Brown University

Spira Coordinator

June - August 2018 • Providence, RI

What I liked

I got to spend my summer teaching engineering to a group of mostly low income minority high school girls who were interested in STEM. It was one of the most rewarding things I’ve ever done.

What I wish was different

I wish there had been more people doing the same job as me! I taught it by myself but had some help planning. It would have helped to have more people.

Advice

If you can teach kids, do it. It’s an amazing experience and I don’t regret it for a second.

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Undergraduate Research Assistant

August 2018 • Providence, RI

What I liked

What I wish was different

Advice

Really reach out to as many people as you can. I would’ve liked to start earlier however was reluctant to put myself out there.

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Residential Assistant

June - August 2018 • Providence, RI

What I liked

My team was very open with our interpersonal communication and feedback.

What I wish was different

I wish the training was more focused.

Advice

You must be comfortable with making decisions that effect others, as you are being made responsible of a group of students for an extended period of time.

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Resident Assistant

June - August 2018 • Providence, RI

What I liked

I enjoyed being able to work with high school age students at Brown's summer program. I appreciated the experience of working in residential education at another university, it allowed me to see how colleges differ in their res life departments. I also enjoyed running a seminar on green living once a week.

What I wish was different

I wish that there was better organization in the program and i wish there were more proactive tasks during the day for me to do. Often i had nothing to do during the day except for the one day i held a seminar about green living. Most of the job tasks were at night. It was boring during the day often.

Advice

Keep a list of feedback over the course of the summer. At the end of the program they give you a feedback form and the feedback you give can help them improve their program.

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research assistant

June - August 2018 • Providence, RI

What I liked

The ability to create a new step of ideas/standards/practices from scratch, and in order to help people’s health.

What I wish was different

Advice

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Leadership Alliance FYRE Summer Intern

June - August 2018 • Providence, RI

What I liked

I was able to work with young adults from a plethora of cultural background. I learned so much outside of my work environment because of the people in my cohort.

What I wish was different

I wish we had air in our dorms.

Advice

Don’t make assumptions about how your summer experience will be, but set expectations for what you want to get accomplished.

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Biology Research Assistant

June - August 2019 • Providence, RI

What I liked

According to the World Health Organization, approximately 1.3 billion people live with some form of visual impairment. Before potential treatments for visual disorders become available, they must be tested on model organisms, like zebrafish (Danio rerio). At Brown, I worked to develop a novel assay, which captured the visually-guided behavior of zebrafish larvae, in response to both visual and acoustic stimuli. This assay was utilized to determine if vision loss in zebrafish larvae was achieved after exposure to UV radiation and forms of visible light. In the future, this assay could be used to test treatments for visual disorders and measure the loss and recovery of vision in the zebrafish larvae. My favorite part of this research was learning how to run behavioral assays and working with the zebrafish (they are a great model organism to work with!). I also enjoyed the people who I worked with. They were extremely supportive and guided me through learning how to conduct experiments on my own. I was very passionate about this research since in the future I hope to become an optometrist and this research has the potential to evaluate treatments that I may prescribe to my patients in the future.

What I wish was different

I wish the research program had been longer. It felt like once I began to learn how to run multiple experiments per week and became more proficient at the techniques it was time to leave. I am so thankful for this experience though!

Advice

Make sure to apply to any positions which look interesting to you! Have confidence in your abilities and you can find an internship that you are really passionate about. Do not doubt your abilities and make sure to apply to any positions even if you think you will not be accepted, because you never know.

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Key Assistant

May - September 2018 • Providence, RI

What I liked

Flexability

What I wish was different

Wish it had been more constant workload instead of crazy ebbs and flows.

Advice

Know that it ebbs and flows and be prepared

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UTRA Helper

June - August 2018 • Providence, RI

What I liked

I liked working with grad students and a professor who could give me professional advice and show me what their own lives were like, so I knew what I might either look forward to or avoid.

What I wish was different

I wish I had been working more in a group setting, I sometimes felt a bit isolated.

Advice

If you're bored, there's probably a way to make your job more interesting — and whoever your boss is will probably like the changes you make, because you're going to be more passionate and work harder on things you find interesting. So, unless it is a very planned and set out job description, take opportunities to do creative things or deviate from the set job description because you could create something your boss really likes.

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Catalog Librarian

June 2018 • Providence, RI

What I liked

The people are great.

What I wish was different

I wish I had more training.

Advice

Be patient.

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Teacher Assistant

June - July 2018 • Providence, RI

What I liked

I like the environment, the new skills I learned and the students.

What I wish was different

I wish it was a little longer

Advice

Always take time to listen to what people have to say, you will never know what you will learn by keeping quiet and listening, truly listening.

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Research Intern

June - August 2019 • Providence, RI

What I liked

I loved my lab and the overall experience and feel for the program. I would highly recommend people to apply.

What I wish was different

I wish we would've had more opportunities to network amongst other divisions.

Advice

Don't knock it until you try it. I was hesitant first about my lab but it ended up being one of the best experiences I've ever had in a lab setting.

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Undergraduate Research Assistant

June 2018 • Providence, RI

What I liked

The environment was very conducive to learning. People were always willing to answer questions and help out, even after hours. Very cool and meaningful work.

What I wish was different

I wish I had put in more effort to get more of a background in Machine Learning to complement my work.

Advice

Dive in! Don't be afraid if you don't know too much, just start doing and be open to learning.

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Teaching Assistant

June - August 2019 • Providence, RI

What I liked

I enjoyed having a close relationship with the professors (I was a TA for three classes), and well as working along side students. I was challenged to be independent which required me to master the material and have confidence in my abilities.

What I wish was different

I wish I had realized how much work and time outside the actual work hours it would require. Lots of time spent preparing, grading, and making presentations.

Advice

Be confident in your abilities to be a mentor!

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Undergraduate Research Assistant

June - August 2021 • Providence, RI

What I liked

It was good research

What I wish was different

didnt like being remote

Advice

Work hard play hard

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Research Assistant

May - August 2021 • Providence, RI

What I liked

I liked being able to engage with an academic interest of mine in a non-classroom setting, engaging one on one with a professor.

What I wish was different

Advice

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Resident Assistant

June - August 2022 • Providence, RI

What I liked

I felt like I was compensated fairly and also enjoyed working/engaging with high school students in a fun and meaningful way.

What I wish was different

More organization! There were a lot of things that I felt were hectic or just completely fell through that could have been avoided with more support structures in place and more intention.

Advice

Just be open. To anything and everything.

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Student Researcher

June - August 2023 • Providence, RI

What I liked

Meeting people from lots of different schools and homes, getting to explore mathematical research, getting to live in Providence, and having room, board, and travel all paid for.