Coming into college, I always knew that I wanted to be a part of something greater than myself. After learning about the Freshman Research Initiative during a University tour, I was hooked on the idea of undergraduate research, and wanted to challenge myself in the hope that I would not only become a better student, but also benefit lives around me through community service and hands on learning in a comfortable environment. I decided to apply for FRI, and ended up changing my life in a way that I never expected. My first semester consisted of a UGS class and intro to research assigned lab time. It was a long semester watching micropipetting tutorials, and learning about famous scientists, but I could not be more grateful for the experiences that I had, eventually landing a spot on the DIY Diagnostics research team.
As the semester came to an end, I was set on joining DIY Diagnostics. The research team seemed enthusiastic about their work, and the sense of community was screaming my name! At first, I was overwhelmed by the fact that I was just a young college student who didn’t really know the first thing about research. I asked myself “where would I start? Or what did I plan on accomplishing?” Looking back now, I can guarantee that everyone was feeling the same way. I found myself feeling unsure in my decision to join FRI, and most of all, I was insecure in he idea that my peers were better trained than I was.
As spring approached, and my research team was in full swing, I was developing new research skills and growing in confidence through weekly skill developments and meetings. These meeting consisted of a range of topics. From the logistics of MTEC plates, to presenting data from our Waller Creek project at a scientific fair, to understanding complicated computer software programs, I found myself engaged and empowered in the fact that science, and especially the DIY Diagnostics stream, were working towards a greater good. On top of this, the weekly wet- lab assignments were tedious and often times difficult, but our handpicked team of lab mentors was there to help through it all. Not only did I learn how to take water samples and analyze contamination levels at local sites on campus, but i also learned how to code my very own diagnostic app, and create a 3d masterpiece key chain with the 3D printer. DIY Diagnostics allowed for me to express my creativity and personal interests in a way that I had never experienced.
My favorite part of DIY diagnostics thus far was learning how to code. At the time, this was a very stressful task for me as I had no prior experience in HTML and Javascript (coding languages). Although this was a setback, my fellow researchers in DIY were very supportive and encouraging, and I eventually decided to base my last semester project on a diagnostic app and an image analysis program, to decipher between potentially cancerous and benign moles. The first year of college on such a large campus can be scary, but staying humble in the fact that DIY Diagnostics was always there for me, and others just made the transition that much easier.