This week with research, I am feeling ready to present. The past week or so has been very focused on getting the poster done and practicing it. I am writing this before the symposium, but I am feeling pretty good about it. I was concerned before about my results (especially with all the concerns of how much better I could have performed to get better results), but after talking with my PI and my mentor, I feel like it will be alright. I learned to acknowledge all the work and effort I put into my project and poster, which makes me feel more confident about it. I also recognize that I am always just sharing knowledge, instead of trying to sell a product. I initially struggled with this mindset when I saw an example elevator pitch provided by the program. This pitch was more business-oriented and highlighted how they have this really great product that will solve everything. My project doesn’t do that, so having that mindset causes a lot of anxiety and doubt. Thankfully, I was reminded again by my PI, mentor, and others around me that the product of research is knowledge. This aspect of research is something that heavily encourages me to pursue even more research.
Because of this new perspective, probably the biggest takeaway from the program is that it makes me more confident about where to look in my future. I am considering grad school now because it reflects so many qualities that I align with such as learning from mistakes and discovering knowledge. For these past 10 weeks, I learned how I can also reach a balance of academic, social, and personal life. I wish to reach such a nice balance later in my career.
I am very glad to have engaged in this program. I always felt welcomed and encouraged to learn from so many opportunities around me. I was surprised to work alongside so much cutting-edge research while also learning about the welcoming community at Rice. The students in my lab were all welcoming and helpful. My mentor was always very attentive, honest, understanding, and straight up chill. I felt a bit lost at first, but I later found a pretty good balance of being independent in the lab and learning from my mentor. My PI was also always very friendly and welcoming. I generally felt like mistakes were not looked down upon and that people around me took most of their opportunities to give me feedback and help me improve, which I will always appreciate. This experience makes me want to continue research while I am a student at Rice. My PI told me that the opportunity to continue is available so I hope to do so soon.
I also want to mention the incredible support that I received from the R-STEM and OURI programs. I found the weekly meetings and their overall structure to be very thoughtful and helpful since they serve as a form of checkpoints to the progress of our research. Dr. Zafar was of immense help during this program. I appreciated her extensive and clear communication each week. She made sure to actively attend to our concerns and needs and she was always willing to help us despite how much she is already handling. Thank you, Dr. Zafar!