Sylvie E. and Grace L. - NACE: Career Readiness

NACE: Career Readiness

Career and Self-Development

Sylvie: Being involved in a research lab has been a key opportunity for me to proactively develop both my skills and my resume, particularly in preparation for a future in medicine. Securing a position in a lab isn’t always easy—it requires persistence and dedication. During my freshman year, I reached out to about 10 labs and received more rejections than acceptances. Despite this, I remained determined and ultimately secured a spot in a lab, which has been an invaluable experience for gaining the knowledge and skills essential for medical school.

In addition to the technical skills I’ve acquired, this experience has taught me the importance of self-advocacy. I realized that to stay involved and successfully manage my research projects, I had to take initiative and set my own deadlines. Unlike a classroom setting where there are external pressures, research required me to be proactive—if I wasn’t actively pushing myself forward, I wouldn’t have been able to continue contributing to the projects. This self-driven approach is something I’m confident will be crucial in my future career.

Grace: Being an active member in Dr. Schumacher's research lab has been such an amazing opportunity for me to grow both my wet lab skills, as well as my dedication and time management. These skills will be invaluable for me as I prepare for a career in medicine. Throughout my hours spent in the lab, I have had the ability to grow my professional skills in multiple different facets, allowing me to explore my education in a new light, something I didn't know possible until I joined Dr. Schumacher's lab. This experience requires immense time management abilities, as well as communication and collaboration skills, all of which have been developed through my various experiences.

As well as providing me with new skills and abilities to add to my skill set, this lab experience has allowed me to explore my education in a new way, connecting the content I have learned in my classes to a topic I find extremely interesting. One of the things that drew me to this lab was the exploration of the cardiovascular system, something I was extremely interested in throughout my undergraduate courses. By combining my knowledge from my lectures with the hands on information I gain from this lab, the quality of my education increases exponentially.

Communication

Sylvie: Being involved in this research lab has been a crucial experience in honing my communication skills. As mentioned earlier, being proactive in communication was essential for my success. I regularly reached out to my mentors when I needed more work, clarification, or extra time on a project. This open communication allowed me to stay on track and receive valuable support, as my mentors were always understanding and willing to help me navigate any challenges.

Working on this poster with my colleague, Grace, has provided another opportunity to develop my communication abilities. Collaborating on a project like this requires effective teamwork, and we had to coordinate closely to set deadlines and distribute tasks.

Grace: This research experience has helped grow my communication skills drastically, and has truly helped me understand the importance of effective communication when working in a team. By being a part of a lab group, it is essential that one is able to communicate effectively not only with other lab members, but with research advisors and anyone else involved in the day to day laboratory events. I have found that having these communication skills as been incredibly effective while working with my advisor, Benjamin, while planning various experiments or meeting times.

Working with Sylvie on this project has provided me with another opportunity to continue to work on these communication skills, as we have had to communicate effectively the past few weeks discussing our poster and website. A project like this requires communication and collaboration skills, both of which were developed throughout my time in the lab. Medicine is a team sport, and having these skills is essential to collaborating in regards to patient care, something I know I will carry with me through my journey.

Critical Thinking

Sylvie: This project has significantly helped me hone my critical thinking skills. It was the first time I worked on a project with more minimal supervision, which gave me the freedom to design and conduct analyses within the boundaries set by my mentor. For example, I was responsible for designing the Alcian blue qualification method. This required me to develop a categorical system that made sense based on the data we were observing, which involved analyzing patterns and making thoughtful decisions about the most appropriate approach.

Additionally, I contributed to the design of the quantitative analysis for the experiment. One of the key measurements—comparing Meckel's cartilage to the Ethmoid plate—was a suggestion that I proposed, based on my evaluation of the data and the goals of the project. This experience helped me learn how to approach problems systematically and make decisions based on evidence and logical reasoning, skills I know will be valuable in my future career.

Grace: This project has helped me develop my critical thinking skills in ways I didn't know possible. Benjamin, my research advisor, continuously pushes Sylvie and I, as well as our other lab mates, to critically think about the experiments we are performing. This helps us guide our future directions and experiments we perform based on our understanding of the results of current experiments.

I had to critically think throughout many parts of my experiments contributing to this poster. With the dlx5a in situ staining in particular, it was essential for me to critically think and understand the processes working in the embryos to provide me with the results I received. The development time is different for each probe used, so it is important to think critically before beginning an experiment such as this one, in order to not interfere with the results. These skills will be carried with me as I continue towards my career in medicine, as critical thinking is essential to be a good physician.

Page updated

Report abuse