Walker Fisher ’21 Veritas Guitars– This summer, I was given the opportunity of working at Veritas Guitars in Vancouver, Washington. This internship in many ways was more than just about the experience with guitars; it was about learning things about myself, addressing suppressed thoughts and reestablishing my morals. As someone who has always loved traveling, the opportunity to drive from my small hometown in Indiana to the pacific northwest was a daunting—but thrilling—idea. Being able to see things I had only dreamed of up to that point, while also having time to reflect on life and look myself in the mirror allowed me to think of what my affect on Wabash’s campus had been this past year and question how well I truly measured up when it came to standing TALL amongst my brothers. As for the actual internship, I began working on building pickups for electric guitars. Pickups are magnetic coils that capture the vibrations produced by the strings, and then converts them into an electrical signal that can be amplified. By altering the wire gauge, amount of wraps, or type of magnet used, I was able to create completely different styles of pickups. And although this process is fairly straightforward, it taught me skills such as using CNC machines, soldering, and chart reading. However, to me the most important skills I learned came from the time when I wasn’t building pickups; but instead, when I was talking with coworkers and other people. Traveling to Washington meant that I knew no one; that I was dropping myself into uncharted territory of which anything could be radically different from what I was used to. It was not that I feared a different atmosphere, where the majority of people believed in alternate ideas to my own; but instead that I would not be able to relate to others or find friends. I like to think that my people skills have always been pretty good but walking into a room and not knowing what would happen next did not seem like my idea of fun. I quickly found that my worries were for no reason, as the men I worked with genuinely cared about me and wanted to know me. Outside of work, I made friends with people at a church I attended, and again found that people were willing to do anything to help me. I still cannot begin to thank any of these people enough for everything. Driving home was a much different experience than traveling out. I left filled with much more creativity, positivity, and hope for the future than I had come with. I left with a family waiting with open arms for me, and one that was sad to lose me for the time. But most importantly, I realized that I, myself, had become a pickup in this world. As someone who aspires to be a medical oncologist, building guitars is not an occupation I plan on going into completely; but one of my deepest passions outside of medicine. The skills I have obtained through working with guitars has shown me that I need to be more like an instrument myself. I need to understand others feelings, and then help convert them into actions to better our communities. I cannot thank Wabash enough for the amazing opportunity they gave me, or the people in Vancouver, Washington that will forever hold a part of me nearly 2,000 miles away from home.