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Week 1 Part 1: Introductions
This week has been intense! Since I was introduced to many new things, I have a lot to write about. I promise not all of my blogs will be this long.
On my first day, June 23rd, I absorbed a lot of information. First I had an informal orientation to the program. During my talk with Vanessa Green (the program coordinator), I learned that in the course of this internship I will attend many professional development workshops and seminars and prepare two presentations of my work. On one hand, I was happy to find out that the program holds workshops on graduate school, honing skills, and future careers. I think they’ll be really useful! On the other hand, I felt nervous about presenting my future work to groups of strangers. I have always found public speaking nerve-racking. However, I want to get better at this skill and I want to overcome the anxiety that accompanies it. So I am grateful that this program gives me opportunities to do this.
Then, I met my PI and mentor, Dr. Michiko Nakano. Because her lab is small, I will be working directly with her on my project. Over the course of that day, we talked for what felt like hours about ourselves, my project, and my future plans. It was awesome that she took so much time to introduce me to the project and to give me advice. When I was not with her, I spent my time reading up on Bacillus subtilis, the organism I will be working on.
The next day, I met the other interns. We had two seminars (blogging and goal-setting), and then most of us went to the farmer’s market at OHSU for lunch. There, I had a good talk with another intern about future goals and the paths we took to get here.
After all these introductions, I got down to work. See the next post for details!
