Goals
Internship Goals
From this internship, my main goal for applying was helping me decide what type of depth area I want to go into for biomedical engineering. As I had already worked in a lab in biomaterials and biomechanics, I wanted to try something new. As I was already interested in pharmaceuticals I figured this lab would be a good fit.
I also hope to gain new skills in the lab such as I have already. I have learned a lot about passing cells and running my own experiment. I want to be able to add new skills to my resume which will show how adaptable I am as well as I just find these procedures interesting. Learning so many new skills has been a lot to take in but for the future, I need to be able to take better notes of the procedures they show me as well be open to questions and criticism.
I am also working towards building my writing skills in my lab as I have to do write-ups of protocols and discussions on the work I am doing. To do this I have been tasked with several reading assignments to build up my knowledge of the subjects. In order to continue my skill-building, I should keep practicing on my own time and be open to criticism and help from my mentors. These are all goals that I can add to my resume and talk about in interviews as I can show my growth and hard work in this lab as I work towards a job in the industry.
Career Goals
My current plans for after college can delve into 2 ways depending on how the next few months play out. If I can find an internship that I really enjoy and can see myself staying long term then I would like to start working as soon as I finish my bachelor's. If I don't find myself in that situation I would consider staying at IUPUI or somewhere else possibly to finish my Master in Biomedical Engineering. That would only take one extra year or even one semester. My final plan if all else fails is to go back and finish my pre-med track and go into medical school. I know that I would enjoy helping others as that is what I am passionate about and keeping in the medical field if I find that industry is not for me. My plans will depend on where I will find myself most happy at what I am doing.
I am pretty confident in my plans because I have given myself many possible options. If one plan fails, I know that I will have a backup and I can keep going. I need more experience in order to make my final decisions. That's why I am doing an internship like LHSI so I can gain more experience on what I am passionate about. For example, I have found this area of research really fascinating therefore this makes me want to lean into pharmaceutical engineering when I am looking for internships in the industry. I think I will really grow once I am able to get my foot in the door at a company and see that type of environment. Besides that, I hope to continue doing research when I can as well as working on being more active with clubs and community to help build my experience.
In order to reach my goals within the spring semester, I need to be more proactive in my choices. I am taking more of a lighter load of classes this semester. There are not as many exams or homework however my classes are still on a difficult level compared to previous semesters. This means I need to take the initiative to study on my own time even if I don't have an exam the next day.
Before my LHSI presentation, I will have some experience in presenting a poster over research. I was able to present a previous research project I had completed at a different lab at the Orthopedic Research Society Conference in February. This experience was a great learning opportunity as I was shown a professional setting and learned how to explain my research to those who knew nothing about the research before.
Ever-changing goals
My goals from the beginning of LHSI were to help determine where I wanted to go with my career. As now a junior in BME, I have already declared my intention for my Master's at IUPUI and I have declared my depth area of going into Biomaterials. Therefore I have already accomplished some of my goals as I was able to make big strides within making decisions for my future. My goals have changed to smaller, or short-term goals. As I hope to be able to develop my writing skills for the lab and the experiments I have completed. I also hope to be able to accomplish more experiments and be able to develop my own experiments. These are more goals that are directed on the lab itself and not just about myself. I hope to have been a benefit to the lab once I leave after the spring semester ends.
Even though I made big strides in my long-term goals such as choosing where I want my education to continue, I still have bigger career goals to tackle. I am still currently working on securing an internship with a local company after the LHSI internship. In order to do this, I have been working on improving my resume and CV. I have gotten my documents reviewed and critiqued by my peers and professors. I have also been working on networking. At the research conference, I was able to get a business card from a company where that wanted to look at my CV, I have also been able to develop connections and recommendations on LinkedIn. Finally, to help my resume and also fill some of my free time I have also been working on volunteering more and putting my time to good use. I have had one interview so far, I have applied for other research positions at other schools, and I am still looking for new opportunities. By this time next year, I hope to have some long-term job opportunities in prospect as I think about starting the BME Masters program in the fall of 2023.
Moving forward..
My plans from the beginning of the fall semester to know the end of my spring semester as a junior are still ever-changing. I wouldn't think I would be in the position I am right now as I am working towards figuring out the next steps in my career. I have done better than I expected in some areas and not so good in other areas. However, each experience given was a chance to grow and learn. I believe I am the most confident in my abilities than I have ever been and I hope to continue to show that in future endeavors. I believe that I won't just settle for whatever is given to me and I can strive for even greater things. My dream as of now is someday to work for Eli Lilly and I will take a stepping stone to reach that dream and it seems to come closer and closer every month. My PI has taught me to aim big and shoot for where I want to go and I hope I can continue to make him proud in that aspect.