In the morning, Dr. Gaetani kicked off the day with a lecture covering a wide array of topics in TE-RM (Tissue Engineering & Regenerative Medicine): from scaffolds mimicking tissues to ideal microenvironments for cell growth, biomaterial evolution, macrophage development, types of degradation, and the well-respected triangle of tissue engineering. Before lunch, students were given time to aggregate with their Ethics Project groups, taking little toddler steps into exploring the dimensions of their own research topic. For fulfillment of the spirit and the stomach, students strolled together to 64 Degrees, grabbing food from their favorite corner of the cafeteria.

The afternoon was composed of more lectures, provided by Dr. Sah virtually. Students carefully tilted their eyes, ears, and attention to his voice and the slides, taking their best attempt to interact with their instructor across the screen. Every brain cell of cluster 8 was filled with precious chunks of information about bioreactors, cartilage disease, and various approaches for treatment. The last schedule of the day was to present their "About Me" slides, in which students created a mini slideshow that once again introduced their names, hobbies, fun facts, and future goals to the whole group.

After all classes, students happily headed back to their dorms, sharing their unconcealable enthusiasm for the upcoming weekend–composed of trips to home, UTC adventures, and movie nights. At the end of the day, they acknowledged how fast and slow the week has passed by. Everyone agreed on how because they learned so much, met so many people, and stacked up so many dear memories, they felt as if they’d spent a month in UCSD; yet, the fact that a quarter of COSMOS has already flown by was quite numbing. For them, week 1 felt like a strange distortion in between 0.5x slow motion and 2x timelapse–the sun rising and setting way too quickly and slowly at the same time. Students were standing in between this irony, making a silent pledge to themselves that they will indeed, absorb this month to its fullest.

Another morning, another day! It’s Friday at last! All the campers rolled out of bed, prepping themselves for the day ahead. We started the morning off with a nourishing breakfast from 64 Degrees. From eggs and bacon to yogurt and cereal, everyone was able to enjoy a pleasant meal. After stacking the empty dishes on top of one another, we began the long walk to class, sticking close together as a group.

Flash forward three lab worksheets, two lectures, and a ham sandwich for lunch, the final “class” was over for Cluster 8. The campers began heading back to their suites to rest up for the day ahead, as the day was far from over. On the other hand, it was time for some other campers to head home, so they packed their bags and suitcases and stood patiently in line, waiting to get picked up by familiar faces.

As for the campers who stayed on campus, free time inside the suite awaited them, allowing them to play cards, watch movies, and hang out with one another. After some time had passed, it was time for dinner! 64 Degrees has never disappointed us. With their wide variety of food, no one is left feeling bored eating the same food. As soon as dinner ended, the campers rushed to the plaza for the outdoor activities! Ranging from the Minecraft movie to the casual soccer games, there were activities available for every camper! Once everyone had their share of activities, the fatigue kicked in, signaling for the lights to turn off and for our eyes to finally fall closed.

Cluster 8 woke up bright and early to the sound of alarms and noisy roommates, feeling a sense of anticipation. We were going on our first major off-campus adventure in La Jolla—at Westfield UTC Mall! After a nutritious breakfast, we eagerly began our walk to the trolley station. We hopped into the trolley, enjoyed the sights during the brief ride, and stepped off the vehicle. At one glance, we discovered that UTC wasn’t your everyday shopping center. We were immediately met with tall palm trees, outdoor walkways, and the cheerful bustling of shoppers that gave an upbeat feel to the entire area. 

Everyone split off in different directions, ensuring that they traveled in small groups. There were a countless number of stores at the mall, most of which we knew we had to explore. Some campers wandered through shops like Chanel, Apple, and Tesla to simply look around, visualizing themselves using the expensive products. Others headed towards more casual stores like Vans, J. Crew, and Marine Layer, purchasing comfy shirts and trying on tinted sunglasses, perfect for the sunny afternoons in La Jolla. And yes, one camper tried out the desserts at Melo Melo and exclaimed that he was having the “happiest moment in his life.”

