Weekly Report #1: “Beginning Anew” (Week of August 26, 2024)

This week was the start of the ISM program. Being part of ISM 2, it feels weird yet exciting to be part of the program again. Listening to the interests of the newcomers in the class reminded me of my older self. I spoke better to the class compared to my first day in ISM 1, and felt more relaxed. Today we had to sit in groups to peer review resumes, and I was the ISM 2 "mentor" of the group. At first I didn't feel qualified to guide the group, and felt as if I should have spoken up a bit more, but as this process continues I know that I will do my best to guide the group. Nonetheless, the experience was fun, and all the people in my group were very nice. 

Apart from ISM, I feel like I am already worried about the New Year and want to go back to summer again. During the summer, I went to India after a long time and had the best experience ever. I met my old friends, and saw new places that I hadn't before. In addition to visiting India, I went to an internship/volunteering experience in Tyler, TX with my mentor Dr. Konduru and learned a lot about cell culturing, cell differentiation, glass pipetting techniques, and about a biosafety 2 lab in general. Overall, my summer was amazing, and even though I stayed productive and even studied a bit, I feel unprepared for the school year. Although now 2 weeks have passed by, I'm getting a bit used to the school days again, and soon I'll be on my normal routine for the day.

I hope that I can set a good example not only for my ISM group, but also for any incoming freshmen in my other classes/ groups.