The most rewarding part of my internship as an organic chemistry undergraduate research student was experiencing an atmosphere that could one day become my workplace. Although one can visit work sites and be told about what jobs in chemistry research will be like, I got the chance to actually live the life of a researcher for 10 weeks and immerse myself in it completely. However, the most challenging part of my internship is the effort that must be put in to dedicate oneself to one thing for so long. In school, I am used to working on a paper for a few days, turning it in, and being done with it forever. In research and a full time job, the work all relates and piles on itself, causing you to never actually be finished. It takes a large amount of dedication to continually immerse oneself in research, because a great discovery will never come overnight.
Alex Gardner
Chemistry/Philosphy