Happy Spring semester! I have so much to look forward to for this last spring semester here at USC, and it’s definitely going to be bittersweet. I have a full schedule of chemical engineering classes, I added a German language class (though I already went abroad to Germany), and I am continuing with my research! It’s going to be a busy last spring semester, so I’m going to reminisce about winter break for a little bit.
I know, I know, I already went to Germany… But I still want to learn German! I’m glad I enrolled in GERM101.
Over winter break, my family decided to do a little exploring of Los Angeles. Since we are from San Diego, it was only a short drive up during the break! It was cool being a tourist in my own city, since I don’t have the chance to explore LA every week that I am at USC. Engineering life can be busy! We planned a vacation where we visited the Getty (which I hadn’t been to since freshman year—a free trip that I took with some members of Trojan Scholars Society) and some great hiking adventures. It was good to get out in the cool “winter” air of Los Angeles for a bit… We are pretty spoiled with the weather here!
The Getty Museum is so beautiful!
The Getty Villa and Museum are two amazing exhibits in Los Angeles, and house some cool ancient culture and art pieces. I especially loved walking around the Getty Villa, which is located in a beautiful location near the ocean. My mom is an architect, and pointed out all sorts of cool features that I probably wouldn’t have noticed with my chemical engineering background. Additionally, I wandered through the halls of the Getty Museum and was especially intrigued by these ancient vases that were “refurbished” in the mid 1900s. Interestingly enough, the reconstruction was poorly done, and had essentially damaged the ancient art of the pieces. I particularly enjoyed reading about how the older art is distinguished from the new art – it’s all chemistry. Additionally, my family and I went for some hikes through Los Angeles…I’ll hit on that next week!
Because of the CA drought, they actually turned off the water for this feature… But it still looks amazing!
This semester (last spring semester of chemical engineering!), I am looking forward to my “wrap-up” chemical engineering classes. I have taken a lot of core classes throughout the years, learning about designing a reactor or an extraction column or a pipe diagram. This semester, I am figuring out how all these pieces work together. My classes are pretty design focused, and I am working on my senior design project with Lyssa. We haven’t gotten the assignment yet, so stay tuned.
One of the most amazing views from the Getty!
That’s all for now!
