09 Jul Riley Embrey – University of Houston Week Five

Hey all! This is already my very last post, and I am so grateful for how fun these past few weeks have been. Even though I’m sure you’ve heard this before, I’m going to say it: I really didn’t expect time to fly bye so quickly! I have met some of the best people on this planet. My amazing mentor, Sandipan Ghorai, guided me every single day in the lab, and for his guidance I am so beyond thankful and appreciative! All of my friends in the Welch and Pinhead programs and everyone else I met along the way has allowed me to succeed! Here is another big thank you for my professor, Milijanic, for letting me use the lab space this summer, as well as providing such a supportive team to help my research! I am seriously going to miss everyone here at the University of Houston, but I know that everyone now has to go their own ways. Enjoy my very last post!

Monday – Friday: June 29th/July 3rd

Learning how to clean a fume hood!

This whole week was pretty slow going. On Monday and Tuesday, I had already done all of my research and analysis the previous weeks, so these few days I mostly focused on formatting my poster and presenting it to whoever would listen. This part was actually pretty funny, as some of my suitemates ended up catching me talking to the wall a few times. However, I hadn’t done a poster presentation before, so I had to make sure I executed it perfectly. Wednesday, I printed my poster and was over the moon that it came out perfectly clear. Some posters had come out blurry in some areas, so I felt lucky that mine came out pristine. The rest of the day Wednesday was pretty low-stress and uneventful. Me and Brylea found ourselves sitting in the lab with nothing to do and no one to go bother in the lab. Consequently, we went out for ice cream as a small treat for our hard work. When we came back, we found that our mentor and another phD student, Igra, were back in the lab. Now full of sugar, we excitedly helped Igra with synthesis reactions.

Even TLC is bigger in Texas

Thursday was a hard yet exciting day because it was the last day in the lab. We were a bit late because me and Brylea baked brownies for our lab. However, it was well worth it to see the looks on all of the students who saw that we made these brownies for them. Although it was a small gesture, I’m glad it meant so much to those around me. The rest of the day, we spent chatting, laughing, and saying goodbye. It was hard to leave the lab that day because I knew that I may never see some of these people again. Walking back to the dorms, I made sure to never forget those who made my experience unforgettable. On Friday, we all got ready for our poster presentation. We got dressed and ready, and did some last minute review. After set up, we all spent 3 hours explaining to people what our research of, what we found, and how this is important in real life circumstances. Overall, the presentation went smoothly, and it was gratifying to see my hard work finally pay off.

Poster Presentation

Outside of the Lab

This week was pretty busy, so some of the most fun moments were when we all had group study sessions. Of course these study sessions turned into chatting hour, but I didn’t mind, as I’d be letting this group of people go soon. Since Thursday was out last day together, we held a mini party where we drank shirley temples, ate too many chips, played cards, and laughed (a lot). Overall, this week had been busy but filled with mostly fun times and goodbyes.

Thursday night party!

I thank those who have been reading through my posts, and hope that future Pinterns may find ideas of what they might want to do for their internship through my writing! My advice for anyone after me would be to unapologetically put yourself out there, ask all the questions you can (yes, even the dumb ones), and cherish every moment away from home. While I am glad to be back, I already miss the home I made at the University of Houston. Thank you all for reading, and have a great rest of your summer!