Time To Get Started! by Sean Cotton

Hello, my name is Sean Cotton and I am a senior at William Tennent High School. I love learning about science. Some of my favorite sciences are Neuroscience, Chemistry, and Physics. I plan to major in Chemical Engineering in the future, but I would also enjoy exploring various other sciences. I wanted to join TRIP because the idea of research fascinates me. The idea that I could discover something that is unknown is amazing. I am also excited to improve my communication skills through the program. When I am outside of school, I enjoy working out (specifically weight training), listening to country music, and watching football. ​

The first week of TRIP was great. The idea of waking up to learn about science on a Saturday morning is a bit odd, but it has been a great time. I love learning how to use a micropipette, make and dilute solutions, and set up an experiment. We were given our experiments, mine is the effects of St. John’s Wort and constant darkness on mood, and I am excited to find the results. On top of all the information we were given, I also got to meet my amazing classmates whom seem great.

The second week of TRIP was just as fun as the first. We made grape plates to be used for later studies. This was a great activity to hone my skills from week 1; I had to combine my skills of making and diluting solutions with micropipetting. The highlight of the day was sorting out flies for my experiment. I had to knock out the flies using CO2 and sort them by male and female. This started off a bit tedious, but as I continued sorting, it became easier and I moved more quickly. I cannot wait to see what next Saturday’s experimental results will bring.