 Time really does “fly” when you are having fun. It’s been twelve weeks since my first day in the TRIP lab, and I have nothing but positive words to describe my time in this program. Over the past two months, I have gained invaluable skills. In the lab, I learned a myriad of skills ranging from creating drug stocks to performing assays on my fruit flies. Outside the lab, I learned the most effective way to turn numbers into meaningful results and how to communicate these findings at a research symposium. I learned to manage my time efficiently. (There was A LOT of talking in the TRIP lab, so I had to learn how to ensure I finish my work on time as well). Most importantly, I learned to never stop being curious about the world around me and to seek out answers myself when the world provides none.
I am happy to report that my project went (mostly) successfully. I faced a few hiccups along the way, but with each challenge I faced, I fell further in love with research. Initially, I struggled with the negative geotaxis assay because sorting on ice affected the flies’ ability to move in the testing chamber. However, after some problem-solving, I found a solution: I set up my testing vial as soon as I got in the lab so the flies would be ready by the end of the day. From here, I thought it would be smooth sailing through my project, but I faced another issue. One day I did not finish collecting developmental data in class, so I took my vials home to continue. However, I did not account for the temperature of my house and how it is significantly colder than the William Tennet environment. This slowed the growth of my flies, so when I went to perform my larval locomotion assay the following class, the flies had not reached the larvae phase yet. Ultimately, I had to scrap that week’s data, but luckily I still had four other trials to refer to. These challenges pushed me to find new solutions and showed me the reality of scientific research. This program has been, without a doubt, one of the most memorable experiences of my high school career. Once again, thank you to everyone who helped me get to where I am now! Cheers to such a bittersweet ending (I am definitely not shedding a few tears while writing this)! Your favorite Session B yapper is officially signing out… 
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 Hi there, thanks for following along my journey with TRIP these past 3 months! I’m sad to say that my time in the TRIP lab has ended, but there is so much I learned throughout this experience that I get to carry on to college and beyond! Through the weeks, I sorted flies, created fly food, and ran my assays- and I truly enjoyed all the aspects of it. We just wrapped up our final symposiums this past weekend, and it was rewarding to be able to share my research with my family, friends and fellow peers and to see the amazing work my labmates did!  Since the last time I updated you all on my experiment, there have been quite the changes and challenges. I had previously mentioned that I was testing the effects of intermittent fasting and Benadryl on memory, but had to quickly change my plan after some hurdles with running my assay. I continued on the path of testing intermittent fasting and Benadryl, but switched over to looking at activity levels and fertility! I ran the Negative Geotaxis Assay, and collected data on percent eclosion and found that although fasting did decrease energy, it had a positive effect on the fertility of the fasted adults! Reflecting on this, I am grateful to have experienced the hurdles with my experiment. It not only allowed me to fully understand that setbacks are a normal part of working in research, but to experience the rewarding feeling of tackling the setbacks! Looking back, I am truly going to miss my early Saturday mornings in the lab working with the fruit flies! I am incredibly thankful for the experience I had and the wonderful instructors, Dr. Leystra, Dr. Purdy, Dr. Valdes and Mr. Cozzone, along with the awesome TA’s Anoosha and Niki. I am so grateful to have had the chance to work with like-minded individuals and make amazing friends along the way! The experience I gained with designing and conducting an experiment that truly interested me is incredibly valuable; thank you to William Tennent High School and Fox Chase Cancer Center for this opportunity. Lastly, a huge thank you to you, the reader, for following along my journey these past weeks, I can’t wait for the next trip I’ll take!
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