So, I spent the summer at UCSB, participating in the
Apprentice Researcher's Program. It was a lot of fun. I met
all sorts of cool people, got to do all sorts of cool things, and even got
paid. The basic idea was, 3 days a week we worked with a graduate student
mentor in their lab, helping with whatever research they were doing. The
other 2 days we spent as a group, doing activities like computer and electronic
labs, and going on various field trips. At the very end, we were all
required to give a 15 minute presentation about our research, and what we
had learned this summer. I had a really great experience, and I recommend
it to anyone who is thinking about a career in science. I still don't
know for sure whether I am cut out for life as a researcher, but now when
I make the choice at least I will have a better idea about what the life of
a research scientist is like.
Here's the whole group -
(front) Rachel, Lauren, me, Danny, Katia, Viri, and Carlos
(back) Alex, Eli, Louis, Matt, Sarah, and David
(back) Alex, Eli, Louis, Matt, Sarah, and David