Sitting in front of a chaotic desk was a person with a bland gaze, staring at the screen at a leisurely pace. This person was none other than Friend A. Wearing a loose hoodie, with a towel casually draped over the back of the chair after a shower, the phone on the desk vibrated. Friend A picked up the phone.
“Where are you? We’re on in ten minutes!” Looking at the message from her teammate, she knew what it meant. The Undergraduate Spring Research Conference Research Talk was her first time, as well as her teammates’. Each Research Talk would have a dedicated room, with an audience, judges, professors, and other mentors. Being late to such an important event would be a huge loss.
“On my way!” Quickly putting on the prepared white shirt and a coat, Friend A hurriedly rushed downstairs.
Ten minutes? No, thirteen minutes. She calculated that it would take 15-25 minutes to walk from the dormitory to the destination. Walking was definitely not an option. Friend A looked at the bus station, and a Gold Loop bus appeared around the corner.
The Gold Loop, as the name suggests, was the fastest bus from the dormitory to the academic buildings. It was estimated to take about ten minutes. Friend A shook her head, not good enough. According to the route of the Gold Loop to the target building, it would need to pass through at least five corners and four red lights, plus the possibility of students getting on and off. By the time it arrived, at least fifteen minutes would have passed. Last time, trusting this bus led to her being late for the midterm, which taught her a valuable lesson.
Riding a bicycle? Indeed, a good choice, and one of the most likely means of transportation to arrive on time. However, the bicycle was not the perfect choice. At noon, with the sun blazing and temperatures at 27°C (80°F), she didn’t want to appear sweaty in an air-conditioned room, giving a distracted presentation.
So, the only option left was the electric scooter, which was relatively cool and fast, even when surrounded by hot air. The cost was nothing compared to being late for the Research Conference.
Arriving at the base of the academic building, Friend A checked the time. 11:51, not bad, 9 minutes left. Now, all she had to do was walk slowly…
Wait, where are the stairs?
Although it wasn’t Friend A’s first time in this building, she had never gone upstairs, and the stairs were well-hidden. She rushed into the central library, finally finding the stairs to the second floor. Once upstairs, she found the place surprisingly calm. Well, it was a library, and her haste seemed out of place in the quiet environment.
There weren’t many people in sight in the library, and the guy sitting by the window looked bored, propping his head up with his hand. He was just here to work, after all. Just sitting around and doing nothing, his salary was calculated by the hour.
“Excuse me, do you know where room 214 is?” Friend A approached the librarian’s window, asking through the gap in the glass.
“Er, um,” the guy slowly got up from the table, looking at one corner of the table. “Emmm…” After a while, he looked at another corner, seemingly searching on the map.
Dude, I’m in a hurry for the Research Presentation! Please hurry up!!! Friend A thought anxiously.
Finally, the guy looked up. Just when Friend A thought she could get an answer, he turned and walked into the room inside. Friend A heard him ask, “…she asked where room 214 is…”
“Oh. What’s that for?”
“It’s for the undergraduate spring conference,” Friend A hurriedly said, Oh no, oh no, there’s not enough time.
“Oh, it should be in Building H…”
Did I go to the wrong place?!?! For a moment, Friend A started doubting her life, calculating how much time it would take to run from her current building.
“… and Building S, do you mean this one?” the librarian asked calmly.
“Yes… the S one.” Friend A sighed in relief, “Can you bring me there?”
“The place you’re looking for is behind that door,” the librarian came out from behind the desk, leading Friend A towards the door, pointing at it as she spoke. “Thank…”
“But, if you open this door, the alarm will sound.”
“So…”
“So,” the librarian picked up a key from her hand, “I’ll open it for you with this key.”
Having said that, the librarian pushed open the door, and Friend A peered ahead. It was the scene of the Undergraduate Research Conference.
“Is this the place you’re looking for?” the librarian asked.
“Yes, yes, thank you!” Friend A felt like she had just gone from despair to joy. She quickly thanked the librarian, looking around. Suddenly, as if she found something, she quickly walked forward.
In front of her were her teammates and mentor, who usually dressed casually but today finally wore shirts. They didn’t blame Friend A, instead, they said, “It’s almost our turn.”
Just as Friend A was looking confused, her mentor laughed and said to her, “Go sign in.”
“Oh… Oh! Okay!” Friend A walked to a small table with a sign. The girl in front of her asked, “Are you a presenter, a judge, or a mentor?”
“Presenter,” Friend A replied. The girl signaled for Friend A to swipe her school card. During the process, she looked at the divided box of name stickers in front of her and asked, “What’s your name?”
“Jing”
“Phew—” The presentation was finally over. AI and education, a topic that seemed to have received an unexpectedly good response. Friend A breathed a sigh of relief and returned to her seat next to the mentor.
You know, when she asked her teammates yesterday in the group chat if they wanted to practice together, one of them replied, “I’ve already practiced my part out loud several times, don’t worry.” But now she had become the one who hadn’t practiced at all.
Fortunately, her on-the-spot performance was good, and Friend A was secretly relieved. The mentor leaned over and asked, “Hey Jing, is this really your first time at a conference?”
Friend A naturally replied, “Yes.”
“Wow, really? You’ve done a really great job!” the mentor exclaimed. The group she led was originally just a project for a required course in the Learning Community, but unexpectedly, it had naturally progressed to today’s success and even became the starting point for a long-term research topic.
The original plan for the presentation didn’t involve asking the audience any questions, but during her teammate’s introduction, Friend A was suddenly inspired. When it was her turn to present the methodology, she started with a question—
“Who here has tried using ChatGPT?”
The audience looked at each other, then raised their hands in unison. Friend A was pleasantly surprised, paused for a moment, and continued her presentation along this topic.
After getting a cup of coffee and some cookies from the back of the room, Friend A returned to her seat, recalling her recent actions. ‘Uh, what did I just say?’ Friend A, who had just finished presenting, had successfully entered a state of amnesia, ‘…Uh, never mind, it doesn’t matter!’
This coffee had a familiar taste, yes, it was Starbucks coffee. As they walked out of the room, her teammates excitedly discussed the presentation, and Friend A grabbed another cup of coffee before leaving. ‘Compared to the caffeine in the cafeteria and library… uh, this one is smoother to drink, ah, this familiar taste…’
“AI is a tool to help us, not destroy us. Great job! That conclusion was amazing!” One teammate exclaimed excitedly. If it weren’t for the cherished “long time no drink” (meaning just finished yesterday) coffee, Friend A would have almost spat it out.
“I really just thought of that on the spot during the presentation,” Friend A replied, but the corners of her mouth couldn’t help but curve upward.
“Did you see that? It seems like our group had so much feedback and comments, the rest were just symbolic evaluations and questions,” another teammate chimed in.
Finishing the rest of her coffee, Friend A laughed:
“Great job, guys (￣∇￣)”
Interlude:
Me: (guilty) “To be honest, I didn’t practice at all.”
The teammate who claimed to have practiced many times: “Hahaha, me neither, but the outcome was still surprisingly good!”
Me: “?” (Feeling a bit deceived)