When we started to feel hungry, there were so many options that it was difficult to pick one specific restaurant. Some of us stood in line for Din Tai Fung’s famed dumplings, while others bought sushi rolls, tacos from L55, or bowls from Sweetfin Poke. Felt like having dessert? Lady M’s mille crepe cakes and Venchi’s chocolate gelato were perfect for those with a sweet tooth. Once we were full and satisfied, we continued our fun adventure. Some campers explored the ice rink (yes, there’s an actual ice rink inside the mall), while others checked out the games like Cruisin’ USA and air hockey in the arcade above it. There was even a place for escape rooms near Macy’s called The Escape Game!

With scenic fountains, comfortable seating, and open skies all around, even sitting while watching the oncoming crowds was enjoyable. We began to wrap up the day, feeling tired but content, with shopping bags in hand and funny pictures on our phones. By the end of the day, we had enough stories to last through the hearty meals at dinner and the evening of suite time, until it was finally time for the lights to go out.

The first day of week 2 started differently for every student in COSMOS. Some, having spent their weekends at home–breaking through sleep records while also devouring the greatly missed recipe of home–had accumulated themselves with a new energy to start off the week. Others, having spent their weekends on campus, had many great memories jiggling along their heels; some snapshots captured from corners of the UTC mall, late night dorm time with new friends, as well as the sweaty and refreshing grass of COSMOLYMPICS dodgeball games. As they walked to class, cluster 8 students did quick check-ups on each other, and together chewed the cud of the first weekend at COSMOS.

Having been greeted by Dr. Steinbach at the door, students entered the computer lab. Today, they were given the task to assort themselves in the first letter of their last names. Still puffed up from the liveliness of the past two days, students offered each other a friendly “good morning”, then shared their thoughts on having completed a quarter of the month-long program. When Dr. Gaetani entered the room, students rapidly switched their brains to ‘focus mode’–temporarily sealing the restlessness of Monday morning. One great news was that Dr. Sah, who had been gone the previous week due to COVID-19, returned after becoming fully recovered. Students were glad to have him back. Students happily greeted Dr. Sah face-to-face, and listened to his lecture with open ears, eyes, and heart.

After their return from lunch, cluster 8 was divided into new lab groups of the week; with four new colleagues, each student would be absorbing new lab techniques and procedures—in which they would eventually use for the final project. Two labs were conducted today: the Microscopy Lab and the Hemocytometer Lab. Before heading to the laboratory for the lab section, students downloaded multiple softwares onto their computers. A majority of the class had no clue on what these applications would be used for, and wondered if they would ever become familiar with handling the foreign tools in a purposeful, delicate manner.

Even though every aspect of the day was practically new (from gaining new knowledge to working with new people), the newest of all was that students were able to use the microscope for the first time. Many “whoa”s and “wow”s dispersed across the laboratory, as students stared with amazement at the images displayed through the microscope—including dog stomach cells and oak tree barks. Knobs were turned and snap pictures were taken, and another afternoon of lab had gone by in a flash. Cluster 8 had given all their hearts into the new wisdom and knowledge they were gaining. A vague image floated upon their heads, an image of themselves from the far far future as professionals–recalling all that they witnessed with their hearts in the summer of 2025: the first lab, the first cells, and the first hope that they will indeed be saving lives and making hearts beat again.

French Toast galore! It was a new week shining down on COSMOS, and Cluster 8 happily headed to 64 Degrees, where an assortment of oatmeal and fruit bowls awaited them! After filling up on way too much food, we headed to class… This time in a different way! After the headcount, Aaliyah alerted us to some exciting news. We could head to class on our own now, unaccompanied by the RAs. She warned us not to get enticed by the alluring scent of fruit from Jamba Juice or the restaurant food in Price Center. This new privilege was given to us, but Aaliyah jokingly but sternly told us how it could easily be taken away if we deviate from our path on our way to class! After teaching us how to “use our elbows” should we encounter any suspicious strangers, Aaliyah cheerfully bade us farewell as we all basked in the newfound freedom we now had. Some of us sped up or slowed down to meet with friends from other clusters who were going the same way, while others sat on the swings or skipped down the Target steps in joy. We all got a taste of what it was like to be independent and self-sustainable as young adults in college, and we loved it!

