This week I conducted two interviews that have helped me reflect upon my growth in the Independent Study and Mentorship program. My first interview was conducted with a professor at UT Southwestern. This professor addressed how the work of biochemists affects neighboring professions and touched on various research applications that he explored in his laboratory such as catalytic reactions, medicinal chemistry, and natural product synthesis. After this interview, I was able to connect my research and knowledge from previous classes to the information I learned during this interview.
My second interview was with a laboratory manager at Cates Laboratory. This interview helped expose me to a different side of biological chemistry as it mainly addressed how biochemists improved environmental conditions. The laboratory manager talked about asbestos and mold formations and as a result, I was able to connect knowledge from my original work to the interview. This week I also began preparing for my Original Work/1st Semester presentation. I planned out the key ideas I wanted to address in my presentation and outlined a slides presentation. Next, I need to create a gist of what I want to say and create an outline for the verbal portion of my presentation.
0 Comments
This week was calm and relaxed. After multiple cold-calls to many different professionals in the field of biological chemistry, I was able to successfully schedule two interviews in the upcoming week. These interviews will be to get a better insight into the field of biological chemistry as well as for a possible mentorship. The first interview is with a lab specialist working in the medical field and the second interview is with a biochemist in a research laboratory. This week I also reflected upon my Original Work, semester goals, and my performance in the Independent Study and Mentorship program. As I reflected upon these subjects, I was able to see my growth in the program not just through my increased knowledge in the topic of biological chemistry but also how I grew in the field of professionalism and soft skills. This week I also edited part of my website. I updated my assessments and weekly reports. For the upcoming week, I plan to reflect upon my interviews and hopefully ask the interviewees for mentorship. Also, I plan to start brainstorming ideas for a product (Final Product) that incorporates my knowledge over biological chemistry and shows my growth in the Independent Study and Mentorship program. This week was Showcase!
I began this week by submitting Original Work and preparing for my presentation during Showcase. First and foremost, I created a document of possible questions that people could ask me during showcase night, such as: when did you first get into biochemistry, what has ISM taught you, why should I do ISM, and what is your original work? I also added any extra details I wanted to include in my presentation such as the different aspects of biological chemistry I researched and how those topic tie into my Original Work. Then I rehearsed those questions and details with my parents and friends. I added any finishing touches to my display board such as adding images and making sure nothing was misspelled. In addition, I made sure my portfolio and binder were finished and up-to-date with all assessments and weekly reports included. During Showcase, I met with many different people that helped me grow my network. For example, I met with an IT consultant. Although this topic was not related to biological chemistry, their contact may be useful in the future. In addition, I also met with different ISM students at Showcase. I was fascinated by everyone’s creativity with their display boards and Original Work that next year I hope to also bring a new creative design to Showcase night. This week was consisted of finishing my original work. First, I began the week of with creating my article. Then, outlined key components of my article in a separate document to help organize my thoughts. I listed any introduction and subcategories that needed to be included in my article. In addition, another list was made that showed who my audience is, what they care about, what my main message is, and what the purpose of my article is. Afterwards, I created my article and a list of references at the end of the article. Lastly, I changed parts of my introduction to catch the reader's attention, proofread, and made sure to get rid of any mistakes in my grammar and vocabulary.
Consequently, this week also consisted of working on my interactive map. I researched various environmental disasters that were related to bioremediation and compiled them all into a single document. From there, I added picture and the information to the interactive map. In addition, I added a few key locations to the map that helped show how significant bioremediation is and how widely used this process is. During this completion process, I realized I needed to improve on my time-management skills as I struggled to complete most of my work within the timeframe I alloted for myself. However, my research skills have sharpened because of the extensive online searching for the interactive map and article. My next steps will consist of preparing for showcase night such as listing out any key details to share with the audience when I present during showcase, practicing handshakes and professionalism, and making sure both my display board and portfolios are completed and up-to-date. |
AuthorWritten by Khushi Borikar Archives
April 2019
|