Tag Archives: Research

Final Papers and Summer 2018 Plans

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Based on my time spent here at Trinity and the number of assignments I have turned in, you would think I had done absolutely nothing since arriving here. The truth is, I have read nearly ten full length books, in addition to poetry and other excerpt readings, but have not had any essays to turn in. For many courses at Trinity, your only assessment is a final paper at the end of the semester. Some courses have final exams as well, but as a visiting student I only need to submit a paper by December 15. During the former part of the semester, this fact made my time feel much more leisurely, as I was just focused on completing the readings assigned to me and, when I could, reading ahead. This made my weekends freer and I could relax, spend time with friends, and even travel! Now, as the end of the semester is looming, I am realizing just how much work I have to do before I leave (similar to how Joey must have felt in this scene).

Because the credit system is different in Ireland and I have to take enough credits to be considered a full time student back at Scripps, I am taking six courses. This means that I have to write six essays by December 15.

As I mentioned in some of my earlier posts, professors have distributed essay topics and even had assignments where we were required to think about our topics and even write an outline for what we wanted to discuss. I have just had another professor do this and I am very grateful to him for it because it will help give me some extra motivation to get a start on some rather daunting deadlines.

While on the topic of looking towards the future, I have started thinking about what I might want to do during summer 2018. Although it seems far off, applications for internships and lab positions are already being posted, many of which are due early next semester. If only applying was as easy as the gif below suggests. 

Because I am a chemistry major, I will need to do research in a lab that I will later write my thesis on. I have found many programs that offer lab positions for undergraduate students that I am interested in, where the next step is to figure out which ones I will apply to. My list is currently very long, so I will need to narrow it down. I found a position through the National Institute for Health that I am particularly interested in, as it focuses on public health, something that I have been interested in learning more about.

My current worry is whether or not that would produce enough hard data for me to write my thesis on it. If not, I have many other options, and may even end up in Claremont to do my research. This is when I am very grateful that I have the advisor I do, as I know he will be supportive in helping me make a decision that best suits my academic interests and future goals. I am also grateful for the other resources that Scripps provides in helping with these sorts of decisions, such as CP&R, which has helped me with internship applications in the past.

If you are worried about summer plans, please know that you have a kindred spirit in me. If you are feeling lost, please don’t hesitate to contact me or the staff at CP&R. That’s what they’re there for, and they are awesome! Cheers to the final weeks!

How to Avoid Grad School Induced Panics (Hint: The Answer’s on Google)

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In high school, I almost constantly had an adult leading me by the hand towards college, telling me how to build up my resume, when to interview and with whom, and helping me decide where to apply.

That’s not to say that applying to college was an easy process, but looking back as I prepare to apply for grad school, I can see that I took these resources for granted. While I know that there are resources here at Scripps and through Keck to help me on that search, the steps to figuring out which programs to apply to, and in finally applying to those programs, are far less well-defined, and no one is monitoring my process.

Another factor that makes the whole process more confusing is the fact that unlike senior year of high school, everyone’s planning to do different things after graduation, so I can’t just copy whatever my peers are doing. Instead of everyone filling out the same application and writing the same essays, I have friends who are applying to medical school or PhD programs, friends who are taking a few years to figure out what exactly they want to do, and friends who are going right into the job market. Exactly no one is applying to the type of program I’m looking at, and while this means less competition for me, it also means that I have a lot to figure out on my own.

However, if you are at least thinking about going to grad school, there is one lesson that is universally applicable across disciplines. I learned this lesson the hard way, but you don’t have to:

Start searching now. Perhaps more important than this advice itself, however, is its crucial qualifier: Don’t treat the search like a scary, momentous thing, or like a commitment to a given discipline. It doesn’t have to be.

Maybe this seems like an obvious suggestion to make. However, it was a difficult lesson for me to learn. A year ago, I was so scared of the future and so in-denial about my lack of plans or goals that I just avoided doing research altogether. The excuses I made were that I had plenty of time to figure things out, and that I was too busy anyways. I didn’t start my grad school search in earnest until my dad asked me over this past summer what I was planning to do after graduating. I didn’t have an answer. Instead, I sputtered out some defensive quip, broke down in angry tears, and ran to my room in a fit of adolescent-level indignation.

