James Addison III, 2025 SPS Careers Toolbox Intern

Biography

SPS Chapter: Lamar University
Hello, My name is James Addison III and I attend Lamar university. When I first started off in college, I was a Mechanical Engineering Major. As I began to take more of my physics classes, the more I began to enjoy it. Not only that but I had amazing professors that put a lot of passion not only into their classes but their students as well. Because of the great influence of the physics professor, I made the big leap in changing my major to math and physics which lead me to where I am today. An SPS Summer intern.

Internship

Host: SPS Careers Toolbox Intern

Internship Blog

Week 1

I started my travels to DC relatively early. We flew all the way from Texas on the 24^th of May. This was my first time really going to an airport but little did I know that an airport could be so packed and confusing plus they changed the terminal we would be leaving from multiple times which was a little annoying but besides that it was fun flying on a plane for the first time the view was amazing.
Once we landed in DC, it was a big change of pace from Texas. The big difference was that everything was within walking distance and that driving felt almost impossible on these packed streets.
Fast-forwarding a little bit and I have officially moved into the dorm and met my roommate JJ, and we have already gone on a few groceries runs together and have had some pretty cool adventures. One of the most recent ones was us going to Pentagon city to go to target, and I can’t forget Grace; she was also a part of our SPS cohort. We all went to trader joes together. So far, I’m enjoying DC even though I’m still adjusting to its new environment but I’m excited to see what the rest of this summer will bring.

Week 2

Title: More Adventures and Cruise… and the Muppets?

This week started off to normal. It began with arriving at work and working 9-5 like usual so nothing really out of the ordinary just meetings and discussing my project for the summer with my mentor.
Things started to get more exciting on June 4th. That evening, my mentor invited me to dinner with other members of the SPS board. We met at China Chilcano, where the food was unique and delicious. I had a great time getting to know everyone before the actual board meeting scheduled for the next day, June 5th.
Since we had a dinner cruise coming up later that afternoon of June 5th, during my lunch break on June 4th I went to Nordstrom rack and got a blue blazer and some blue slacks too that I could look a tad bit sharper for the occasion. The cruise was nice and the view that we got from the ship was amazing, not only that, but we did a lot of dancing which was fun for everyone.
Fast-forwarding to the weekend, that is when the real fun began. A group of us interns visited 2 museums, stopped by a bookstore, and got some coffee. Then later that night we watched the Muppets movie (2011) and it was a blast. Overall, this week was long but very fun and a week to remember. I feel very fortunate to be here to be honest and have met pretty great people because of it. Below I will include all pictures of the various outings.

Week 3

Title: Pretty Chill week

This week was pretty chill we didn’t really go out that much. That said, I feel really proud of the progress I made on the work side of things. I think I’ve finally started taking real steps in the right direction, and it feels good to finally get the ball rolling on my project.
A lot of that progress came from sitting in meetings, pitching my thoughts and ideas, and getting to know the people involved. I spent time introducing them to what my project is about and working to get them on board with my plan. I also really appreciate that my mentor is giving me the space to grow and encouraging me to take the lead on the project. It means a lot.
Below are some photos from my outing with Grace to the Natural History Museum.

Week 4

This week has been one of the busiest days, yet it was packed with meetings and brainstorming sessions to push my project forward. We’ve now reached a key stage preparing to involve this year’s SPS interns in a focus group. Their feedback will help us figure out the best direction to take when improving the Careers Toolbox. There’s a lot more coming soon, but for now, consider this a quick update on the progress and a preview of the fun ahead this is a quick progress update to the fun stuff

The picture above shows all of us interns in an elevator during our tour of NIST. During the tour, we got to visit an anechoic chamber and learn about the nuclear instruments that physicists use to help develop there. This was my favorite part of the tour as it gave me my first real look at what experimental physicists do in the lab, and it made the field feel even more exciting and real to me.

This week, I finally made it to the Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum! I was excited to see all the planes and I even got to see an X-wing from Star Wars. The picture above is of me and Grace suiting up, getting ready to board the ship.

Finally, Sunday rolled around my 21st birthday. A few of the interns and I headed down to the annual barbecue festival, which was amazing. I scored a ton of free stuff, ate plenty of great food, and most of all, had fun celebrating surrounded by friends.
Later that evening, I was completely surprised by the other interns with an ice cream birthday cake that Maia made for me. They sang the birthday song, signed a birthday card, and even gave me a cowboy boot plushie. This was hands down one of the best birthdays I’ve had. I truly appreciate what the other interns did for me it meant a lot, and I’ll remember it and cherish it for a long time.

