It was when being led into Dr. Sánchez’s lab for the first time that things began to drop into place. We were in a laboratory of a professor who not only intimately understood the concepts of microscopy but actually built his own instruments. In this environment we were able to see several types of microscopes and learn their respective functions and eccentricities; it is this hands-on approach that causes concepts to lodge themselves in the mind and to subsequently make one comfortable. (student from Portland Community College)
I also had the opportunity to improve my interpersonal skills by interacting with all kinds of people during my stay in Portland. Over the course of the summer, I interacted with not only those people within Dr. Stedman’s lab—all of whom were very welcoming and more than willing to help out if I had questions—but also people from other labs, including the geology labs and the labs of Dr. Jiao, Dr. Popa, and Dr. Pan. Because of this, I gained a new appreciation for how research is done in the lab. I realize now that by nature, research projects are often multidisciplinary, which requires that the researcher reach out to a vast variety of resources in order to gain the knowledge that he is in search of. (student from St. Mary's College of California)
If I thought I was motivated to achieve a career in the scientific field before I joined this program, then I am truly dedicated now…Coming in to this program, I had almost made up my mind that an undergraduate degree would be enough for me, but now I don’t think that is the case. I see a future of many more years of education. (student from Mt. Hood Community College)
I think the most important lessons that I learned this summer were not the specifics of my project, but the day to day aspects involved in research. The constant pressure to produce results, get published, and secure funding definitely had a large impact on me. This is something that I had no idea about. I also learned that research involves heavy literature searches, and then is a long process of trial and error. (student from Oregon State University)
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