I still cannot believe that it is the end of week four! This quarter started off quite busy because in addition to the usual stress of crashing classes and getting accustomed to them, I also had to start prepping for a conference and simultaneously applying to summer research opportunity programs. I finalized an abstract for the McNair National Conference happening in mid-March at the University of Maryland, College Park. I went through about ten drafts of my abstract with the McNair writing consultant, Dr. Broidy and my faculty mentor, Professor G. Reginald Daniel. As I begin to narrow in on my research certain terms are being refined. For example, previously I described the identity constructs I use in my research as the “sleeper” and “awakened” components. My faculty mentor, advised me to change them to “latent” and “activated”, they entail the same meaning however the latter terms appear refined. In addition, he reminded me to cite his work even though I am working on a separate research project to gain legitimacy. Besides prepping for the conference, I have been applying to four different summer research programs. One at UC Berkeley, UC Los Angeles, Leadership Alliance, and CIC. Each application requires different elements and a slight difference in questions with regards to the personal statement which make it difficult. McNair kept telling us that these programs are extremely competitive, thus I will be lucky if I get any offers. This process served as a mini introduction to what will soon await me when applying to graduate school. I hope to get selected at campuses that are not in California just to get a different experience and create a network with scholars and professors elsewhere. Obtaining letters of recommendation was a bit challenging but in the end everything worked out. The next project I will be working on is creating a powerpoint for the conference that needs to be 10 minutes long. This will be the first formal presentation that I will partake in! I am a bit nervous and overwhelmed but overall excited for what the future brings for me.