As the summer comes to an end, it is finally hitting me that I have to return to the harsh reality of classes soon. So instead of worrying about the semester ahead of me, I am choosing to reflect on my experiences this summer.
Although I was nervous before the Howard Hughes Program began, I am so thankful for what I have learned this summer, both about the lifestyle of a professional researcher and about myself. My summer lab experience allowed me to see firsthand what it is like to have a research career. While the days are often long and frustrating, it is incredibly rewarding to obtain that dataset or the results that you were hoping for. Although I am still unsure whether I will pursue a research career, I am now definitely planning on pursuing a Ph.D. after today’s career panel. Unfortunately, I am also reconsidering going to medical school now, so I still have a lot of decisions to make in the coming years.
There are two things that I am particularly grateful to this program for: the useful connections that I have made with my mentors and other investigators at Duke and the change in my perspective on science as a collaborative field. After sitting down with my PI today to discuss the coming semester and if I would continue at the lab, I realized that Dr. Patek truly cared about my future in her lab and my future as a researcher. She told me that while she would like me to remain involved in the lab, if I wanted to transfer labs she would also be more than willing to help with that process. When Dr. Patek told me this, I was stunned by how much she truly seemed to care about me finding success as an undergraduate researcher, and I am truly grateful to have had her as a mentor this summer. In addition, this summer opened my eyes to the collaboration that is involved in science nowadays. Everyone in my lab has a different specialty and their own projects that they work on, but they are constantly asking each other questions about their projects and other researchers from different departments stop by frequently to chat about a project that they are conducting with one of the lab members. I love this aspect of research, because I find it much more beneficial to step outside of one’s comfort zone and look at things from various perspectives. Science is truly a community, and I am glad that this program opened my eyes to the exciting opportunities that will come in the next three years.