Last week, we officially were allowed to get started contacting people for interviews! Based on experience from last year, I had a hard time getting replies so I thought to approach my contacts a bit differently last year. Last week, I sent 8 LinkedIn messages total and did not call or email anybody. I found this to be pretty successful for me because I got two responses within 1 hour!
This week is also the business symposium and although I did not find anybody who was in my profession last year, I am hoping that I meet professionals this year who I can interview for my research.
My goal is to have all of my interviews scheduled by mid-October so I can hopefully find a mentor by the end of the month. So far, I am in conversation with two people to hopefully schedule a meeting in the next two weeks. Last year, I was not able to find a mentor in time for Original Work so I was not able to get help for my project. This year, I am trying to find a mentor by OW so I can get professional help on that as well. I also want to do 4-5 interviews before I choose a mentor, if time permits, so I can network more.
Akshara Akella 
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