SUMMER 2022 SEO ALUMNI: BRANDON SAGRAM

How would you describe your EP to someone who has never heard of it before?

The Baruch Science and Technology Entry Program Academy is the best form of a college course you could get that combines lectures and hands-on research based learning. Most of the time, you’re in a classroom in Baruch college with about 10-15 other students. Throughout the program, you have to undergo lectures and study every week to prepare for quizzes. However, you also have lots of opportunities to conduct research and work towards any topic/problem you’re curious about within the field you’re studying. The program ultimately helped nurture my curiosity and love for research and interactive scientific research.

What is a typical day like during your EP?

I was an Anatomy & Physiology student at Baruch STEP; this was how my typical day looked like. I would travel to Baruch College’s vertical campus at 9:30am. From 9:30am-11:30am, I would undergo a lecture on the structure and function of a certain human body system, which would be broken down into different sections. During these lectures, I would take notes so I could study for upcoming quizzes. From 11:30am-12:15pm I would have lunch; Baruch STEP does not provide free lunch, but you can eat out (there are a lot of great places to eat around Baruch!). You could also hang around campus or talk to friends during this time. From 12:15pm-2:00pm, I would usually go through group activities that would give us questions/problems regarding the material we learned earlier. These activities were pretty interactive, pretty much what you would go through in your high school classroom. On many days within the 2nd half of the program, we would rather use this afternoon session to work on our research projects and form our presentations. We would do research for papers to write and for power-point presentations to show (I had to present my projects on the final day of the program). After 2:00pm, I would go home, maybe take a bit of time to study, and continue developing my presentations with my team.

What was the biggest challenge of your EP?

The biggest challenge of my EP was composing my research presentations to showcase to Baruch personnel. These required some time to gather my information and showcase it all in a way that’s engaging. Moreover, we would spend a lot of class time doing trial presentations to prepare for our presentations in front of Baruch personnel.

What was the biggest reward of your EP?

The biggest reward was being able to see all of my team and I’s hard work come together at the end of it all and admire our efforts throughout the program. The realizations that you’ve learned so much and worked to your limits really settle in when you’re in Baruch’s auditorium with your poster-presentations, interacting with people who admire your work and want to learn more about your project. It’s also rewarding to hear the applause from Baruch personnel after you and your team have just successfully communicated scientific information to all of Baruch STEP!

What do you wish you had known before you went on your EP?

I wish that I knew that it was going to be less hands-on work and more classroom-based work. My cohort apparently wasn’t able to use Baruch’s laboratory due to other cohorts using it often for their own purposes.

What advice do you have for future SEO scholars who are considering your EP?

Get to know your professors, have fun with everyone else in the classroom, and be curious! Ask questions and advocate for yourself, there’s support all around from your peers. Also, make the most out of the time you have. 4 weeks might seem long, but it all goes by fast at the same time!