About Me
Graduation Year: Spring 2023
Major: Biology BS
Minor: Environmental Science
I have always enjoyed studying science and learning new things about the world around me. So, I did not have a hard time deciding my major when I began college. I have a fascination with microbial ecology, where the relationships and processes between microorganisms and the environment are studied. Now that I am a Junior, I am further into my major where I am able to take specific classes towards my interests within the biology department, such as immunology, microbiology, and ecology, as well as the classes related to the environment for my minor. I am excited to have the opportunity expand my lab experiences through this internship!
Teamwork
In a team setting, I tend to act as a mediator and an organizer. I take the initiative in making sure everyone knows what the goal is and what their individual tasks are in order to reach our goal. Finishing work in a timely manner and at its highest quality is also a must for me. During my time at my internship, I have demonstrated this mediator role where I have assisted in coming to conclusions and solving problems in the lab. For instance, if a singular error occurred in a plate of samples, instead of completely starting over or not being able to run the plate, I proposed that that singular well could be redone or excluded from the analysis. This lead to the plate being ran and the errors being fixed.
My Experiences and Skills
I have worked at Oberweis Dairy mainly over the summers for the past few years and I have learned a lot of safety practices necessary in a work environment, such as organization, storage, and sanitation. At this job, I also learned how to work independently on daily tasks, as well as additional safety precautions needing to be taken when working with potentially biohazardous samples. The information and skills I learned at this job, before and during COVID, as allowed me to establish core values and skills I can apply to any future workplace or career. I enjoy working in the lab and doing hands on work, but at the same time, I enjoy data analysis where I can be at a computer and work with data. This internship encompasses both of these activities as being equal portions of my workload where I will be working with samples in the lab then recording information at a computer.