Blog

I am so excited about taking this class. First of all, it is such a relief to have been able to take it so that I can graduate in May. It has been somewhat scary because I feel that the other students know what they are doing, and sometimes, I feel lost. I think that as the course progresses I will begin to feel more confident in the lab. This is my first research experience, so I am really excited. I feel that I will learn more in this class than any other lab because I feel like a real scientist (pretty nerdy, huh?). This week we made agar from scratch which was really awesome. Other students have been really helpful in answering my questions and helping me find my way around the lab. The fact that we might find a new species of bacteria is really awesome. I never imagined that I would be given this opportunity. I am hoping that our research is complete by the end of the semester because I will be gone all summer for training with Teach for America if I get accepted. I am especially excited about doing a PCR. I have learned so much about it in previous classes, so it will be nice to actually get to put my knowledge into action. I also thought seeing the autoclave was pretty cool. Again, I have learned about it in previous classes but have never actually seen one. I don't feel like we are babied in the lab which I have felt in previous classes, and therefore, I expect to learn much more with this approach to learning. Research is something I have always been interested in but have never had the opportunity to do. As you can tell, I am just overall really excited about taking this course. I know it will be an awesome learning opportunity for me and the other students. I hope that I can improve upon my micro lab skills which have gotten pretty rusty for lack of use. I think it will really complement my BIOL 4125 course which I am also taking this semester. I hope that I can be helpful in the lab and become more confident in my research skills. I now have to put what I learned about in textbooks and lectures into real research.