A little less than a year ago, I was filled with anticipation as I was about to begin my first year here at Duke. I was starting my college career and was filled with so many questions and expectations as how the year would end up turning out. Looking back at my first year, I realize how much I have learned. From learning how to do my own laundry to the fundamentals of linear algebra and everything in between, I have realized how much learning can be done in such a short period of time.
Fast forward to this summer and once again I am filled with so much anticipation over the amount I am about to learn with the start of another new chapter: this time in research. I have never had the opportunity to do research before and am more than excited to discover what it is all about. This summer I will be working in the Collier lab, a biomedical engineering lab, with my mentor, Nikki Votaw. The Collier lab does research with self-assembling peptides to aid in therapeutic immune responses. Nikki has already taught me so much and I can’t wait to see where this summer takes me.
I hope I come out of this summer not only gaining confidence working in a research environment but also learning how to start posing my own scientific questions and improving my critical thinking skills. Furthermore, I hope this summer is a chance to be able to take my learning to the next level beyond the classroom experience.
