Ryan Catlett, Junior, Biochemistry Major, Biology Minor Hometown: St. Louis, Missouri What was your internship (location, regular job duties)?
I was a part of The Washington University Cardiovascular Research Summer Program (WashU CardS) located at Washington University in Saint Louis. There were many goals for the summer. The first one was to become an independent scientist that generates unique hypothesis and solutions. The second was to improve skills needed for graduate and medical school. The last goal was to network with people from around the country and even the world. How did you find your internship?
I was recommended this summer program by a previous mentor I worked under my freshman summer at WashU. To my knowledge, many people in the program did not just stumble upon this internship, they were referred by students who have done it before or were referred by their universities. I’m the first person from the University of Missouri-Columbia to participate in this program and I would like to have many more representatives from MU in this program. I’d like to urge anyone that has an interest in cardiovascular system research to apply. What was your favorite part of the experience?
I loved learning more about medical school applications. I got to have a sit-down interview with the chief of cardiovascular surgery and with the top medical school admissions in the country (WashU, Harvard, Yale, Stanford, and Vanderbilt). I also loved meeting people from around the world to become great friends. What was your biggest challenge/learning experience during the internship? Do you feel like you improved those skills/solved those problems as the internship went on?
The biggest challenge for me was getting started. To generate a hypothesis right off the bat was a lot for me and it took a lot of critical thinking and time before I was able to generate a solid plan for the summer. As the summer progressed, I believe my skills improved drastically. I found it easier to think of ways to test certain ideas. What was the most important thing you learned during this internship that will help you in your career?
I would say the most important thing I learned this summer was how to navigate the professional world. Starting in a prestigious lab at one of the top universities in the country I was a bit intimidated and was unsure of my path for the summer. As time progressed, I began to become more comfortable with planning my experiments and meetings a month in advance. I also saw great improvements in my dialect and how I presented myself in lab meetings and conferences. |
