Ursinus College

Summer Fellows Research

May - July 2020 • Collegeville, PA

What I liked

I loved that I was able to do research on a topic that I am interested in. I was able to work with two Ursinus professors from the Chemistry and Biology departments and one other Ursinus student to do research about combatting antibiotic resistance with the use of carbon nanomaterials. Because of the circumstances this year, I was not able to go into the lab, but my mentors were able to and they would send pictures of the data they collected. I researched multiple articles and analyzed the data that they sent me. I was able to gain so much useful knowledge about microbiology, and we even came up with some interesting results! This experience encouraged me to continue pursuing my passions of science and helping others.

What I wish was different

I do obviously wish that I was able to work in the lab myself. But given the circumstances, I was able to learn so much from this experience. My mentors, the other student, and I would have weekly meetings to make sure that we all were on the same page, and we were also in constant contact with each other. It was definitely an experience that I was not expecting when I signed up for it, but I am really grateful that I did.

Advice

I would say that even if something turns out to be completely different than what you would expect, go into the experience with a positive mindset and decide to work as hard as you possibly can to gain valuable knowledge from that experience. Utilize every tool that you are give, and put 100% of your effort into whatever you decide to do.

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Summer Fellow

May - July 2019 • Collegeville, PA

What I liked

I got to gain experience in my field of interest; planetary science research.

What I wish was different

The stipend is an underpayment when accounting for the average weekly work hours Summer Fellows students complete. I wish the stipend adequately compensated for the number of work hours completed by Summer Fellows students.

Advice

Because of the period of Summer Fellows, the nature of the stipend, and the program's limitation on working a job while researching, I recommend attaining and growing an alternative source of funding for a considerable time beforehand before the beginning of the program.

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Ursinus Camp Counselor

June - July 2019 • Collegeville, PA

What I liked

It was an enjoyable experience, bonding with fellow team members, as well as rewarding because I got to give back to kids who enjoyed playing basketball.

What I wish was different

I wish there had been air conditioning in the gym.

Advice

The more you talk and interact with the kids and have fun with the kids, the faster the day goes.

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Summer Fellow

May - July 2019 • Collegeville, PA

What I liked

I got to make my own schedule, guide my own research, and produce a 40 page policy paper under the guidance of one of my professors.

What I wish was different

I wish I had more time to work on it!

Advice

This is a great opportunity to prepare for grad schools because it gives you a great writing sample, transferable life skills, and independent research skills. I suggest doing summer fellows for anyone interested in pursuing academia or who wants to learn more about a particular subject in depth.

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Summer fellow researcher

May - July 2019 • Collegeville, PA

What I liked

I felt as if I was employed as a true researcher even though it was just a research program. I was able to independently run my research project with some guidance.

What I wish was different

I wish I had a longer time to run my research so that I could obtain more significant data.

Advice

Highly recommend summer fellows research as it gives you a view into your future if you are interested in research, especially for the sciences.

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Summer Fellow

May - July 2018 • Collegeville, PA

What I liked

I liked being able to get extensive research experience in a field that I was interested in and to learn a lot about the specific experiments, processes, procedures, and common results pertaining to the research I was doing (mitochondrial activity focused research)

What I wish was different

There were some experiments that we had difficulty running (specifically the proper isolation of functioning skeletal muscle mitochondria) that I wish I had more prior experience with.

Advice

In science, more things will go wrong than right. Just take things one step at a time and evaluate how you can improve things as you go.

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Summer Fellows

May - July 2018 • Collegeville, PA

What I liked

I liked the health disparities aspect and further understanding the intricacies of mental health stigma.

What I wish was different

I wish the time would have been longer in the summer for the completion of the project.

Advice

I learned a lot about psychological research and the ethics behind it, as well as researching.

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Student worker Tech Support

September 2017 • Collegeville, PA

What I liked

I like the experience of setting up new system for faculty, staffs, and students, the opportunity to oversee all the new technology before they were used for the following school year, and the community at the work environment.

What I wish was different

I wish they should not have hour limit for working.

Advice

I would advice my fellow student workers at Tech Support to take the opportunity of working there during the summer so as to prepare for the next school year.

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