“Everything you want is on the other side of fear.”

Jack Canfield

Since I was in elementary school, I knew I wanted to work in a lab. I wanted to be wearing that dazzling white lab coat, designing experiments and discovering things that could change the world. I soon found out that this required all the motivation and dedication that I have in my body to search for a lab that was doing the type of research I wanted to do. But then of course, this meant talking to the professor of said lab…

Is this anyone else’s fear? I get so intimidated. Talking to professors is probably one of my biggest fears, right up there next to scary clowns and giant spiders. The whole palms-sweating-and-heart-racing deal. Anyway, I must have gone to office hours more times than I can count and I still feel anxious after four years of experience. Yet when I walk out of their office, I feel that it was worth it. In addition to getting help on homework, office hours is just great practice for talking about research. It also gives the professor the opportunity to get to know you, the student, and your interests. This can come in handy in case they hear of available positions in their colleagues’ labs. I also tend to read up on my professors’ research before the start of each quarter so I have something to talk to them in office hours besides topics from lecture. So I get to know the creative mind behind the research and published papers.

If you want to do research, you know that the first step is to talk to a professor. If you’re hesitant, just go to office hours. Email them for an appointment. (But please read their papers beforehand if you want to talk about research. This is a must.) I could go on and on about how going to office hours is beneficial to you. Plus you are paying a large amount of money to be at such a great institution with fantastic professors (who each have an immeasurable amount of knowledge in the grey matter that is their brain). All this practice and determination eventually led me to a position in a lab (plus networking but that is a topic for another time). I can only leave you with this simple advice: GO TALK TO YOUR PROFESSORS! You’ll be glad you did.