Fall Semester: Currently, I hope to become a Pediatric Dentist and attend the IU School of Dentistry. The main reason I want to become a dentist is to help others. I love that is is a profession that combines science with patient interactions. I also really like working with kids, so this is a profession that can combine many of my passions. Even though this is right now what I intend to become, it is not set in stone and I still have time to look at other career options. At my internship site, the focus is not dentistry, but it is focused on learning about neuromuscular breakdowns (like ALS). Being a part of this internship, has allowed me to explore research techniques and become familiar with the lab setting. I am able to learn from others and discuss my future career goals, which has allowed me to think about the different aspects when becoming a dentist. 

End of Fall Semester: By exploring my interest in research, I believe it to be something I would enjoy doing. However, I think I still would prefer to work in a clinical setting with patients. I still have really enjoyed the time I have spent working in the lab. I would like to continue doing this over the next couple of years that I will be in college. I also would possibly like to continue it while it dental school. This has been a great experience for me to learn about scientific exploration, but it has also allowed me to learn about myself. I have learned that I am teachable and take criticism well. I am able to learn from my mistakes and work well with others. I have gained many life skills while being a part of this lab that will help me in my future endeavors.

Spring Semester: My goals  have stayed pretty consistent from when I was applying for LHSI. I wanted this internship to be a learning experience, and for it to allow me to explore research. Moving forward with this lab, I am going to focus on my goal of being able to communicate scientific research. While being a dentist does not include too much scientific research, I will need to be able to have good communication skills that allow me to express a patients health.

Learning Goal #1: During this lab, I would like to work on my problem-solving skills. By this I mean, I would like to learn specific techniques that can be used to help answer scientific questions. 

How does this goal fit into your career journey or prepare you for the future?

In this internship I want to be able to learn techniques to help me problem solve. Since it is a lab-based site, I would like to learn skills and have hands on experiences that allow me to problem solve. I have observed in the past others come up with a research question and use specific techniques to answer their question. I would like to assist or create a research question and use the techniques I have learned to answer the question.

What tasks, responsibilities, projects, or activities will you do to meet this goal?

1. Learning the principles and how to complete basic procedures in lab

2. Learning how to troubleshoot problems in lab – unexpected results

3. Learning from others and then applying my observations into doing the procedure myself.

Progress: I feel I am currently accomplishing this goal. Throughout this internship I have been able to learn new scientific techniques that are used for problem solving in lab settings. Two especially big focuses of my time are western blots and cell culture. I have learned the process of taking a set of cells, growing them, seeding them, and then completing a western blot to look at the proteins involved. By learning this process, I have been able to see the struggles and successes of the process. It took me many tries to have high viability for the cells I was working with. But by putting in the work and improving my technique I was able to get better results. 

Learning Goal #2: During this lab, I would like to work on my communication skills. By this I mean, I want to gain a greater scientific vocabulary and confidence when speaking about scientific findings. 

How does this goal fit into your career journey or prepare you for the future? 

I feel that I have pretty good communication skills when it comes to asking questions and making conversation with people. However, I would like to learn how to properly express scientific findings to groups with various levels of knowledge. Basically, after I have learned problem solving skills, I would like to be able to effectively communicate my findings to anyone who asks about them in terms that I am confident in.

What tasks, responsibilities, projects, or activities will you do to meet this goal?

1. Weekly lab meetings - discussion of procedures with results

2. Commonly used terminology – with Christy or Dr. Walker in lab while working on projects

3. Achieve an analysis and express my findings – Working on projects and using the proper terminology of my findings

Progress: This is a goal I am still working on. The spring semester has been difficult for me to attend lab meetings, due to my class schedule. However, I have definitely improved in explaining the procedures I am completing and their results. I have gotten better at asking scientific questions and understanding the answers that I receive. Even though, I still am not able to communicate everything without some guidance I have definitely improved throughout the year. I will continue working on this goal so I am ready to present at the LHSI showcase!

Learning Goal #3: During this lab, I would like to work on my innovation skills. By this I mean, I want to gain knowledge about how to produce a scientific research question. 

How does this goal fit into your career journey or prepare you for the future? 

I do not have much knowledge about ALS or the innerworkings of it. There are several lab skills that I would like to learn how to perform based on findings. By learning about this information and learning from what others have researched in the past, I will be able to produce my own research plan. This will allow me to use techniques I have learned and come up with new methods and ideas for researching.

What tasks, responsibilities, projects, or activities will you do to meet this goal?

1. Review literature and see what has been done

2. Look at gaps in knowledge and go from there

3. Find what is left to know and coming up with a plan on how to reach the goal - unique

Progress: This is a goal that I am currently working on. I have been able to start working more independently by completing cell culture. I still look to guidance when learning new aspects of cell culture, but I have been able to grow in my independence with this project. I had difficulty at the beginning, but by learning from others, I have been able to improve my skills. I was able to use cells similar to previous lab research completed and see if I was able to get the same results that they had. This was a beneficial learning experience for me, and I know I will be able to take this knowledge and use it in future lab settings.

Which skills on the survey are you using so far or where are you more confident already? 

Fall Semester: Based on what I have done so far since being in the Walker Lab, I am more confident in working in a team setting. This is a skill that I felt confident in when first joining the lab, but I feel like my skills have been enhanced as I have been able to work with others in lab who are very experienced and knowledgeable on the topics being worked with. I also am confident with my ability to look at the goals I have set and see where I am now. Each of the goals that were set are still a work in progress, however I am able to look back at my goals to see how much I've grown and build my learning from there. I have been able to do western blots and analyze data, which allow me to see growth in my problem solving goals as well as my communication goals.

Spring Semester: I have been able to continue to grow with these skills over the course of the year. I have not only developed my teamwork skills, but I have also improved my independent researching skills. Often I look to others to provide suggestions for improvements or the next step to proceed. This internship has allowed me to become more confident in my capabilities to complete a research task. 

Which skills from the survey would you like to continue to work on? What will you do to grow the skills? 

Fall Semester: Coming into this lab was a new experience for me, so I am working on adapting my skills to fit with the internship setting and procedures. One skill that I would like to continue working on is properly communicating when working on lab procedures. I have definitely struggled with this, but I feel myself improving. At my internship site, I was able to complete a western blot and explain it to someone who was knew to the lab. I was confident with most of the procedure but I had difficulty expressing some steps of the procedure. I would like to be able to confidently share how to complete lab protocols to others and use correct terminology. I would also like to work on my problem solving skills. This requires being more involved in completing lab procedures, which will also allow me to learn from feedback and criticism. 

Spring Semester: I will continue to work on both problem solving and communicating in the future. While I do feel I have improved these skills, especially in the second half of the year, there is always still more to learn. I will continue to learn from others and apply what I have learned to my research and classwork. I will also continue to work outside of lab to understand protocols and the science behind each procedure completed while in lab.

How the internship has helped you gain a deeper understanding of your coursework or major.

Fall Semester: The internship is very lab based, which has made me a lot more confident with my lab skills for my courses. I also feel like there has been some crossover in what is completed at my internship site with what I have learned in my biology and anatomy classes. It allows me to use my knowledge to understand what we are doing, and connect it to learning when in class.

Spring Semester: Throughout this Spring semester especially, I have been able to take my experience from my internship and apply it to my lab based courses. I have noticed a lot of overlap especially in my cell biology lab. This has not only allowed me to be more prepared for my classes, but I am also able to help my peers and explain the procedure being completed.