Wesleyan University

Summer Research Fellow

June - July 2021 • Middletown, CT

What I liked

I loved being able to devote my full time and energy to my research project. I also liked forming really strong connections with my labmates and PI.

What I wish was different

I wish there had been more inter-lab interaction, but COVID made that tricky.

Advice

It's so valuable to spend this uninterrupted time diving into your research on campus. If you enjoy your research during the school year, I recommend staying on campus during the summer instead of taking a research internship elsewhere.

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Undergraduate Research Assistant

June - August 2019 • Middletown, CT

What I liked

I loved getting the opportunity to spend the entire summer working in a field of research I was interested in doing in the future. I enjoyed the opportunity to go off campus to present at conferences.

What I wish was different

I would have like to have had more things to do around campus.

Advice

Doing research on campus enables you to have one on one advisor experience with a faculty member which is not something you would get anywhere else. You will be able to broaden your skills and work on challenging projects. You take on the responsibility of progressing the research of your assigned project. However, far you want to push the project is up to you and the only limitation is your imagination when it comes to integrating cross-disciplinary ideas to solve the problems you face during the experience.

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Physics Research Intern

May - July 2020 • Middletown, CT

What I liked

I liked gaining new computational skills and pursuing a project tailored to my interests.

What I wish was different

I wish I could have done more hands-on lab work, but understandably this was not possible due to the on-going pandemic.

Advice

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Biology Laboratory Assistant

May - August 2020 • Middletown, CT

What I liked

The lab I worked for studies vertebral column and muscle development in zebrafish and is generally very wet lab oriented, but this summer due to COVID-19 and restrictions that prevented us from conducting in person scientific research, we were able to adapt to a virtual lab environment using uCT scans of adult zebrafish skeletons that we had from the lab! We had to exercise both our resourcefulness and flexibility in order to make this work, and along the way I learned incredibly useful data analysis skills and learned how to use a 3D scan software called Meshlab to analyze the skeletons. This adaptability and opportunity to learn new dry lab skills was an amazing learning experience.

What I wish was different

As we all wished was different, a part of me still wished I was able to integrate more wet lab work into my summer research to complement the dry lab data I was able to collect. There’s nothing quite like being at the microscope and working at the bench!

Advice

I would advise to always be flexible and open to new learning experiences! I was nervous about transitioning to dry lab/computational work because I didn’t have much previous experience in that field, but it’s been so rewarding an valuable to immerse myself with that type of research. Don’t be afraid to be put in a different learning environment, it will only help you to grow! And who knows, maybe you will enjoy a new change of pace from what you normally are used to.

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Undergraduate Research Assistant

June - August 2020 • Middletown, CT

What I liked

I enjoyed the fact that I worked in person, which was not typical during the summer of 2020. I loved my co-workers, and I was very interested in the research.

What I wish was different

I wish I did not take on a particular project that I was not interested in.

Advice

Advocate for yourself if you are assigned to do either too much work or work you are not interested in doing (if there is someone else who can do it instead).

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Psychologist Research Assistant

May - August 2020 • Middletown, CT

What I liked

We were allowed to be very autonomous and have control over our projects. We were also given great alumni contacts to reach out to for help with our research

What I wish was different

I would have liked some more general deadlines

Advice

Being organized and finding a topic you are passionate about will make research much more enjoyable and productive.

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Undergraduate Research Assistant

June - August 2020 • Middletown, CT

What I liked

The flexibility due to COVID, I was able to work with another student residing in California while I was in Mumbai, India. Instructions about the work was very clear and my professor was very encouraging.

What I wish was different

Maybe more feedback would have been nice.

Advice

Communication is important. If you don't understand something just ask and communicate your concerns.

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Senior Interviewer

June 2020 • Middletown, CT

What I liked

I love the people I worked with in admissions. They are very responsive and we’re incredibly helpful.

What I wish was different

I wish we had started earlier, but that is the fault of the pandemic more than anything else.

Advice

It’s a really great program, so make the most of it.

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Research Fellow

May - July 2019 • Middletown, CT

What I liked

I was able to work on an independent project with my mentor for 9 weeks during the summer and spend more time in the lab completing my wet lab experiments compared to during the semester when I have other activities and less time to spend in the lab. I was glad I had the weekends to myself and was able to find a good balance between working in the lab and spending time outside with friends and myself.

What I wish was different

I wish there were more people on campus because it can get boring and lonely at times. I did not really have time to meet anyone outside the lab, and no social interactions except when we had lab meetings. I also wish there were more social events with other people who did stay on campus so that there were more social interactions throughout the work days.

Advice

I would advise being prepared to be independent and being able to use your time wisely. Some days I would squander my whole day doing nothing and would panic the next day about articles I forgot to read for research. Even though it is the summer, I felt like I should have reminded myself to be productive on the weekends so that my weekdays felt productive and planned out. And also to find a better balance between working and self-care. Since it was a 40 hour work week, I never tended to bring any work back home during the weekdays and I think that helped a lot with the balance of work and self-care.

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Undergraduate Research Assistant

May - August 2019 • Middletown, CT

What I liked

I liked doing research over the summer because I was able to focus on my project without worrying about classes and extracurriculars like during the school year. There were great workshops to help with various skills necessary to work in the sciences. The poster session at the end of the program was a low pressure way to create a poster for the first time and get feedback from peers about how successful it was at conveying my work. I liked having a flexible work schedule and a casual environment.

