The Royal Experience Summer Internship Program

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

In the past several weeks, I have been challenged by both technical and personal difficulties. As a research intern working in the lab, there were many days where it seemed that the procedure would never work or even worse provide for null results. In these times, I found myself desperate for answers and solutions to my problems. Moreover, being away from home and in an entirely different environment made it difficult to reach out to other collaborators and peers at the University of New Hampshire. Had it not been for my two mentors, Dr. Guo and Dr. Ashline, the summer would had been an extremely difficult one, but their guidance helped keep me motivated and focused on my research. We spent many hours discussing the fundamentals and performing the techniques necessary to succeed in the lab. During the summer, we had an instrument failure that caused the instrument to stop responding to inputs. It required us to take apart the internals of the Ion-Trap where we spent many hours carefully diagnosing it. After many lessons about the hardware that governs the instrument, we were finally able to find the part that was faulty, and we replaced it. It was in this time working side by side with them that I gained the confidence to succeed in the laboratory. This internship gave me the rare opportunity to learn and grow from a research intern to a scientist capable of tackling the important questions of chemistry. For this opportunity, I am most thankful!

Nolan McLaughlin
Neuroscience

It is hard to believe that the summer before my senior year is almost to an end. The most rewarding part of this summer was my internship at the Scranton Counseling Center in the Partial Hospitalization Program. The experience I have gained is indescribable because I have gained vast variety of knowledge. The whole journey of the past three months was amazing, but the most rewarding part of my internship was to see new behaviors every day. The clients were the same almost every day, but their personalities and behaviors vary daily due to their illnesses of depression, anxiety, bipolar disorder, and schizophrenia. From that I have learned that every day holds something new for me and I should be ready to face different situations in the field of psychology. I have learned how to help clients cope with their different moods.

The most challenging part of my internship was when I had a hard time helping a client with how to change their negative thoughts into positive. There were times when clients were so caught up in their past that they were unable to see the positivity and hope for the future. It was then when I faced the most difficulty because they were not at the point to understand how precious life is. However, I hope to continue to grow in this area to better assist clients in the upcoming last two weeks of my internship.

Mili Patel
Neuroscience Major, Psychology Minor

As a rehabilitation sanctuary, Antler Ridge serves as a temporary home for sick, injured, and orphaned wildlife where they are nursed back to health and prepared for life in the wild. It is a sad reality that not every animal can be saved, but those that are get released back into the wild. Watching the animals leap and roam about in grass fields without the constraints of a cage, was the most rewarding and humbling experience of the summer. Releases served as a reminder that wild animals are not meant to be domesticated and caged. They also affirmed that the time spent, care given, and enrichment provided for the animals was all worth it. However, this summer did not come without challenges. Three weeks into my internship, the director/ my mentor broke her leg. In her absence, I was rushed into a role of leadership as I was still learning the ropes myself. Given the responsibility to oversee the sanctuary, it’s volunteers and intakes, as well as the care provided for the animals (especially the fawns) was intimidating and it challenged me to take on a position of authority. Despite the hardships, I am grateful for the opportunity this summer to have interned at Antler Ridge. I worked with some of the most unique animals- including a mink, met amazing volunteers that helped me learn and grow, and improved my leadership, communication, and organization skills. Most importantly, I gained valuable knowledge and skills to become a successful vet.

Michelle D’Alessandro
Biology

My internship at Our Lady of the Fields Camp and Retreat Center has given me great experience in both the marketing and management fields. The most rewarding part of my internship was being able to connect with so many people through the camp’s social media and seeing their positive responses to the pictures and videos I posted. I also emailed hundreds of people, such as priests, youth ministers, school principals, and sports coaches, to recruit groups to come to OLF, and we were able to recruit multiple groups from these emails. It was very rewarding for me to see how much of a difference my work has made for the camp. Additionally, managing groups at the camp was a rewarding experience because it helped me grow in confidence, both as a manager and in general. Knowing each day that staff members were looking to me for leadership and direction led me to be more decisive.

The most challenging part of my internship was communicating with people of all ages because not all audiences register well with some communication forms, so making sure I am getting camp’s message out to all audiences was a lengthy daily process. That communication challenge could also extend to managing the staff at times, as it could be difficult to keep everyone on the same page, especially when plans are constantly updating and evolving in a fast-paced setting, like at camp. I had to learn to be flexible and responsible when it comes to communicating. Overall, my internship at OLF was a great experience, and I am excited to apply the skills and lessons I learned in my career.

Maria Hickey
Business Administration

As always, summer came and went! My time at the Everhart Museum won’t soon be forgotten; I have made friends and colleagues, and I continue to work there as a gallery guard. The experience I gained working with the museum’s curator Francesca is invaluable to my future career in the arts- I handled and researched objects that most only get to see behind thick glass or hanging on a wall. I was included in decisions that will have a lasting effect on the curatorial department, and to me that means so much; knowing I played a role in the museum’s future. The Royal Experience is most definitely one that I will never forget, and I know how fortunate I am to have been selected to take part in it.

