As the summer draws to a close, I decided to look back on my research experience here at UCSB as a Beckman scholar.  Over the course of the summer, I learned a lot about what it takes to actually do research, from designing the experiments (Who would have thought there are so many little details you have to worry about for each experiment?!) to interpreting the data to presenting my results.  But, not all the educational value of this summer lies in the area of lab work.  Instead, I found that I learned a huge amount from the research and writing classes offered over the summer.  In particular, the powerpoint presentations we had to give at various points in the summer were probably one of the most helpful parts of the internship, even if they were incredibly difficult to put together.  There’s nothing like trying to fit your research topic (which you can probably talk ad nauseam  about) into 3 minutes and 4 slides, while still having your audience understand fully.  Another summer highlight was the Beckman Scholars Symposium, held at the Beckman Center in Irvine.  During this 3 day event, all the interns in the program travelled to the symposium to listen to the guest speakers and present their research (if it was their second year).  Getting exposed to so many different undergraduate researchers engaged a wide breadth of fields was truly a unique experience, I even got a few ideas for my own project from talking to the other undergraduates there.

Even though the summer may be coming to a close, my term as a Beckman scholar is only just beginning.  I feel that this intensive summer has served as a great preparation for continuing research during the school year and next summer, but there is still a long way to go.  I look forward to getting back to work in the fall, starting up the year with all my summer experience, which will hopefully make research a little more straightforward this time round!