Weekly Progress Report 11/11-11/24

Lauren Goldschmidt
Week of November 11th
● This week held a disappointing correspondence with Dr. Bonar, as he left the state before
we had a chance to secure an interview. That being said, we agreed that we could meet
the week of his return, which was encouraging. A challenge I faced this week was
missing 3 days of school, once for personal reasons, once for a volunteer opportunity, and
once for a field trip. That put me behind on my school work, making it difficult for my
independent studies to be my number one priority, as much as I wanted them to be.
Week of November 18th
● Despite my lack of tangible progress, I feel like I made some big strives forward this
week. Often, when I’m faced with an overwhelming number of tasks, I struggle to
complete them and get stuck feeling trapped or unsuccessful. I communicated that to Mr.
Pirtle during a conversation where I asked if he was disappointed in me, to which he
raised the question, “are you disappointed in yourself?”. The answer to that was yes, but
it didn’t have to be. So, faced with a research assessment, an interview assessment,
several tests and quizzes, work, and a plethora of personal problems, I addressed what
could be addressed, and accomplished what I needed to. I had an opportunity during
research assessment #8 to learn that the Dallas Zoo employs a cheetah-service dog
program, and I am eager to learn more about it. I also finally secured an interview with
Dr. Bonar for November 27th at 3:00, which I am very excited about.

Analysis:
These past two weeks have been busy but manageable. I realize that I’ve stopped
reaching out to people and focused a majority of my efforts on Dr. Bonar and what I can learn
from him, so I’ve come to the following conclusion. I will make the most of my interview with
him this coming week and hopefully make a good first impression. From there, I will ask for
references to other zoological veterinarians with which he is acquainted, and reach out from
there. Ideally, Bonar himself will be mentor potential, but I will avoid asking during our meeting
for fear of scaring him off. My goal is to learn as much as possible and move forward with my
new knowledge. I am excited about the progress I am making but very intimidated by how
quickly time is passing. Winter showcase is basically next month, and I don’t have a mentorship
yet. That is scary. But, I know that rushing progress will inevitably inhibit success, and I need to
make sure I take advantage of this opportunity by taking my time and doing it right. ​Moving
forward, I hope to ​continue to respect myself and my time, trying to be proactive with what is
expected of me. I don’t want to feel too overwhelmed or unsuccessful in these coming weeks,
because I know how important they will be to my long-term success. I hope to make a good first
impression and find opportunities for mentorship with my interview with Dr. Bonar.