As a team member I am flexible, engaged, reliable and responsible. I prioritize communication, which includes actively listening to my peers and working together to solve issues or to help teammates when needed. As I team member, I also enjoy some friendly competition. I believe healthy competition is an important aspect of growth in the workplace. I enjoy watching my coworkers grow and flourish, and encouraging them to succeed. In return, I am motivated by growth around me because it pushes me to succeed as well.

• I am currently a medic in the national guard and I have an NREMT certification. Through the national guard, I volunteered as a covid-19 vaccinator from Nov 2020 -July 2021. The national guard has honed my leadership and teamwork skills while simultaneously creating a problem-solving and resilient mindset that is apt to handle any situation. My experience as a medic, combined with my desire to fight for justice, led me to choose a degree in Forensic and Investigative Science at IUPUI.

• There is a large biology component to forensic science, and that is part of what led me to choose both my second major in Biology and my current internship. I have also been employed previously in public service and that experience established a strong foundation for positively interacting with people. My internship allows me test many of these same skills as I function and contribute to the team lab environment while furthering my knowledge on scientific processes and data.

• Based on my previous experience, I have found pros and cons to an environment that requires teamwork. Sometimes patience can be my downfall when I am working with peers that have ideologies and techniques than differ from mine, or work at a different pace than I do, especially if it is affecting the overall product. On the other hand, I enjoy working with a team if I trust each individual and their quality of work because it takes a load off my shoulders and develops healthy working relationships.

• I have a strong work ethic that bodes well in the scientific atmosphere where a strong individual contribution that collaborates with the overall effort is key to succeeding. My drive to be successful aids me in my rate of learning, which is also advantageous in this environment. Despite my ambitions, I often struggle to remain optimistic if I make a mistake or am not doing as well as expected. This is an area I am looking to improve throughout this internship.