Jordan Oakey
Liberal Studies with concentrations in Studio Art, Art History, and Education Theory

After two months of research in California, I am happy to say that I had a great experience. Living at the White Mountain Research station has been amazing for a number of reasons. I have met so many different people from all over the US and from all walks of life. I have learned about different species, life histories and identification of plants/ pollinators, but also about other projects, people and places. I spent a majority of my free time without cell service, but became happily immersed in hiking, drawing, and swapping books with people from all corners of the country at the station. Living in rural, eastern California for 8 weeks was a great experience.

The most rewarding part of this internship was getting out of my comfort zone and learning about a completely new field of biology, pollination ecology. I was able to learn many new data collection techniques of plants/ pollinators throughout the summer. I even got the chance to learn more about statistical analysis and how to use data in a meaningful way to answer scientific questions. Though this summer was a great experience, I learned that I am not very interested in pursuing an ecological research career. I spent a lot more time alone in the field than I had anticipated. In the future, I hope to work in an environment where I can work as part of a close team and make more connections. Coming to this realization was a challenge, but I am glad I had this summer internship to help me come to this conclusion. Overall, I had a great summer full of research experiences that will help me to become a better, well-rounded research scientist in the future.

Elizabeth Kenny
Biology

This summer, the most challenging part of my internship at Nichols Law Offices has been to have patience when working with clients. My boss, Craig Nichols, seems to have an endless amount of patience to explain things to clients. Client meetings over simple matters can sometimes stretch well over an hour. Meetings over complex matters, like Department of Homeland Security interviews, can last half the day. Even in difficult cases, Mr. Nichols never gets frustrated or irritated. I have met this challenge by putting myself in the clients’ shoes and realizing how difficult it can be to express thoughts and feelings while facing life altering realities, like possible deportation. When I find myself running out of patience, I simply take a deep breath, refocus, and dive back while trying to explain the problem in a different way.

The most rewarding part my internship goes in hand with the most challenging. Giving our clients the legal service that they need to stay in the U.S. makes the marathon meetings worth it. When our clients give us their stories, it makes me so grateful to be an American. The poverty, violence, and struggles that many of our clients have dealt with are almost unimaginable. Helping these people find a better life in the U.S. makes all the challenges worth it.

Colin Sommers
History/Political Science

As I reflect back on the past several weeks spent as a therapy intern at Island Dolphin Care (IDC) in Key Largo this summer, I can honestly say the most rewarding aspect has been the feedback we’ve gotten from our clients and their families as to the lasting difference the dolphin-assisted therapy has made in their lives. Testimonials from military veterans rave about how their sleep has improved and their anxiety has decreased after participating in therapeutic swim sessions with our dolphins. Some parents say that IDC is the reason their otherwise non-verbal children were able to speak. Children themselves say that they are thankful for IDC because it gives them the rare opportunity to just be a kid without being too restricted by their health limitations. I am proud and very thankful to have been part of the Island Dolphin Care family this summer.

The most challenging part of this internship is having to say goodbye to the amazing clients with whom we work. Most of our clients stay for a 5-day therapy program during which we are privileged to be invited into their daily lives. We get to know these clients and see their improvements over the week-long therapy sessions, but every Friday when it is time to say goodbye, there are tears in everyone’s eyes. I can now say that I have made friends from all over the world including Puerto Rico, Germany, England, and Poland! It is wonderful that the dolphins operate in a universal language and have a way of touching everyone’s hearts.

My summer internship at Island Dolphin Care has flown by faster than I ever would have imagined, and I am forever grateful for the experience to work side by side with the therapists … both human and dolphin! I am also thankful for the support of the Royal Experience program to have had this life-changing intern experience.

Claire Jarvis
Occupational Therapy

After a summer of interning at the Everhart Museum, I have learned so much about the excitement and demands that go into the role of a curator. I have quickly learned that one of the most challenging aspects of creating exhibitions is not only presenting them in an educational way, but also keeping cultural traditions in consideration as well. Museums often struggle with finding a balance between displaying indigenous objects in an educational or aesthetic light. My research on various sacred objects and indigenous traditions have provided appropriate cultural context and aided the museum in their pursuit of creating ethical and culturally-aware exhibitions. Extensively researching specific artifacts often became very tedious and challenging at times; however, the most rewarding aspect of my internship was also seeing my research come to fruition.

In addition to my research, the other most rewarding aspect of my internship has been being able to handle many historical objects in the Everhart’s private collection. I have always been fascinated with artifacts and artworks; however, my access to them was limited to visits at other museums and pictures from online resources. Being able to hold important objects in my hands and directly participate in their long histories was an amazing feeling that deepened my appreciation for art. Overall, my entire experience has been very rewarding and has ignited my passion to continue pursuing a museum-related career in the future.

Abbey Donaldson
History