What I wish was different

I wish more food options had been provided by the program because it was a challenge living in the dorms and keeping a balanced diet while also not spending your entire salary on eating out.

Advice

If you work in a lab at Wesleyan, staying over the summer to do research is a great way to move your project forward and get closer with your professor and fellow lab mates. The research community is very close knit and you will get to see your friends at work everyday!

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Research Assistant

May - July 2019 • Middletown, CT

What I liked

Great research experience. The pay was enough, but not amazing.

What I wish was different

I wish there had been more things to do on campus.

Advice

If you can find a cheap place to live off-campus, that would be much better than living in Bennet.

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QAC Apprenticeship Program

May - July 2019 • Middletown, CT

What I liked

I learned a lot during this summer. I worked with Prof. Fowler and Laura. And, it is this opportunity helps me learn a lot about U.S. politics. Before this program, I did not realize that I can do data analysis. However, with the help of all the instructors and classmates, every time I had some problems, I wouldn't feel helpless. Everyone is great.

What I wish was different

The data analysis courses cover so much; however, I think not all of them are that useful. And, at the end of the program, I forgot some of the advanced data analysis because I didn't use them.

Advice

It is a great combination of doing academic research and data analysis.

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Research Assistant

March - July 2019 • Middletown, CT

What I liked

The hours, pay, and one-on-one work with my professor gave me invaluable insight into academia and a potential career doing chemistry research. I also have a better understanding of scientific writing (i.e. drafting a professionally-structured research paper) and the application process for being published.

What I wish was different

Advice

Put the word out to Professors that you are interested in doing research early on. Waiting until Junior or Senior year to get involved might result in you missing out on an invaluable opportunity like doing paid summer research.

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Research Assistant

May - August 2019 • Middletown, CT

What I liked

I really enjoyed the research I was working on this summer concerning privacy policy technology. The material was incredibly intellectually stimulating and the professor I worked with was very insightful and enthusiastic.

What I wish was different

I enjoyed everything in regards to the academic pursuits of the project. However, being on campus in Middletown in the summer can be a bit boring. I am lucky enough to have access to a car so I was able to go home most weekends. Had I not been able to do that, my summer would have been much less fun.

Advice

If you are potentially interested in academia or research in any capacity, I would really suggest spending a summer here. First of all, the campus is beautiful in the summer. More importantly, it is a great chance to get an inside look into the day-to-day experiences of research and academia.

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Biology Laboratory Assistant

June - August 2019 • Middletown, CT

What I liked

I enjoyed the friendly and professional atmosphere of the lab. I loved getting to know the PhD and graduate studies community. Living in Middletown over the summer was nice bcause I learned a lot more about the area.

What I wish was different

I wish the structure of the poster session was better designed with the time frame of the research. Most student jobs last for about 10 weeks and culminating with the findings of the research. However, often the research simply not complete after 10 weeks bthe requirements of the poster session should be updated to better reflect the nature of the work that is being done.

Advice

Take full advantage of the fun activities that go on outside the lab with the people you work with. Obviously the work is important and will get done, but it can be a little bit of a drag to be on campus through the summer if you’re not soedning it with people you like.

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Paleoclimate Research Assistant

May - August 2019 • Middletown, CT

What I liked

The opportunity to conduct real science, science that matters. I was also asked to speak at the National GSA conference on my summer research, which was an incredible networking opportunity.

What I wish was different

I wish I had more structure and clear-headed advisement.

Advice

Be outspoken about topics that you care about. There are so many problems in the world, pick one and be passionate to start. I would also recommend that researchers make business cards to hand out at conferences.

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Research Assistant

May - July 2018 • Middletown, CT

What I liked

The research was very fascinating and gave a lot of good opportunities to me as an undergraduate student. For example, I got the chance to co-author a publication as well as engage in data analysis which are useful aspects to consider when applying to graduate school. It was also fun to run the studies on participants.

What I wish was different

I wish it would have been a little bit more immersive and independent. I felt sometimes that I was only helping others with their studies and their publications -- which would have been fine if I had also gotten a chance to apply those skills to my own work. For instance, I would have loved to be given the opportunity to design my own study and complete a literature review on a subfield that I found interesting which would also benefit the lab.

Advice

Definitely ask for what you want. You may not always be allowed to, say, not engage in recruitment, but if you're interested in coding or programming for experiments or SPSS/psych stats, ask how you can get more involved with it in the lab. Most times you will be able to do so.

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Research Fellow

May - August 2019 • Middletown, CT

What I liked

Being a part of the Student community during the summer, being able to invest full time into my research and make substantive progress.

What I wish was different

Advice

Look for housing extremely early! Campus housing is stupidly overpriced, and it's really hard to find a place to stay in town. But it'll cut your rent in half.

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Research Fellow

June - August 2019 • Middletown, CT

What I liked

I really liked the experience of finding out something new, and contributing to the knowledge of the science world.

What I wish was different

Advice

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New Student Orientation Intern

May - September 2019 • Middletown, CT

What I liked

I loved my role and tangible sense of leadership and empowerment. During the summer I was respected among administrators and I was given respect that I earned due to the work I put out there.

What I wish was different

I wish I started my position earlier to prepare longer for orientation. Additionally, I wish that all of the interns were at the same location on campus because the International Student Intern and First Things First Intern were working in different locations than the NSO Interns.

Advice

A piece of advice that I would offer is that this position really encourages individual autonomy and prepares students for the workforce. Thus, if you want to really develop your leadership skills then I would suggest considering this position.

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