Reflecting my experiences in HSPH at the midpoint XD

The fact that this is the fourth week of RAP Program makes me feel so accomplished and excited. I am so happy that I was able to make through this far, and also happy to imagine how the remaining three weeks are going to be. I am so sure that many new and precious experiences are waiting for me and that I will be able to finish the program successfully and fruitfully.

The most interesting about my lab work is that everything I had been learning and practicing over the past two or three weeks matters significantly. Also, the fact that all the things that I had learnt are connected to each other really surprises me. At this moment, I am working on a little task that I have to show how the propionic acid affect the growth of CT26 cells (mice colon cancer cells). In order to finish this task successfully, I have to know how to use centrifuge, pipettes, and etc., how to make media with exact measurements, how to count cells, how to calculate the exact proportions of various liquids that are in different concentrations, and how to keep everything sterile in order to avoid contamination. These are all the techniques that I had been learning throughout the past three weeks, and after several mistakes, I experienced how important it is to have a well-trained techniques because it is impossible to do experiments successfully without them. If you do not have a good techniques, expensive lab necessities can get contaminated or become useless.

The field trips and lunches that I had so far had influenced me very much. Especially, the field trip to Children's Hospital was very interesting because I was able to learn about the careers and jobs that I never knew about. Also, it provided me with some sort of idea of what kind of job I would love to have and what kind of job that I would not be happy to have. The lunch meeting with DBS undergraduates was so fun and memorable because it was my first time having conversations with about 15 different people in such a short time. I learned how to listen to what others have to say about themselves and how to tell people about me effectively and briefly. Also, I was so surprised at how brave and determined they were; some of them were from other far states, and some of them knew what they want to do with their lives. In addition, it was very interesting to hear how they managed to survive their senior years and how they prepared for college. I am very thankful for all of the field trips and lunches I had so far; they enriched my experience as one of the interns of RAP.