But thankfully, I am an adult and not actually a teenager anymore. So as soon as I was in my room, I opened my laptop and simply google searched “grad school science writing” (I had enough of an idea about my future that I already knew this was what I wanted to do). I clicked on the first program that popped up, clicked around the website, and within 20 minutes felt overwhelmed by excitement, motivation, and purpose. Call me impulsive, but the program seemed perfect. I knew that was where I wanted to go.

 

Next, still sitting on my bed, I clicked on the page on the website that listed the bios, credentials, and contact information of alumni, and I stalked each alum in awe of their achievements in journalism and science. I found one alum from last year’s class who seemed oddly similar to me– she had graduated from a small liberal arts college, worked in a couple labs, but had always felt torn between science and words. I shot her a polite email expressing how I connected with her bio, and asking her if I could ask her a few questions, Almost immediately received one back exclaiming that yes, she would love to talk! In just 30 minutes, my grad school search had begun. Not only had it been painless, but it was exciting to think about the future. Most importantly, I felt relieved of the burden of total uncertainty and denial.


Evidently, most people aren’t going to complete their grad school research in 30 minute time span, compelled by their panic-induced hyper-focused state. My point is that just beginning a search doesn’t need to be hard. Literally, it can be just a google search. Most importantly, it is definitely nothing to panic or throw a fit over. Whether you are a freshman, sophomore, or junior, think about what your interests are, and look around on the internet, or if you are more brave than I am, ask a professor. You can always change your mind, but I would have saved myself a lot of stress and panic if I had just begun my search earlier on.

Navigating the Wonderful World of College Majors

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homerWhat’s your major? If you’re a sophomore, or even a first year, not only are you likely to hear this questioned, but you also might not know how to answer it. Everyone has to choose a major at some point in their college career. At first, picking a major can be overwhelming because it feels like you are committing yourself to that subject for the rest of your college career. Many people start college intent on majoring in politics and end up changing to history or chemistry, where the major you started with and the one you ended with are often completely unrelated. What I have recently discovered is that even after you declare your major, you can still change it. It is a preconceived notion that once you declare, you cannot change your mind. What I am realizing more and more often, is that there are very few things you can get involved in that will not allow you to change your mind if you decide it’s not for you.majorsI came to Scripps intent on double majoring in biochemistry and English. After taking an extremely challenging course my first semester, entitled Introduction to Biological Chemistry, or IBC for short, I got a glimpse of what science would be like for the remainder of my time at Scripps, and what it would mean for me to, not only be a science major, but pursue another major on top of that. Recently, I have been questioning everything. Should I double major? Should I dual major? Should I just do a major and a minor? Hearing my advisor tell me that I could change my major, even after I declared, was such a relief. Even if it’s not ideal, it’s still possible, and that makes it feel a whole lot less binding. There seems to be a preconceived notion that you can’t change your major, which makes the whole process seem that much more intense and stressful.

Lately, it has become more and more common for adults to expect that teens and young adults know what they want to do for the rest of their lives. This puts so much pressure on students and makes them feel as though they must make a decision, or they will fall behind. I know personally, I feel somewhat behind not knowing what I’m going to major in yet. When people ask me, sometimes I wish I could just say this:giphyThe truth is, it’s okay to not know what you’ll major in, or what you want to do in the future. The beauty of going to a liberal arts college is that you have the opportunity to take classes in so many different disciplines, and at the other colleges, that you can figure out what you like and what you don’t like. In addition, there are so many events and opportunities for internships and other jobs that might open a door to something that you end up falling in love with. On the other hand, if you are set on one specific major or field of study, it is important to keep your options open and be willing to fall in love with something new.

If it’s any consolation, even Chandler didn’t know what he was going to do with his life, and he was in his late 20’s, which is supposedly when we’re supposed to have it all figured out.chandlerThe road to finding your passion is long and is subject to change, but know that whatever you do, you should love it, because that is a sure way to be happy.cash-money

 

Summer Lab Experiences

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When I went to talk to my chemistry professor about a test my very first semester in college, I never imagined that our conversation would be a segue into a discussion about potential research opportunities and a chance to do research over the summer. Once we had a more formal interview and I learned more about his work in the lab, I knew that I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to work with him. I ended up working with Dr. Leconte for eight weeks this past summer along with five other girls from Scripps and CMC. I loved getting to know all the girls and fostering a relationship with Dr. Leconte, whom I now call by his first name. He treated us like graduate students and let us decide the course of our research which helped me learn valuable critical thinking skills, as well as how to think on my feet and manage my time well. At first, I felt somewhat out of place, unsure of whether or not I was cut out for the position and questioning my professor’s judgment of my potential. Working in the lab, designing my own protocols, and working mostly on my own, I gained a sense of confidence in myself and in my skills as a scientist, student, and learner, that will carry over into every other part of my life.

