As we probably all know, performing undergraduate research looks great on your resume/CV when applying for graduate schools or for jobs. Most important though, is the benefit it provides to those of us who are not set on any life paths and did not know since we were five that we wanted to become doctors. In my case, being involved in research has helped me set my post-graduation goals. I was not really sure what I was going to do once I graduated so I took on a double major, Business Administration & Zoology, but I never really set any career plans. Since I started in my lab, I have come to realize that research might be a path for me, so I started thinking about graduate school, leading to further discussions with my mentor and anyone else in the science field that I could talk to about what graduate school and working in the sciences are like. I am not set on any school or any program or any field yet, but I have come to realize that I would like research to be a part of my future.

When I began looking for a lab to work in, I did not really have any expectations or preconceptions of what I would be doing or what it would be like. Fortunately I settled on a lab and a research program where I was completely involved in a research project, not just washing glassware and plugging numbers into a computer. Having this independent project does require some time and dedication commitments than a regular -just do this procedure- research experience involves. These commitments are both benefits and drawbacks at the same time. Having your own project means that you will be required to read a lot more literature on the subject and have multiple discussions with you mentors to ensure you thoroughly understand not only the methods but also the scientific context, the implications, and the reasoning behind the project. Yes, this means extra time outside the lab (and also some extra brain exercise), but it makes you smarter and it allows you the opportunity to become a critical thinker; to not only understand a fact, but think about how that fact came to be and what it means for the future. This can be a very fulfilling task, and when you get to the point where you can talk to others about what you do and they ask -why?- you can give a real, educated answer.

I think that throughout this experience in research, having a good and compatible mentor has been a very crucial element for success. Having someone there with more knowledge and experience to consult when you have a question or a problem is vital. Most importantly, having a mentor that nurtures a relationship built on respect and trust is essential for developing the comfort to ask anything in the first place. There have been many situations where I made a mistake or something went wrong and I can see how it would have been very easy for me to feel stressed and worried; but I felt comfortable approaching my mentor and explaining what happened and knew that he would help me figure it out without negative criticism. Thus, having a mentor you can count on to give you positive feedback is important for a productive research experience that allows you to learn from your mistakes and those of others. A good mentor can also be a teacher of the tricks to any experimental procedure, of the how-to's of writing scientific papers, and be a model for science ethics and anything else associated with being a member of the scientific community.