What drew you to apply for the PROMISE Research Assistant position?
As a future educator and biologist, when I found this job opportunity, I knew that this was a remarkable chance to experience both working in a laboratory setting and being able to interact with students. I have always felt that my call in life is to help teach students more about the world around them through science, which is exactly what PROMISE does with students of all ages by giving glimpses into the medical research conducted by the labs here. One of my professors also further encouraged me to apply for this position, for which I am extremely grateful.
What are your day-to-day responsibilities as a PROMISE Research Assistant?
Every day is different, and that is part of what makes my days fun. Whether it is a new skill I learn, new protocols to follow, or meeting other researchers here at Sanford Research, the hands-on learning processes help build my experiences as a student, teacher, and scientist. Some days, I might set up the next day’s experiments, prepare reagents for labs, get to meet with educators in the area, attend research presentations, or outreach to local schools and experiment with students.
What has been your most memorable experience here so far?
It is always memorable to work directly with the students. My first time with outreach at a school is probably the one that sticks out the most. Louisa and I went out to Discovery Elementary to do strawberry DNA extraction with three first grade classes. The first graders were very excited to experiment with us. I was very impressed with how much they understood, especially because we had to explain why living things all have different DNA, but that humans have similar DNA even though we all look different from each other. The kids were all so happy when, after following the directions we gave, they were able to see the goopy strawberry DNA they worked hard to get. They even got to take it home! I am pretty sure I reacted this same way when I did this experiment in middle school, and it was really fun to do with the kids.
What do you do outside of work?
On campus, I am a teaching assistant and tutor, which is technically still work, but I enjoy getting to interact with my peers on campus in higher-level science courses and applying all my education knowledge to help others. In my free time, I love to read (mostly science fiction and thrillers), crochet, play with my two dogs, and go to on-campus events.
Why should students get involved in STEM?
STEM offers so many benefits to our students. From getting to work hands-on to problem-solve, developing critical thinking skills, learning how to work as a team to accomplish a common goal, or being able to explore the possibilities for future careers, any student can benefit from these courses. I recognize that not every school is able to offer these courses, and this is why PROMISE emphasizes outreach and has a lending library where teachers can borrow resources for lessons. Even if STEM is not your passion, the skills you gain from your time in the classes are directly applicable to all other disciplines; I am a better essay writer because STEM helped become a better critical thinker!