I made an assumption in my very first post this summer – that, as we entered the first week of our program, all of my HHRF peers were sharing the same feelings of great fortune and appreciation for the opportunity we were given. To end in equal audacity, I’ll assume that a couple of sentiments are pretty much obvious among us again: time really does fly, and it’s sad to be at the end of an incredible experience. I certainly and strongly feel this way, but having established it, I’ll move on to more specific and perhaps useful reflections. In other words, here are some unexpected observations and thoughts about the program:
- I think the weekly blog post assignments have actually improved my writing – definitely in terms of efficiency, and perhaps in quality too. With my history of being a dreadfully slow writer, the blog requirement was not at all appealing to me when the program began. Yet, just after a few weeks of forcing myself to do it – and do it quickly – I noticed that writing became less of a formidable task. It seems that, by requiring consistent writing, this program pushed me to want and to practice efficient communication. This theme was also reinforced by the chalk talk and (tomorrow!) a poster presentation.
- Duke has an incredible wealth of faculty and mentors. For me, this was always kind of a presumed fact; it would make sense that a prestigious university has plenty of strong professors. The difference HHRF made was to provide names and faces for what had previously been a concept. The 10 faculty members that shared their impressive careers and research with us, Dr. G who mentored us with an obvious breadth of scientific and snake experience, KP who exemplified the role of a hardworking graduate student and chalk talker, and of course all of our lab mentors and PIs – these close encounters with the best of Duke were invaluable. Today I truly believe that I’m part of one of the strongest scientific communities in the world.
- Research is time-consuming, difficult, and worth it. This is the overarching impression that I’m taking from HHRF, and I don’t think it came about randomly. In retrospect, it was so important to have my first full-time immersive research experience in a structured, supportive program. Having truly awesome peers, caring mentors, and a comforting abundance of packaged breakfast foods really carried me through some of the toughest days in lab.
To conclude, participating in the Howard Hughes Research Fellows program this summer was a fantastic experience. I’m so grateful for all that I learned about science, for the opportunity to engage in exciting research, and for the wonderful friends and mentors who I hope will be a lasting presence in my life. Thanks Duke, HHMI, and in particular Brett, Dr. Wang, Dr. Grunwald, KP, and all of my friends from the program for an unforgettable summer.