After our lectures with Dr. Sah and Dr. Gaetani finished, we headed back to 64 Degrees for lunch as we basked in the summer sun and the warming weather. Dr. Steinback accompanied us this time around, wanting to ensure by headcount that we were all sticking together. We all drooled as we passed by restaurants such as Lemongrass and Dirty Birds, and we were so excited to be able to try out these restaurants tonight if we had the time!

After class ended at 4 PM, our cluster got another shock. Not only could we walk back by ourselves, but we could also go wherever we wanted! Naturally, this privilege didn’t come without stipulations. We not only had to alert our RAs of where we were, but we also had to travel in same-gendered duos or groups of people! Cluster 8 excitedly headed out to various spots on campus, from studying on their ethics projects at 64 Degrees, their dorms, and Geisel Library, to purchasing missing products from Target, to trying out the latest bites to eat at Price Center and beyond, such as the frozen yogurt and the boba! After regrouping for head count and then heading to dinner, we were excited to try out the nightly programs. In particular, we were able to try out a multitude of different activities, such as flag football, Just Dance, an evening run, keychain making, volleyball, soccer, and badminton, and exploring the Warren Trails. Following this was suite time, where the suites got to enjoy activities like Among Us, card games, murder mysteries, and more! Some of the all-girl suites had a sing-off, while the all-boy suites went around Argo Hall caroling! After this enriching and fun-filled day, Cluster 8 finally drifted off to their much-needed sleep.

On the Cluster 8 Google Classroom, a weekly schedule is posted every week–which the students can freely check in order to take a peek on the upcoming days. According to the posted schedule, Tuesday was a no-lab-day. To somewhat a large extent, this meant that students must well-prepare themselves to hold onto their consciousness; they must stay awake and focused during five hours and thirty minutes of time sitting in the computer lab.

The day was kicked off by students assembling together with their groups for the Ethics Project. Some diligent groups had made significant progress over the weekend, but the average was between 1-10% completion–so the designated time today was precious to use. The room quickly filled with the lively rhythm of typing, spirited discussions, and ‘chill’ background music that optimized focus. After an hour of full immersion into the project, students were pulled up to the surface by Dr. Steinbach–who emphasized the need to “get glucose and blood circulating.” The break was accompanied by mini ‘nature walks’ by the Bear, as well as a quick exploration to the mysterious basement floor of the Bioengineering building (there was nothing special there). After break, cluster 8 regathered in the computer lab with their lab groups, where they were given time to work on the post-lab questions until lunch time.

A lunch walk back and forth from 64 Degrees clipped off by entering the computer lab. Once again, students gathered with their lab groups; it was time to present their answers to the lab report! CAs came by every group’s desks, providing a heads-up on who will be presenting. Students finished up unfinished questions and slidedecks, while also checking over their calculations for errors. Once prepared for the share-out, yesterday’s lab was reflected on by the confident voices of the answerers–confirmed with a thumbs-up from the CAs.

The last schedule of the day was preparation for the lab tomorrow. The formatting of the pre-lab today was special, as the Cluster Assistant Sophie walked the entire group through every step of the experiment. Flow diagrams were created simultaneously, as students mimicked Sophie’s drawings in their own form of organizedness–whether that be crooked images of micropipettes or straight strokes illustrating a perfect T-flask.

Today, Cluster 8 had been fairly productive–finishing much work, learning, and reflection in one sitting. They knew that there was no time to waste, as hours flowed quickly in COSMOS, and summer would drift to the end before they even realize.

