Experiential Learning Reflection

     My experiential learning experience this semester was generally different than the experience that my classmates had. I was fortunate enough to be able to continue to work in a lab that I had previously worked in before, so I was comfortable in my environment and had extensive repertoire with my mentors. Overall, my experience pushed me to explore more molecular biology techniques, practice mentoring, and strengthen my ability to problem solve and think critically for my projects as well as when I was trying to help others. This type of learning for me goes well beyond a traditional classroom, in the problem solving and critical thinking especially. A lab has a large whiteboard where ideas are thrown, tangled, and grappled with until a problem has been solved or a new experiment is created. This type of process and scientific thinking is not exercised in a regular classroom to the same degree, and continuing to work in a research lab feels imperative to my long term goals. The development of thinking like a scientist has given me so much more confidence when it comes to talking to faculty or employers about research labs, because I know I can discuss my experience in depth and come across as very knowledgeable about the field I am pursuing to work in.     

    My other classmates typically worked in a lab that was new to them, and did not know their mentors or peers very well. One classmate I talked to was given a small subset of work, in which he had to do an objectively monotonous task of watching video footage and recording wildlife sightings. He very much enjoyed the work, and found it very exciting to work on a project that we had never had experience with before and liked getting to know his peers and mentors. He is undecided as to whether or not this experience will convince him to pursue research in the future, but he did appreciate the knowledge he gained along the way. Again, I was working with subjects and people I was very familiar with, in a continuation of previous work to lead towards a career in research hopefully. Overall, new or not, everyone did genuinely enjoy the work they did and the experience they gained.