is to learn about new cultures. In Korea, I rarely had a chance to do so, but since coming to the U.S., I've met so many different people and had the opportunity to hear about their cultures, thoughts, and values. As I listened and compared what was different and what was similar between us, I found it meaningful to accept the good parts from others and try to fix the parts in myself that weren't so great. It helped me grow and broaden the way I think.

Using Op-amps, I built individual P, I, and D circuits and observed the changes in their outputs in real time as I applied various types of input waveforms. I also learned how to use the Tormach CNC machine. Unlike the Shapeoko, it was interesting to see that you can flip the stock to machine both the top and bottom sides. I was especially impressed by its ability to perform more precise and detailed machining.