Final Thoughts

April 27, 2012

Before my internship this year at the New York State Museum, I had no idea how vast the insect species is, what a PCR machine is, or how to run gels. I have absolutely no regrets in my experiences in this internship. I couldn’t have asked for a better mentor. Dr. Cryan taught me so much more than just how to categorize insect species, replicate DNA, and create master mixes. He taught me how to work in a laboratory environment, he taught me how to remain positive when experiments don’t go as planned, and he taught me to have fun while focusing on a task. In the beginning, I made mistakes creating different mixtures of ingredients into the master mix and when inserting the pipette into the grooves I made for gel electrophoresis, but in the end, I was able to complete the process more smoothly than I could ever have hoped. Dr. Cryan walked me through every step and was always patient and encouraged questions. By the time my internship ended, my accomplishments at the museum were vast and I wouldn’t give them up for anything. I consider my accomplishments from tasks as small as putting the correct DNA into the right test tube to as big as seeing my final gel after the fifth time of trial and error experiments. On my first day at the museum, I was nervous, palms sweating, knees shaking, but I soon realized there was nothing to be afraid of. It was a great experience and I wouldn’t change a thing about it. My only advice to future interns is to have fun with it and don’t be afraid to make mistakes.