Bright and early, Cluster 8 awoke to groggily head down to 64 degrees for breakfast. Recently, some of us discovered the bagels hidden in the back by FoodLab - but many still gravitated towards the classics, eggs, yogurt, granola, apple juice, and coffee. A little more confident with our new freedom, walking to class all by ourselves, we headed off towards class after having our fill! We all made it on time to start a fun day of lectures and learning. Lunchtime was fairly uneventful - some classics were maintained in the food lineups for Cluster 8, including chicken tenders, grilled cheeses, asian food (rice, egg roles and tofu), pepsi and apple juice mixed with green tea. Delicious stuff. Then, back to class!

After class, we were all curious about the boundless possibilities available now that we had the freedom to explore campus before 5pm! After yesterday’s Starbucks pit stop, we ventured further into Price Center to find a little boba shop. Many cluster 8 students got their fill of boba, with teas like jasmine, taro, Thai, or other delicious drinks! Others took a walk into the frozen yogurt shop, enjoying flavors that varied from the basic vanilla and chocolate to fruity tastes of passion fruit and guava.

Then, after our inside time, we had a new group of evening programs to choose from. Whether it be smash bros, tye-dying, clay figurines, exploring the San Diego Super Computing Center (SDSCC) or playing volleyball/other sports, everyone found their niche and had a great time.

Halfway through week 2! Cluster 8 was hanging in the tough schedule, working on their lab reports and Ethics Project in their dorms early in the morning, at 64 degrees sipping on coffee, and along benches outside enjoying the sun, whenever time allowed. The first schedule of the day allowed them to escape the pressures of the present and instead reflect on the past week and a half of learning; Dr. Gaetani encouraged the whole group to recall each lecture and review the key ideas. Brave student volunteers stood next to Dr. Gaetani, given the task to organize the jumbled information on the white board in an orderly manner. As students recalled bullet points about the basics of tissue engineering, they also recalled the conversations, questions, and laughs they’ve made throughout the week.

In the afternoon after lunch, the so-called ‘flower of tissue engineering’ blossomed–as it was the first day of a lab involving cell culturing. Out of the five groups, three groups wore their PPEs and entered the BSCs (Biological Safety Cabinets), nervously yet excitedly holding the flow diagrams they’d made yesterday. The other two groups were dispersed throughout the computer lab or outdoors by the grass, cramming down preliminary work for the Ethics Project.

As the lab proceeded, students grew comfortable within the new conditions: stiff shoulders relaxed, shaky hands obtained lower frequency of vibration, and later, students were even able to hand each other high-fives in the ‘sterile’ way with their elbows. Some mistakes and unexpected events occurred along the way; one group’s cells all died, leaving four cells deserted under the microscope! Still, the imperfection added onto the diversity of the experience, transforming flaws into fun episodes trailing behind the keyword ‘COSMOS’.

Early in dawn, there was a sonic boom of sorts created by a spaceship reentering our atmosphere. Some Cluster 8 members woke up to this sound at around 2am - and some of our heavier sleepers did not!

Our eighth day of class started off strong with our 64 degrees breakfasts - eggs and bacon, yogurt and granola, fruit and apple juice abounding! We all then started the walk across campus to our bioengineering building, surrounded on all sides by swaths of COSMOS students from any and all clusters.

But, after class, we were a little behind schedule… so we had to rush to lunch to chow down on some delicious dining hall grub. The lunch food today varied in our cluster, as some of us bee-lined to the grilled cheese and chili combo and others lined up for the Wok This Way garlic chicken wings and veggie fried spring rolls. There was also some fruit supplement - the watermelon especially is a favorite! Then, we gathered outside of the 64 degrees doors and expeditiously began the trek back to class. 

Today’s labs for groups 1-3 went a little overtime, so it wasn’t until around 4:15pm that we were all released and on our merry way from class. Some of us had some exciting things to get to as well, including but not limited to a suite birthday party!!! Tres leche cake was involved in the festivities.

After those fun separate activities, Cluster 8 reconvened for the Wednesday night activities, which included basketball, painting on pouches, volleyball, or hot chocolate and cookies on the fourth floor balcony. It’s safe to say we all enjoyed the delicious, fun and festive day!