Hello! My name is Angie Choudhury and I am a second year in DIY. I chose DIY because it was new and innovative and it really stood out from the rest of the other streams. Dr. Riedel was really enthusiastic about starting it up, which really appealed to me!
After becoming familiar with the lab, I got a good feel for the point of the Freshman Research Initiative. In fact, I believe it has a different meaning for everyone who joins, but personally, FRI gave me a first hand experience in lab work and research. This stream is particularly laid-back which made it easy for me to manage my time at UT and also allowed me to grasp the full understanding of doing research. Don’t get me wrong, this was not without it’s dwindles, which can happen quite frequently! I once lit a paper towel on fire by accident! Luckily, after having gone through the proper training and skill developments at the beginning of the semester, I had the lab technique to put out the fire seamlessly.
I continued research in the lab over the summer, where I start my pet project, LAMP PCR. This is where I felt like I’ve begun to get the most out of FRI. It’s where you get to let your creativity with doing research come alive! What’s more is that, especially as an undergraduate student, the experience is such a valuable thing to have because you learn early on whether research field is something you are or are not suited for. Additionally, DIY has such a variety of components that all kinds of science majors can find a topic that best fits their interests!