It all started when I went on the FRI stream tours and visits. Most of them seemed appealing. I even was planning on being in one of the easy streams until I visited DIY Diagnostics. From when they talked of helping others and developing tools to enhance diagnosing illnesses to developing web based applications I knew I was in the right place. This streamed required 6 hours and for me that seemed a lot, but I did not even have to think twice about putting DIY as my first choice because I knew that this was the stream I could spend hours in and it would seem as if merely minutes passed by. I was so excited when I got in to DIY that I immediately texted my family and friends to let them know.
The first time I met my fellow student researchers I did not know that these were the people that would become my really close friends. The first time I received my very first assignment, I was terrified. How could I, a mere freshman, simply go about the laboratory and find everything I needed for my experiment? The mentors really helped. They were not at all intimidating to talk to after you got past the first initial awkward conversation. We first started with learning the basics like sterilizing our workbench, learning about micropipetting so even if you did not have a background with any of these or simply forgot some of the steps they were a nice refresher course that helped me feel more confident around the lab and in my skills.
My favorite part of this laboratory is that it is very hands-off and we are allowed to feel and essentially be our own researchers, who can choose to collaborate with others, simply a must for coding, or work on our own. I really enjoyed the fact that I got to learn some basic coding skills and work on them because of the applications we were developing. The satisfaction from seeing that you built your own code and it works is immense. So far my favorite assignment was 3-D printing because it really feels relevant to the modern world and I do not think I would have had such easy access to learn to 3-D print had it not been for DIY. Everything done in this stream is done with the concept in mind that the information collected will lead to help through the form of a diagnostic tool from DIY. There are so many aspects to choose from and I really enjoyed the freedom of this laboratory compared to others. The variety is immense as well from working with acids and bases, to coding, to field sampling, to 3-D printing, DIY provides a variety of work options which help you discover what you like working on in the laboratory.
The majority of students taking laboratory classes always complain about the work they have to do and how much time they have to spend in the laboratory, but I think that stems from the fact that everyone is working on the same project. In DIY, one student could be working on developing an application while another is sampling Waller Creek or working with ZIKA information. For me the best decision I have taken so far for my career was to enroll in FRI and choose DIY Diagnostics and by chance getting into DIY Diagnostics. It has been a great experience so far and I hope it continues as I enter my second year in this stream.