The Weakest Link

I remember the exact moment I decided to pursue research in the field of Biology. I was studying abroad in the summer of 2016, and it was one of the last days in Monteverde, Costa Rica. I signed up for the course sort of on a whim, not really knowing what I was getting myself into. I just knew it was an upper-level Biology course, and my parents were willing to help me out money-wise so I could participate in the course. It ended up being research based, and my groupmates and I were beginning to analyze the data we had been collecting for the past 7 or so days. We were meeting with one of the professors, and he was showing us what sort of statistical analysis we could run on our data. After that meeting, this professor came up to me individually and said “Kayla, you have done exceptional work here. You are not the weakest link.” (I had referenced myself as the weakest link for the duration of the trip as a jest because I was the only person who hadn’t taken any upper level Biology courses so I knew the least about the work we were doing).

After that happened, I texted my mom and told her I had finally found my passion. I struggled for years to decide what I wanted to do with my life. I started college as a pre-pharmacy major, but was unsuccessful. I switched gears a bit and changed my major to pre-nursing for 2 years until I was in the application process of nursing programs. I’ll never forget the overwhelming sense of “this was not what I want to do for the rest of my life”. It was hard to admit, because I had no idea where I was going to go from there.

Anyways, it obviously had a happy ending because here I am, a senior Biology major with now two research projects that were conducted out of the country under her belt. Now I’m playing the game of applying to graduate school, and it’s all very stressful. I want to continue to travel and conduct research in different ecosystems. Trying to find the right school that fits what I want and finding a program that is accepting graduate students is difficult, but I will persist. Looking at the programs fills me with hope and excitement, unlike when I was applying to nursing school. Every day I’m thankful for the students that pursue that path, but I’m so glad that I didn’t. I wouldn’t have met all of the wonderful people who are in my life now, and I definitely wouldn’t have had the opportunity to go out of the country to chase my dreams the way I’ve been able to with Biology.

I’ll continue to update this blog with my process of applying to grad school, and about the research I’m conducting in the SCALE lab. My life is a mess, so this is bound to be interesting.