Week 8:
University of Iowa Department of Anatomy and Cell Biology

August 15, 2013

This week was absolutely wonderful. I showed my poster and practiced my talk in front of those in those in the FUTURE Program. Though it wasn’t stellar, I know that the more I practice, the better I will be at speaking in public. On Tuesday, I printed my poster off. It’s the first time I’ve done this, and I’ve heard horror stories about coloring issues. Thankfully, everything turned out perfectly fine. It soon became my baby, and I probably became overly protective of it…

I discovered how much fun it is to present my poster. It’s so much more conversational than standing up in front of a crowd. I think that I am able to explain things better this way especially since questions can be asked along the way. It was also exciting to see all the posters at the Summer Undergraduate Research Conference and interact with new people. This conference allowed me to see all the different kinds of research that took place over the summer. Sometimes I was so focused on my project that I forgot that there are so many other projects going on.

On my last day, I had the FUTURE Research Symposium. I was fortunate to have my family come, along with my boyfriend. This program was just phenomenal. I found out that I really do like research, and I’m glad that I found this out early on. Now I have a little more time to figure it out if I want to try to get into a dual program or just medical school. Everyone that I have met has been so supportive, and I appreciate all the help that I received in and out of lab. I feel more prepared to tackle what’s ahead of me. I have my foot in the door for more opportunities, and I think I’ll be able to perform better in lab at Cornell. I feel more confident with certain equipment and procedures, and I able to understand scientific papers with more ease.

There is so much going on in my mind, and I can’t put it into words. I will never be able to thank the FUTURE Program, Barbara, Rob Cornell and his lab, and the Fellows Program enough to allow me to have this opportunity. I can’t express how much this experience meant to me, and I will never take it for granted.