Hi all! My
name is Claire Malaby, and I’m a senior in Computer Engineering. I am a Teaching Assistant for the
Freshman Engineering Orientation Class (I love helping the ‘little ones’ find
their way) and am the current President of Engineers’ Club.
This summer
I worked an internship in Goleta, California, which is right next to Santa
Barbara, and adventured around the area as much as I could. I fell in love with
the ocean, the mountains, and Trader Joe’s- but not necessarily in that order!
The picture below is from a trip to Monterey and the Big Sur area; there was an
easy hike down to the most beautiful waterfall I’ve ever seen right off Highway
1. In the same area was the Henry Miller Memorial Library, that held a
wonderful little book store with free coffee and a truly excellent cat, who is
also pictured below. My time in California was unforgettable, and if I could,
I’d spend 1000 words just talking about my time there. I think I did, and quite
a few times over, telling all my stories once I got back! Other places I
traveled: Solvang, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Santa Barbara proper… And to the
pool. Often. Right as I arrived, the Refugio Beach oil spill occurred, and the
Pacific Ocean isn’t that warm to start with, so, the heated pool in the
apartment complex it was!
Photo taken by me near McWay Falls, July 2015
Theo, the resident cat at the Henry Miller Library. Photo by me, July 2015
Apart from
that, well, I grew up in Oklahoma, did everything artsy in high school that I
could, including dance, theatre, and orchestra, before doing a complete 180 and
working towards a degree in engineering. I’ve found such a home and family in
engineering that I can’t imagine doing anything else. I love participating at recruiting events for
the College because it’s an opportunity to tell prospective students about my
story, how I got to engineering, and how that even if college seems terrifying,
if it feels like there’s no way that the homesickness won’t be terrible, if it
seems like this just isn’t going to work- that it will. That’s part of why I
love TAing for the freshmen—most of them make the college transition no
problem, but if I can help a few out along the way who are having a rougher
time, I’ll know I’ve done my job.
That’s
about as much passionate talking as I can muster for one evening, so I’ll leave
with several sentences and a picture that finish out the story I’ve started.
All photos are mine, clockwise from top left: My brother and I playing guitars at family Christmas, the best picture of me that has ever been taken, my SO and I at the El Segundo Museum of Art, and one of my proudest moments, walking across Abbey Road barefoot. Created with befunky.com's collage maker.
I am an
avid coffee drinker, lover of Pixar, and supporter of the color green.
One of my
favorite hobbies is slowly converting all of my friends into NPR listeners.
My first
part in a play was in fifth grade, and I played Elfis, who is the Christmas-Elf
version of Elvis.
I studied
abroad in Oxford in 2013.
Once, I
gave myself turf toe (a football injury, mind you) whilst playing in the ocean.
I cannot
whistle.
My name is Claire Malaby- and I hope you enjoyed reading this.
Kudos to you for finding your passion in computer engineering! I cannot imagine the workload that you have to endure! I have several friends in the engineering college (mostly mechanical and a few chemical), and I always hear about the horrors of engineering. You visited my home state! I grew up in California in Bay Area before I moved to Oklahoma. California is an awesome place, especially if you like the coast and mountains.
ReplyDeleteAhhh I'm so jealous! California must have been so nice during the summer. I got to visit LA a couple years back, and I loved every minute of it. I'd love to go back someday. Sounds like we had very similar high school experiences: I was super involved in theatre and music at my high school. I miss it sometimes, but I can't imagine studying anything else now. And I just did all the growth mindset activities, so I have to say: you can't whistle....yet!
ReplyDeleteClaire! You were in California too?! It is great that you drove the Pacific Coast Highway to Monterey; that is one of the most beautiful stretches of highway I've ever driven. I photographed McWay Falls last year. Did you see lots of fancy cars on your trip? I started counting Porsches because there were so many on that road. Did you get to go to the beach after the oil spill? There was an expedition with OpenROV to look at the spill underwater. You also made an excellent choice driving to California. The stretch of I-40 from OK to CA through the desert is another one of my favorite drives. You'll have to tell me more about your summer the next time I see you!
ReplyDelete1. I'm super jealous that you were in Cali for the summer! Let me start there but at least you had fun doing something you enjoy while there. Welcome to the no whistle club by the way, I can't whistle either and I've come to accept the fact that I probably won't be ever able to do it either and that's totally fine with me. But I loved all of your pictures and glad that you had a great summer!
ReplyDeleteI recognized that the picture must be from Monterey, Claire: that is one of my favorite places in the world! Southern California is beautiful too... but it's when you get on up the coast that I really fall in love with that place! And how great that you did Study Abroad in Oxford... it is a magical place too. I did a Master's there a gazillion years ago (back in the 1980s), and every day was some kind of special adventure, with London just a bus-ride away too! I wish we could somehow be transported to India to experience the epics there, but you will have to rely on your powers of imagination to conjure up the places of the epics and imagine the events taking place in those beautiful locations. I hope you will enjoy the class! And keep an eye out for the god named Vishvakarma, the All-Maker: he is the patron of engineers, and Vishwakarma Day is a special festival day for engineers and architects and all kinds of craftsmen. It is coming soon, on September 17: I will try to remember to put that in the announcements! :-)
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed your picture from California! I would love to hear more about your time there. I am originally from California, Huntington Beach to be exact. California is one of the most beautiful states in the world. My fiancé and I are thinking about honeymooning there. And I loved reading about your love helping the freshman, I have been a camp crimson SGL for three years so I totally understand!
