Externship comes to a close and so does my last day at Explorer. Between both internships, I re-think the value of relationships and connections. It's important to build on that with others because it creates a great work place for people. Not only this, but it's made me listen more to others around me. The people I've worked with I consider wise and I can only learn from them. Having two internships also made me think about the many possible work fields that are out there and that I'm not limited. It's actually crucial to go out and experience as much as you can, that way you can acquire skills you never thought you had. For example, when I see Tasi helping her students, the willingness she has only makes me want to do the same. I want to be able to inspire others somehow. Within this month I've become less worried about what the future has to bring in terms of my career because it seems to work out for everyone in the end. It's also made me want to focus on my love for helping others and learning from them.
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My last day of externship in the lab! It's truly meant a lot to me these past couple of weeks. My mentor arranged a celebration with everyone in the lab for me and my last day. I'd say I made a meaningful contribution to the workplace because the appreciation was shown through my mentor. I helped a lot with the things she needed done and proved that a high-school student is capable of working in the lab. My externship has also brought my attention to the education pathways I'm considering, and I am certain I'll be working in a lab again. It's great to gain experience from any site because there's always something new to learn. Whether it's from the job itself or the people you meet. The principle investigator of the lab even told me that "you are never entirely sure about what is planned for you next." I completely agree and that's why I'm excited to further my education and find out.
By observing and being around the people in the lab, I've learned it's a very serious job and you are ultimately contributing to a greater good. My mentor had really put into perspective for me that there are so many research opportunities or biology related positions out there, because we are constantly testing new experiments or data. Not only this, but my internship at the elementary school has made me realize I also want to contribute to the youth. It's great I'm given the chance to experience these two internships because it's only going to benefit me as I figure out what opportunities I'm open to in college. As of right now, I am planning to study Biology and I feel I've learned so much from Keini. She's definitely been a role model when it comes to an educational path I'm considering about pursuing. I find it inspirational that she moved to the U.S. from Brazil and is a postdoctoral researcher and loves what she does every day.
Here are three more pictures that capture what I'm doing most of the time. All those tubes you see are what I've harvested from Arabidopsis plants. It took a lot of time for me to collect all of those seeds individually! Around the lab are also articles related to what they are studying, or funny pictures. I found this taped to one of the machines. It's a guy holding a petri dish, and he yells, "Colonies!" because he sees clusters of bacteria or whatever it is in his plate. The next photo is me preparing to pour some seeds into plates.
I'd say there is a lot of self-advocacy in the lab. You have to be accountable towards each other to the big research but also show you are capable of performing what's asked on your own. When I compare myself to last year in the lab, my self-advocacy has grown. I was afraid to ask a lot of questions for fear of the people around thinking it would be a dumb question. I've gotten a lot more comfortable being curious in the lab environment and clarifying all my tasks. Communication goes hand in hand with self-advocacy because it's important to explain your thoughts, actions, and intentions so everyone is on the right page. Last week, someone in the lab thought I was responsible for misplacing one of their tubes in the fume hood. At first I was going to apologize but then realized I was never in that fume hood to begin with! That's a time where I self-advocated for myself.
I don't have a "selfie-advocate" selfie. However, Dr. Don came to visit me and my mentor today and I feel it went really well. :) It meant so much to me when Keini told Dr. Don that I've been on top of everything, more than some of the graduate students she's worked with! Last Monday and Friday has been fun with the kiddos at Explorer. It's cool to see where they're at during the start of the week and then come back on Friday to see how far they've got. They have all the PVP pipes set up and you can really see that the escape room is coming along. They've also gotten more concrete about what their role is during the project. Most of the students have been creating lock boxes or puzzles with cardboard. It's always a great time in the classroom, although sometimes it gets a little hectic with the kids. I think what really wrapped last week up for me was when Ms. Tasi asked if I'd consider teaching. She told me I'd make a great teacher because of how patient and kind I am with the kids. I definitely am considering it or something related to influencing the youth. Here are some pictures of my environment at Explorer.
Week two! My mentor wasn't feeling well today but she trusted me enough to tell me what to do. Today I sterilized more seeds, poured them into plates and harvested some more plants. I'm glad I came back to do this internship because I also hope to do lab work/ research in college. The day goes by super fast for me when I'm working efficiently, and I feel like I'm getting a lot of stuff done. Here's a picture of one of the refrigerators that keeps all the plates. I've sterilized about 50 tubes of seeds each day I've been here so far, and then poured it into these plates that are kept in the fridge.
I decided I'd do Monday blogs, specifically for my second internship. :)
Last Friday was my first day interning at Explorer, and let me tell you, it was pretty hectic! In a good way, of course. That day started off with me seeing all my old teachers. They've watched me grow and now I am almost done with high-school which is so crazy to me. Then, I got to meet my mentor, Tasi. She's the art teacher and this year she is teaching 2nd and 3rd graders. She is super nice and I could tell she was happy to have me on board for the kid's escape room project. Since I'll only be interning two days out of the week, my job is to assist Tasi in her class with all of the tasks leading up to their exhibition. Not only this, but we're working alongside the engineering teacher, Jean, to create a haunted school escape room. On Friday, there were about 4 classes that came into the art room and I helped the students on their job for the project. Some of the jobs included set design, puzzle making, sewing, etc. I adore working with children and I'm amazed at how creative they are. One of the students insisted I have her Hershey's chocolate bar after cheering her up! Today, the classes actually got to cut PVC pipes and measure out how the room will be set up. Through today's experience, I appreciate teachers and the time they put in for prep. I notice that it's definitely a learning process of how you want your day to go with the students. The first period class kinda went crazy with all the tools and supplies, and each class got easier to handle, as I had suggested we do timed stations. One of the substitute teachers said I'd make a great teacher with how well I work with the kids and that means a lot! It's quite amazing how much patience that researchers have in the lab. I admire their dedication to finding all possible solutions in a study. For example, my mentor and her colleagues are currently researching defense mechanisms in plants. It's a very general topic which leaves a lot of room for the researchers to specify it down. My mentor is specifically working with maize and arabidopsis crops, and she does multiple assays (scientific experiments). Today, I helped her clone DNA, and harvest seeds. Almost all of the tasks being done in the lab require being attentive to what you're doing and I'd say that's a skill I'm developing during my internship. Not only this, but it's driven me to want to get things done so I can do more tasks! My mentor and I have already discussed site visits, and we welcome Dr. Don when he wants to stop by!
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Externship BlogWelcome to my Externship Blog! My blogs are updated every Monday, Tuesday and Thursday, for the month of May 2017. Enjoy :) |