Goodbye TRIP by Rachel McCabe

 I think it is important when planning for the future to think outside of traditional career paths... it was comforting to hear from people who did not follow straightforward paths, or know what they were to do as high school students. I think this lesson will be important as I pursue my own career.

Another important lesson learned was time management. As I wrote about in my previous blog post, the first day we worked on our Independent Projects was a rude awakening. I realized that most of my tasks took far longer than I had anticipated, and I had to stay late to finish everything. After this experience, I planned out my work in more detail, and allotted more time to each task. I also learned that it is more useful to take the time to do careful, reliable work, rather than rushing and ending up with inaccurate results.

I truly cannot believe this program is coming to an end. The five weeks flew by, and I still have so much more I want to research! I have now finished all of my time in the lab, and will present my findings at the symposium next weekend. Overall, I didn’t make any crazy discoveries, but I learned a lot about the research process. Prior to TRIP, I had never worked on an Independent Research Project where I could completely design my own experiment. I had to learn how to construct a plan in a way that made sense with the time and resources I had available. 

My second day working on my project, I mistakenly added the wrong amount of sugar to my agar solution. Without realizing, I used this solution in my Larval Memory Assay. I had already spent the whole session working on this assay, when I discovered my mistake. This experience was really frustrating, as it forced me to reevaluate my experimental design. Originally, I was going to spend two days studying the memory of adults, and two days studying the memory of larvae. However, after this incident, I had no data and only three days remaining. I knew that spending only one day on either the adults or larvae would not be enough to reach reliable results. I ended up changing my focus- to spend three full days working on larvae. This choice narrowed the focus of my research, but gave me more data on larvae memory. 

While I have learned a lot through my research at TRIP, another important part of my experience has been the career talks. Before TRIP, I was very focused on becoming a doctor. This goal has not changed, but I am now thinking more seriously about trying to combine clinical work with research. I was really inspired by many of the career speakers, who had found unique jobs that capture their interests. I think it is important when planning for the future to think outside of traditional career paths, and find something that will truly be enjoyable. I also enjoyed hearing about the journeys the speakers had taken to reach their current careers. Frequently, it feels as though there is an exact path that must be followed to be successful. It was comforting to hear from people who did not follow straightforward paths, or know what they were to do as high school students. I think this lesson will be important as I pursue my own career. 

Overall, TRIP was a really special experience. I learned so much about researching, working hard, and approaching a career in science. I would highly recommend this program to anyone interested in science, as long as they don’t mind dealing with bugs.