My work here as an intern has been very meaningful to my education. It has been a great experience for me and I now have a clearer idea of what it would be like to have a career in science and work in a lab, I know have a better idea of what I want to do in the future. This experience will better prepare me for college science classes and will give me a jump start if I chose a career in science. I have also gained a lot of skills that will prepare me for the future.
Before starting my internship I knew that I wanted to have a career in helping people and that I had an interest in science, but I didn't know what it was like to work in a lab. Now that I have been working here for a few weeks I have realized that I would love to have a career in a science lab. I believe that it's a good fit for me because biology and science are one of my best subjects and because I have really enjoyed working here. I would like to get to know what's like to work in other labs as well.
I'm Interested in studying:
self-ad·vo·ca·cy To me self advocacy also means speaking up for my self, and asking questions when I need help. This has been I big part of my internship. Sometimes I'll be working in the lab and my mentor will be in the office working on his own research. If I have a question about where something is (which happens often), how something works, or when I get locked out of a room because I forget the codes I have to advocate for myself and ask one of the other lab members for help. Everyone in the lab is very nice and helpful, so I feel comfortable asking them questions.
I've been trying to follow Dr.Patton's tip on how to be an intern everyone remembers, but there are a few that I have especially tried to follow. Tip number 1, "Always be trying to do something" is one that I think about the most. sometimes I have to wait patiently for my turn to use a tool, or for my next instructions from my mentor. During this time I try to always be doing something so it doesn't seem like all I do is sit around. I work on my blog post, take pictures, write emails, or do extra research for my project. I've also been following tip number 4, "Dress more professionally than you think you need to". Here at the lab everyone is very casual, most people wear tee shirts and shorts. I think it makes sense that I would have to dress up more than them because I am younger and if i wore tee shirts and shorts everyday it wouldn't look less professional on me. I've mostly been wearing the same things that I would wear to school, like jeans and a sweater or a blouse. So I look somewhat professional but it's not too over the top for the lab environment. |