Friday, May 30, 2014

Palau Reflection #2- Maddy Armstrong



What was the hardest thing about the Palau Expedition for you?
The hardest part of the Palau expedition for me was adapting on the fly. With underwater vehicles not everything is going to work 100 percent of the time. Things break, stress levels rise, and communication skills fade. Although this was one of the hardest things for me to get use to I think the team handled it very well. Each person on the team has their own way of handling a situation. There was a good balance of who needed to step up and who needed to take a break. This was hard for me because I always wanted to be doing something. I had to learn that I have to do what’s best for the team, not what’s best for me.


What was the hardest part of the Palau Expedition for the Team?
The hardest part of this mission for the Team was navigation. Being able to navigate accurately comes with a lot of communication and background knowledge. We as a team lacked the background knowledge, communication skills, and confidence. I noticed in the briefings, when asked who was in charge of navigation, no one stepped up with confidence. This showed in our missions. It’s something I know that the whole team has to improve on for next year.



What is your favorite picture of you in Palau? 

This is my favorite picture of me from Palau this year because it shows how happy I was to become an official member of of the Bentprop Project. It was an absolute honor working with the Bent Prop team. It was amazing to watch them work with each other. They lead by example and it is what has shown our team how to work better with each other. 







What is your favorite picture of the team working in Palau? 

DSC02501_.jpgThis is my favorite picture of the team working in Palau because it shows many different things. I was practicing operating the ROV, while Jeremy and Luke were teaching me. Emma was also watching because she was going to drive next, and wanted to know how to operate the ROV. Chloe and Karly are showing safety by putting on sunscreen, while Blake is taking a water break. This one picture shows how our daily work days are structured. Everybody is taking care of each other through safety checklists, and we are also learning from each other.


Maddy Armstrong, Junior


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