Before coming to college, only two career paths existed in my mind: medicine and software engineering. The concept of research did not exist in my tiny little town in upstate New York. I lived in a bubble, detached from the large world of research institutions and universities. I clearly remember one day when one of my high school teachers asked my entire class whether anyone had even a vague interest in research, and I, despite not knowing what that entailed, tentatively raised my hand. I was the only one that did—all other hands remained down. My teacher looked at me, surprised, and I was immediately caught in a whirl of confusion. Questions like, “Why did my interest elicit such a reaction?”, “Why did no one else express interest in …show more content…
Here, upon meeting students and professors from all over the country and world with different backgrounds and points-of-views, I have realized that there is a lot I have yet to explore. To start my exploration from somewhere, I decided to do something I would have dreaded in high school: take a computer science course. Before I knew it, I had fallen in love with the course and the subject. I began thinking of software engineering as a plausible career for me. Yet despite my growing love for the field, I am still hesitant over simply choosing a career path without knowing much about it. I need to explore all the options available, especially since I am also quite attached to the life sciences. My two biggest interests at the moment are computer science and neuroscience, and I am afraid of choosing one while forfeiting the …show more content…
I can truly say this was one of the best decisions I have made since I have come to Amherst. I absolutely love going into the lab. There is so much to learn, so much to see, and so much to do. I go in as often as I can to practice the skills needed to perform experiments in the lab. Here I am learning to get used to working with my hands, using the microscope and working underneath it, and becoming more patient with a small animal that startles easily. Additionally, shadowing the other students in the lab has allowed me to explore different areas of the lab. The little time I have spent here has gotten me excited for greater opportunities and pathways in