Picture1As in life, experiences in the lab rarely go as planned. Just like the adorable puppy has shown above, you can always be prepared, but I began to notice that even with protocols I had run multiple times, they often didn’t produce the results I expected. At first, this was extremely frustrating and it was hard not to become discouraged, but after talking with my lab mates and with my PI, I knew that it was very normal and a large part of life in the lab. I also found that because many experiments didn’t produce anticipated results, protocols ended up taking much longer than predicted. Similarly, I found this very frustrating, especially when executing an experiment for the first time. Oftentimes, I would only accomplish one or two things on my to-do list that initially had five or six items. What this taught me is that you never know how things are going to pan out, no matter how much you prepare or how experienced you are. The only thing you can control about those sorts of situations is how you react and how you choose to move forward. That was probably the single most important thing I learned and experienced this summer.

I have always been taught that worrying about things doesn’t make them any better, and this summer, I had the chance to not only get over that habit, but learn how to move forward, even when I was unsure of where I was going. What I realized is that starting to move forward is probably the most crucial step when deciding to move past your apprehension and keep going. Once I could assess situations thoughtfully, I was able to decide the next course of action and then execute those plans.

Learning to make quick decisions and follow through with plans is a lifelong skill that I know will help in future occupations and as a student. If you’re a worrier, how do you combat that apprehension? Have any advice for other readers? Questions about research at Keck? Comment below!

Ready for the Challenge: Research with Primates

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I was cautiously hopeful before I arrived at the California National Primate Research Center (CNPRC). It is a biomedical research center that focuses on non-human primate testing.  I knew that this would be a great experience for me whether I was put in a more research setting or a more animal care setting, but I had little idea of what my day-to-day experience would be like and was ready for the challenge.

Alexis Boone 1

Upon being assigned to the research services department, I immediately volunteered 40 hours a week, and spent most of my time assisting the senior research associates (SRAs). That meant a suitable amount of interaction with the monkeys.

From the beginning, the most positive thing about the internship was the constant willingness of my supervisors to both teach and trust me. I assisted in paperwork on information like weight, vaccinations, pregnancies, and study assignments, and helped sort and file billing for different departments, but I also learned skills directly related to veterinary medicine and practiced them almost daily.

I performed nearly 1000 subcutaneous injections that were mostly related to overall colony health, and performed approximately 200 IM injections. One of the biggest challenges was drawing blood because the animal is not always still, but also because I had to become comfortable with proper syringe techniques and finding a bloodline. My supervisor was especially helpful with this. I also observed animals and helped prepare fresh snacks, fruits, and popsicles for the animals.

One of the most important things that I learned from this internship was to respect all laboratory animals, especially ones as aware as primates. I consider myself to be fairly current on issues discussed by animal rights activists and am a practicing vegetarian. I was apprehensive to take an internship at a laboratory that uses animals for testing, but I was both surprised and impressed by the care the CNPRC provides.

An enrichment team is constantly thinking of new ways to keep the animals’ lives as normal as possible. Most animals are housed outside and and live in large grassy cages that hold an array of ropes and different climbing apparatuses. Those inside are paired with another animal when possible, and offered interactive activities like puzzle tubes, long pvc pipes with holes that monkeys have to twist and turn in order to get food out. A behavioral team watches social orders closely, approves moves in and out of the order, and trains animals to be foster parents.

Alexis Boone 2

I also learned that there are more facets to veterinary medicine than I thought. While I am still not sure of my own preference, if I was given the chance to go back to the primate center again, I am not sure if I would ever leave. I was honored to be their first real summer intern, and I hope that whoever gets the chance to do it next is able to understand how amazing the place really is.

Editor’s Note: This guest blogger was a 2014 Scripps College Internship Grant recipient. To learn more about the 2015 Internship Grant process, click here.  Deadline Feb. 5.