Week 5

To begin with, this week was a very eventful one well, for me at least. As a quick update on my project, this was the week when all the prior planning finally came together to hold the focus group with the interns. The goal was to get feedback on how the SPS Careers Toolbox can be improved as we move toward migration.
In my humble opinion, the focus group went well, thanks to the huge help from Anne Marie and her assistant Jordana everything ran smoothly. The interns gave some great, constructive feedback on what they thought of the Toolbox, which I really appreciated.
From here, Anne Marie will generate results from the focus group, which will help me engage with others who are assisting with my project. It’ll also help guide our next steps as we move forward with the migration of the Careers Toolbox. Now to the fun stuff.

Later in the week, there was a fire alarm that forced everyone to evacuate the dorm. While we were all outside, I happened to spot a squirrel casually eating, completely unbothered by the commotion. I thought it was a cool little moment, so I snapped a picture of the little guy.

Later in the week, I was scheduled to go to the orchestra with a couple of other interns. The performance was amazing, the music was captivating, and the atmosphere made the night feel special. I also really appreciated the kindness Jack showed by giving us tickets and giving us the chance to experience something like this together.
The picture above is of me and the other interns on the way back from the concert. During the ride, Naomi asked if any of us had any cool or hidden talents. Sure enough, Saniya surprised us with this wild finger trick she could do. It was awesome and had us all laughing.

Lastly, to finish the week, I finally got to visit the zoo for the first time in years, which was such a fun throwback. After that, I spent time walking along the waterfront with JJ and Elise. While we were out, I managed to snap some cool pictures of the view.
One of the highlights of my weekend was spotting an Aston Martin DB11 (pictured above), and although I didn’t get a photo of it, I also saw a McLaren 720S in a stunning blue and black colorway. Overall, it was a packed and memorable weekend, especially on Sunday.

Week 6

This week was another very productive one. I managed to get a lot of work done. Even better, we’re gearing up to send out the first round of advisory surveys in the upcoming week. Stay tuned for more updates. Now, here’s a quick rundown of what I accomplished over the past week:

The picture above is from when a few of us interns went to Ben’s Chili Bowl. I’m a big fan of chili dogs, and Jenna recommended this and wasn’t wrong. I can confirm it lives up to the hype as one of the best spots for chili dogs.

Later that week, for the Fourth of July, the same group of us went down to the monument to watch the fireworks and celebrate together.
I didn’t do a whole lot this week overall, but the things I did take part in were fun, and I’m looking forward to what next week brings.

Week 7

Let’s go ahead and start off this blog with beans and chips. This week, I finally sent out the first round of the SPS advisory survey to get their perspectives on the Careers Toolbox. So far, I’ve gotten a couple of responses, which are great, and later this week I should be getting the results back from the intern focus group. The next challenge will be converting all this feedback into a useful guide as we begin the migration to the Careers Toolbox.

Now that we’re done with the business, let’s move on to the fun stuff. I didn’t do too much this week, but I did manage to take a short tour of the Capitol and grabbed Canes with a couple of interns. I also went to an art museum with Grace we both really enjoyed it, and Grace thought it was a real hoot. Other than that, it was a pretty chill week. I mostly just relaxed over the weekend since I’ve been feeling a bit burned out lately.

Week 8

This week I really didn’t do much of anything. All I can really talk about is what I did work wise. I continued working on my presentation, taking my time because I really want to make sure I do the best I can and get my point across as well as possible. Besides that I also was able to network with other people. I will also be meeting Gary White later this up coming week and I am very excited.

Week 9

This week felt long, to be honest, but overall, it wasn’t too bad. Right now, I’m reviewing my PowerPoint presentation and preparing for the upcoming symposium. On top of that, I finally received enough solid feedback to begin working on Tool 1, and I’ve started teaching myself how to use Brightspot. The biggest challenge so far is figuring out how to navigate and use the platform effectively, but aside from that, I’m genuinely enjoying the process.

Now onto the exciting part what I’ve been up to with the other interns. This week, we went to happy hour, caught a baseball game, and I even got to enjoy some KBBQ with Kavin. All in all, it was a fun and memorable week. Check out the pictures below.

Week 10

The Internship was an amazing experience, W internship and people. I will miss them all so much.