TRIP: A Window into the Future by Rafael Appiani

​I first heard about TRIP in an email sent out by my chemistry teacher. It immediately grabbed my attention because it offered a new perspective on scientific research. However, the program offered a lot more insight than I initially thought, as it not only demonstrated the experience in the lab, but it also provided tours of multiple facilities and presentations from across the cancer center. Because of the diverse aspects of the program, it showed me a multitude of different paths in STEM, rather than the limited ones that I saw beforehand.

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​First and foremost, the program is focused on research and working in the lab. However, I had a very limited idea of what lab work was. In my mind, it was like the activities that we did in my previous courses, but in TRIP, I learned very quickly that lab work can be a lot harder than that. On the first day, we learned how to transfer flies, and I was immediately humbled, as it needed to be done quickly and efficiently while also being done carefully. Not only did I have to minimize the time with an open vial, I also had to sort them on ice to keep them unconscious. This required me to work as quickly as possible because if I wasn’t able to complete it fast enough, the flies would die. Although this process was intimidating at first, it became a lot easier over time, to the point where I would only lose one or two flies every time I sorted them. It was very rewarding to be able to learn a new hands-on skill in science and greatly improve, but the mistakes shown through in my results, as some of them were completely invalidated. However, it opened up another world of potential improvement in lab skills.

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​In a similar vein, the facility tours painted a picture of the daily life of a researcher, by allowing me to see it in action at the professional level. For example, the cell culture facility demonstrated not only the precision required to maintain sterility when working with cells, but also the various methods of storing and manipulating them. Another example is the genomics facility, where they are able to sequence and study DNA. However, this also showed how the ecosystem between researchers worked, as the facility rents out the machines to whoever wants to use them. In other words, it demonstrated the collaboration required for research, which added a new depth to my understanding of the career.

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​Finally, the presentations given showed me the uncertainty of the future. A lot of them set out to go into a specific profession but came out to be something else entirely. Additionally, this allowed me to see the myriad of different careers and roles that can be found in a hospital. For instance, we received two different career talks by nurses, but they still had vastly different roles as one was an educator while another was a bedside nurse with a diverse array of nursing experiences. This showed me that wherever people end up in STEM, there is going to be a specialized niche that they can fit into.

​Even though TRIP is presented as a hands-on learning experience, it is so much more than that. It is a wonderful look at the complex interactions and daily life of many different aspects of a hospital. Of course, it gave me valuable skills for working in the lab, but it also opened my mind to a variety of possibilities for my future because of the numerous perspectives on science and medicine. Not only that, but the facility tours provided insight into the higher level of academic research that I was unable to have before. Overall, the TRIP program helped excite my scientific imagination and my desire to be challenged.