Another testimonial from a student participant in the 2011 Helicopter Workshop program:
Dear Professor Gates:
I never got to thank you for the wonderful experience I had with the 2011 National Helicopter Workshop, and I apologize that it has taken this long for me to really think about the impact it has had on me. Since childhood, I have had a passion for art and creativity, and in high school, I gained a love of engineering. While pursuing an engineering degree at my university, I felt aimless, like all the work I was doing was only leading up to a typical engineering job in the industry (no offense intended whatsoever, my personality is a bit strange). I can’t tell you how important it was for me to listen to the stories of the pioneers of Kaman, Sikorsky, and AirOcean in a lecture by Professor Wei. For the entire summer afterwards, I kept thinking, “I want that. I want to make a great contribution and put great efforts towards something I find riveting.” And eventually, I decided that if I ever got the opportunity to research and gain expertise on holograms, I would work towards creating the world’s first holographic computer. The idea now is just an idea, but at least now, I have a reason to dream, and a purpose for doing the absolute best I can in my classes. Working on this dream of mine’s will require the best of my creativity and engineering. I thank you for the opportunity to allow me to explore my own interests and desires. I can’t tell you how wonderful it feels to finally walk into a class, knowing its direct application to my future goals. I am taking a computer science and engineering class, for my major, a digital and experimental arts class, to allow the growth of my creativity, a history of science class, so I can study patterns of progress in science to hopefully apply them to technological progress one day, and a model rocketry class for fun. I have never loved studying this much. Even though I do not intend to study helicopters or even aeronautical and astronautical engineering in the future, I hope you do not feel I was a waste of time and effort at the Helicopter Workshop. Thank you for everything. You have no idea what the ability to dream means to me.
Sincerely,
Alyssa Trinh
University of Washington
P.S. – I created a research poster for my university about the Helicopter Workshop, presented it at a NASA Space Grant Poster Reception, and had the richest conversation with a physics professor who used to be a helicopter pilot for the Marine Corps. Coincidentally, he has also flown in rocketry competitions, and he supports women in engineering. For this conversation and opportunity to network, I thank you as well.