Soundscape of the Sharkhole marine community at Bocas del Toro, Panama Participating in CURE was a great learning experience. CURE was a good introduction to the research process and does a good job of showing the scientific method in action. As a sophomore, it was nice to have this introduction early on in college. In a way it is similar to labs for your core science classes but provides much more freedom by letting you ask your own question and problem solve how to answer it. CURE taught me that not everything will go your way and some questions are hard to answer. In my project, the first data set I worked with failed to provide any usable information. After working for weeks on processing data I had to make a one-eighty on my project and scramble to rework my manuscript. This experience showed the imperfect world of science, but also taught perseverance and responsibility by forcing me to meet deadlines despite a setback. The fluidity of the class structure was nice as you could set your own schedule. The class met once a week for a few hours, but the rest of the week required you to make the decision to come into the lab depending on your workload for your project. Before my project change, I was coming in two to three times a week to work on my data that was only accessible in the lab. Once I changed my project, I was able to work from home which gave me more free time, but also meant I had to budget my time to meet deadlines.
As a biological sciences major which requires research credits, this class was a great intro to that world. In fact, this class helped solidify my decision to pursue biological research as a career. Perhaps one of my favorite aspects of this class is the ability to work closely with Laura and develop a relationship with a professor in my field of interest. Networking in this manner and gaining early experience in the research field is a key to success in any research field and I feel that this class provides the ideal mix of these. Additionally, working with real data on a project that could be part of a publication was a very cool experience. Using data collected for real research makes you a part of the scientific community, something that is rare for an undergraduate student to experience.
As a biological sciences major which requires research credits, this class was a great intro to that world. In fact, this class helped solidify my decision to pursue biological research as a career. Perhaps one of my favorite aspects of this class is the ability to work closely with Laura and develop a relationship with a professor in my field of interest. Networking in this manner and gaining early experience in the research field is a key to success in any research field and I feel that this class provides the ideal mix of these. Additionally, working with real data on a project that could be part of a publication was a very cool experience. Using data collected for real research makes you a part of the scientific community, something that is rare for an undergraduate student to experience.
RSS Feed
