Reed College

Undergraduate Researcher

June - August 2021 • Portland, OR

What I liked

I really enjoyed working with my professor. I also enjoyed the type of work I was required to do (i.e., collecting data, interpreting materials, etc.)

What I wish was different

I wish we had been able to accomplish more.

Advice

Spend a lot of time researching and analyzing the material you are working with, because it is an extremely rewarding experience.

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International student orientation mentor

August 2023 • Portland, OR

What I liked

I loved the opportunity to help new international students get settled into reed!

What I wish was different

More work hours would have been nice

Advice

Being open and friendly are great skills

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Undergraduate Research Assistant

May - August 2021 • Portland, OR

What I liked

Research was great. I knew the prof and it worked well.

What I wish was different

I wish the chemistry department has more funding so I can work for longer.

Advice

Reach out to prof early if you want to do STEM research.

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Summer Research Assistant

June - August 2020 • Portland, OR

What I liked

I really enjoyed the mix of working individually and also knowing that other researchers were working on the same project as me, and it was nice to check in with them weekly to see how their progress was going.

What I wish was different

I wish I had included more checkpoints for myself to hold myself accountable to my progress timeline.

Advice

Self guided research can be really challenging, especially keeping yourself on track and motivated. I would suggest writing clear goals that you can check in with often.

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Research Student

June - August 2020 • Portland, OR

What I liked

Great opportunity to learn a bunch of stuff related to physics under the guidance of a very experienced Professor! Was granted a lot of personal autonomy to explore the things I was interested in and shape the experience to what I wanted it to be. In essence, gave me time/space to explore some more advanced topics in the field and see what research is like!

What I wish was different

Wish it could've been in-person (limitation due to COVID)

Advice

Go in with an open mind and a willingness to learn new things!!

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Undergraduate Research Assistant

May 2020 • Portland, OR

What I liked

I really enjoyed that I could arrange my own schedule (as long as I completed all the assignments, I was able to pick the hours and days I worked). The professor I worked with was extremely competent, helpful, and thought-provoking. I think this opportunity gave me a lot of experience working with different texts, individuals, and softwares.

What I wish was different

I wish we had been able to meet more in person, however, because of COVID, this was not feasible.

Advice

Ask lots of clarifying questions.

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Lab Assistant

May - August 2020 • Portland, OR

What I liked

I was working with students and a professor that I was already familiar with so the work environment was pretty casual which was very nice. It was also a learning experience, due to COVID we had to work from home which changed the experience from how it would normally be. Because of this I got to experience more computer modeling based chemistry than I ever had before. It was an interesting experience and I feel I learned many new skills in coding and conducting research projects.

What I wish was different

I wish I had been able to do chemistry in a wet-lab, I prefer working with chemicals than just simulating them.

Advice

If you have to work from home, don’t be afraid to move your workspace computer somewhere nice, like a sunny spot on the porch. Also, food and stretch breaks are absolutely necessary at minimum once an hour.

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Student Research Fellow

May - August 2019 • Portland, OR

What I liked

I enjoyed working with my advisor one-on-one and collaborating on research projects. I loved working on a project I was passionate about.

What I wish was different

I wish my lab had had more people working in it so that there could have been more collaboration and socialization.

Advice

I would say that it is essential to find a project that you are passionate about. The work has no substance and is not enjoyable if it is not driven by passion.

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Biology Research Intern

June - August 2019 • Portland, OR

What I liked

Hands on work. Relatively flexible hours. Opportunities for field and lab work.

What I wish was different

Nothing, I loved doing Summer research.

Advice

Make sure you work with a professor whose methods and style make sense to you, because you get a lot of direct interaction.

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Research Assistant

May - August 2019 • Portland, OR

What I liked

The workplace and the convenience and the subject matter!

What I wish was different

I had a great time!

Advice

Talk to your professors about research! It’s one of the best parts about Reed!

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Summer Research Assistant

June - August 2019 • Portland, OR

What I liked

Part of this experience was going to two poster sessions and a conference to share my work with the public.

What I wish was different

Advice

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Undergraduate Research Assistant

May - August 2019 • Portland, OR

What I liked

I returned to the same lab that I worked in the previous summer, since I liked it so much. I was able to come back more experienced and knowledgeable about my research, making work conceptually easier. I also liked having multiple projects in the same lab, as it gave me some variety for my day-to-day work.

What I wish was different

I wish some of the data I collected had more accurately reflected my hypotheses, but that's not the job's fault.

Advice

Start doing research as early as possible if you're in STEM. The more experience you have early on, the more opportunities you'll have in the future, even if it isn't explicitly research.

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Neuropsychologist

June - September 2019 • Portland, OR

What I liked

The on-hands experience and the kindness and professionalism of my employer

What I wish was different

I wish I had the opportunity to get paid to work more hours

Advice

Don’t worry about not having as much experience as your peers. In the end we’re all faking it until we make it

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Cryptography Research Assistant

June - August 2019 • Portland, OR

What I liked

The work was open ended and gave us a great amount of choice over what direction to take our research in. It also gave excellent experience in the kind of work I might want to do in the future. It also allowed us to get much more familiar with our professors, and in particular put us into a position where they could help us with job networking and recommendation letters.

What I wish was different

I wish there was a better program than Latex to create our paper with, that program is such a nightmare. It would also have been good if our professors hadn't been heavily overworked over the summer due to to high enrollment to low staff ratio in the CS department. I would have also liked if Reed College had given me guaranteed summer housing since I was working on campus; not getting summer housing could easily have caused me to miss this opportunity.

Advice

Be prepared for a lot of self-directed research without much supervision. Make sure to make the most out of opportunities to talk with the professors to get good guidance on the direction they want the project to go next.

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