Reflecting on these past weeks of my summer research, I have been faced with many challenges but have ultimately come out feeling rewarded.
In the first few weeks, there were times in which I felt overwhelmed by the amount of information that I was expected to know. I struggled with remembering how to how to operate the apparatuses, make the solutions, and follow out the different procedures that I was learning every day. This, along with an unstructured schedule that sometimes kept me in the lab until 8 PM, was very stressful. Also, research, in general, can be discouraging. Experiments are unpredictable and there were times that I spent hours working on an experiment only to end up with no results. To top it off, commuting on the ever-unreliable Long Island Railroad and NYC subway was especially exhausting.
Despite the challenges that I have faced, I have also been rewarded by this experience. I have grown a new sense of independence both inside and out of the lab. I am confident in the information and the skills that I have learned, and will be able to apply them to my classes in the upcoming year. Hopefully, the data that I have collected will be valuable in further research.
Overall, I am incredibly grateful for this experience. I have met so many brilliant people and I and am excited to see what the future of medical research will be!
Tara O’Hagan
Biology
Tara,
Sounds like your summer was though but rewarding! I could imagine the travel on the NYC Subway was a challenge! I’m glad to read that you are grateful to have had the experience!
Best,
Blake
I understand the struggles of starting a new internship. I’m happy to hear that you were able to overcome the challenges and have an incredible internship experience! Great work!