I was so very nervous my first day in the lab interning.  All the machines and materials made me very uneasy.  Denise is my senior student who I am observing and working with.  She is a very good teacher and makes sure I understand what to do and why to do it in a specific way.  Aseptic techniques must be used in everything done in the lab.  A person needs to be precise and pay extra attention to what they are doing.  This was very hard for me because I am not well with fine details  more so as I like to see the big picture.  When it comes to scientific research its trial and error and can take years and years before a discovery is made.  The research being done by BRITE researchers and students has been ongoing for over 10 years.

My first day I successfully dropped a pipette tip into the agar solution causing us to have to trash what we had been doing and start a new.  Then when transplanting plants from old agar media to new nutrient rich media I successfully broke 3-4 plants.  I am not sure if this is because I was so nervous or just needing to slow down and take my time.

Coming from retail pharmacy for over 10 years I am so use to working at a fast pace.  Everything had to be done correctly but quickly as well.

Working in the lab is a learning curve for myself but I look forward to working on new projects as July continues.