ReplyDeleteClaire, I had no idea you had this class! That's awesome. I am glad I have someone else to talk to about these indian epics! I will have to check out NPR now. I know have started to listen to more podcasts on my way to Stillwater. I love California I think it is so gorgeous there. I loved Mountain View especially.
ReplyDeleteHey Claire! I enjoyed reading your introduction! It sounds like you're a really passionate and caring person and I'm glad there's people out there looking out for the poor freshman! I think it's really interesting that you began on the artsy side of the spectrum and then switched to engineering in college, I think that's awesome and gives you more of an all-around experience! I personally have never been to California, however, it is on my bucket list!
ReplyDeleteHi, Claire. You sound like you are a very busy and exciting person. :) I enjoyed seeing pictures of California and the awesome cat. My husband bounced around in Engineering (aerospace, mechanical, and civil) before finally doing Computer Science, so a good majority of my friends are engineers, so I know they can be a bit of a kooky crowd (in the best way).
ReplyDeleteThat's great that you are a TA for engineering. It sounds like you really enjoy it.
Claire, it's so cool how you have gotten to experience many different things at OU! Believe it or not, you are not the first music major I have met who has done a complete 180 and changed to engineering. You are actually the 3rd! I think it's cool that you decided to follow your passions because that takes a significant amount of bravery! It is also so cool that you got to do your internship in California this past summer! I was looking at internships for this next summer in Houston, but you have inspired me to look at all sorts of different places!
ReplyDeleteHey Claire! I too have fallen in love with the Pacific coast and all of its wonders. I have an aunt that lives in Northern Cal, but I have also spend a little time in L.A. and my favorite San Francisco. I adore Trader Joe’s and I think it would be great to have one in Norman! I actually love the Pacific coast so much that I am planning on going to graduate school there! Like you I also TA’d for Intro to Gateway. The course I did was a more generic course for students who did not know where they wanted to go. That was a long time ago, but I really enjoyed the experience. I hope you are having a great semester so far and cheers to our senior year! :)
ReplyDeleteHey Claire! I have never been to California but I have always wanted too. I have to admit that the bookstore that you were talking about sounds awesome. I love to read. It is one of the most relaxing things in the world to me. I could lay on my couch and read for days. I also have to add that I really like your pictures!
ReplyDeleteHI Claire! I always wanted to go to California. I always wanted to go to the ocean but I have only flown over it. What was the biggest thing that made you switch from arts to engineering? Man I also like coffee and i cant whistle. How is TA'ing exactly? I wanted to become a Chem 1 TA but i have not decided yet.
ReplyDeleteThis website is so great and I can tell that you are definitely comfortable with your way around computers. The details in everything really lend to a complete appearance. Your introduction is great. I think it really gets across your personality and it fits in with the website layout. I will keep a close eye on your work! Good job!
ReplyDeleteClaire! Just by reading this I can tell you're a very fun person to be around! :D
ReplyDeleteI actually first traveled to California last March for Spring Break to visit my best friend after she came home from deployment and let me tell you....I fell in love! She lives in the Sacramento area but we also went to Monterey and spent the night there so we could enjoy a weekend at the beach and I just cant wait to go back. I went back a second time this year and I'm already counting down the days until I can go back. I respect that you strive to help the younger students get used to life here and campus also. I think that's really great of you.
Stay awesome!
I also went to California, but I went for vacation rather than an internship. Likewise I traveled down or in my case up highway 1 and I thoroughly enjoyed the scenic views and the time away from the world. I do also have a joke about the thousand words, because you posted a picture. It seems that your activities are far different than engineering, but your almost done so keep up the good work.
ReplyDeleteHello Claire Malaby! You seem to have a lot of different interests. It is cool that you are interesting in engineering and so many of the different arts. Engineering must be a tough major so your hobbies must help you relieve stress. California is awesome. I lived there for 13 years before moving to Oklahoma. I like that you are a TA. It is always good to give back. Good luck on your semester!!
ReplyDeleteHi Claire! Your time in California sounds incredible. I absolutely adore that state and I would love to live there some day, if it weren't so expensive. My sister was always the artsy one growing up and she loves drama and has worked as a stage manager and been in several productions. I've always been a little jealous because I think that's so cool! But engineering is pretty awesome, too, and I wish you luck during the semester!
ReplyDeleteHi Claire,
ReplyDeleteIt sounds like you have a busy semester. That is a beautiful picture of California. The bookstore seems like a really cool place to visit. It seems like you had a good summer with the internship and the ability to travel around California. It is interesting that you decided to become an engineer after focusing on the arts. Good luck with the rest of the semester.
Hi, Claire! At this point, I'm convinced that we are meant to be friends. Reasons: green is my power colors, pixar is a gift to the world, and both NPR and Oxford have my heart. I loved learning about your many talents, too! :) I hope you're having a wonderful semester!
ReplyDeleteHi Claire! I think it’s pretty awesome that you are a senior now in Computer Engineering and also a TA for the Freshman class! I actually once wanted to go into Computer Engineering as well because I wanted to follow my dad in his footsteps, however, I quickly realized in high school that was not for me, so kudos to you! Your trip to California this past summer sounds so amazing! You seem to be living a pretty active and busy life! Good luck this semester and in all your future endeavors!
ReplyDelete