Well, I told you that our SEED adventure wasn't over yet. However, it is coming to a close. Tomorrow is our last day in Boston and the past two days have been nothing but amazing. We went to a Red Sox Game, got lost in a mall, rode trains in circles, all sorts of things that you wouldn't do in Pittsburgh. Trust me, this has been an adventure that I will never forget.
The night before we left, Amanda and I could not sleep. We were up until 2 a.m feeling nothing but excitement. It was her first time flying ever and my first time flying to another state. We stayed up talking about what we thought was going to happen while we were there. We talked about how we thought the poster session was going to go and we wondered what the other SEED students were going to be like.
Then, we arrived at the airport. Who knew that three teenagers could have so much fun in an airport? We were having a blast walking along the moving walkways, taking pictures of absolutely everything and anxiously waiting for the plane to get there. The three of us talked about the strangest things, but maybe because we were all still tired from waking up so early. It did not hit me we were really going until we got onto the plane.
We got onto the plane, found our seats and just waited patiently to depart from Pittsburgh. Flying is one of the best feelings in the entire world. It's something that not everyone gets to experience. We even had fun on the flight. We took pictures, talked and watched tv. It did not feel real until I looked out of the window and we were low enough to see the outline of the ground.
The view outside of my window was nothing that I have ever seen before. When I first looked out, I could only see the outline of the ground. Everything else looked microscopic. A few minutes later, I looked out of my window again. This time, I could see more environmental features. I could see islands, trees cars moving and some buildings. The sight of the islands were amazing. Then, I looked out again. I saw the beautiful city. The tall buildings, boats everywhere and water everywhere around us. That was when I knew we were there.
We went to the hotel , changed and got ready for the Red Sox game. That was one experience that I will never forget. Who gets to go to Boston AND see a Red Sox game? Us project SEED kids, that's who. Fenway Park was everything I thought it would be. I've heard so much about it but I never thought it was something that I would get to visit one day. It's breathtaking. Even though it rained the ENTIRE time, it was still worth it. The poster session was an experience of a lifetime. I loved having people look at my hard work and ask a ton of questions. The fact that I was able to answer their questions made me feel proud. I was proud of myself for all of the hard work. My favorite part had to be whenever someone would ask you about your research then ask, "So what are you studying in college?". When i would answer that I was only an upcoming senior in high school, all of the different looks that i got amazed me. Most people were unbelievably shocked that i was a senior in high school doing work like this. Some younger adults even told me that I was crazy for taking up my summer time for work like this. In general, I could not help but smile at these comments. It makes me feel accomplished for doing this type of work in just 2 short summers. It makes me so proud of myself as well.
Today, we attended the ACS luncheon and the Poster Session. The luncheon was not what I thought it was going to be. Us project SEED kids were mixed in with all sorts of important people. At first, it was pretty nerve wracking. Being forced to talk to a bunch of people I did not know did make me a little nervous.
I cannot express enough how grateful I am to have been given the chance to go to Boston. I got to have adventures with 2 great friends of mine and 2 great adults who took the time out of their summer to support and be here for me. I cannot thank them enough. I would not be here today if it were not for Dr. Cavanaugh and Dr. Aitkin. As my mentor, Dr. Cavanaugh did everything she could to prepare me for Boston and she took the time to give me an experience of a lifetime. Without the support of Dr. Aitkin, this trip would not have been possible. The things she does for us SEED kids is unbelievable and I thank her for that.
In general, Boston is beautiful. I may never get the opportunity for this again and I greatly appreciate it. Continuing my project SEED adventure was the greatest thing I could have done. I am so glad that I chose to do project SEED. It has been a big eye opener for me. It has lead me to a potential career path, got me in contact with important people and so many other things. I hope future SEED students do not take this for granted. As I have said plenty of times before, it is the experience of a lifetime.
Monday, August 23, 2010
Sunday, August 22, 2010
The Beautiful City Of Boston
Departing this morning was one of the more exciting events in my life. Sydney & I stayed up until 2 am, filled with excitement. We couldn't wait to depart for Massachusetts. Soon enough we woke up at 6, got ready for the plane ride, and filled Mr. Lucas' car with our luggage. So squished in the backseat with Tristan & Syd, Ms. Hannagan in the passenger, and Mr. Lucas driving, we drove off to the airport.
I wish I could have caught every moment on camera, without it being too much, because the airport was such a great experience. We had fun walking on the moving floors for luggage. When you walk, it feels like you're flying! After figuring out where I had to put my things in the security bins, we were free to roam about the airport. So we went to a cafe type thing and got a small breakfast. We switched gates to board, and were finally on the plane!
The plane ride was so exciting. It was my first time flying, and I loved it. The clouds were beautiful and so was the ground from way up high. We got off the plane, into a taxi van, & soon walked into our hotel. We ventured our way to the ballpark through the subway stations. That was another fun experience. Following that, we found Fenway, went to the game. We sat & ate for an hour, then faced the rain at the Red Sox game. After an hour delay, the game finally started! And then it was delayed again because of rain. Mr Lucas left early to give his poster presentation. The three of us stayed with Ms. Hannagan. So after 4 hours of facing the rain at this game, we finally left.
We all came back to the hotel, relaxed for a little bit, & then decided to go see a movie. We snacked on some food at the theater. Then, we faced the rain yet again when we walked home. We (minus Mr. Lucas) have decided that it only rains when we walk outside. Oof. Great luck, huh? Boston has been a great experience so far, except for the one way street that people keep driving the wrong way down. Boston drivers use their horns. ALOT. Tomorrow we have a lunch to go to, a visit to Harvard & MIT, possibly a museum to visit, & posters to present in the evening. It's going to be a busy day.
To end on a good note, the Red Sox won today, 5, nothing, against the Toronto Blue Jays. :)
-Amanda Anderson
I wish I could have caught every moment on camera, without it being too much, because the airport was such a great experience. We had fun walking on the moving floors for luggage. When you walk, it feels like you're flying! After figuring out where I had to put my things in the security bins, we were free to roam about the airport. So we went to a cafe type thing and got a small breakfast. We switched gates to board, and were finally on the plane!
The plane ride was so exciting. It was my first time flying, and I loved it. The clouds were beautiful and so was the ground from way up high. We got off the plane, into a taxi van, & soon walked into our hotel. We ventured our way to the ballpark through the subway stations. That was another fun experience. Following that, we found Fenway, went to the game. We sat & ate for an hour, then faced the rain at the Red Sox game. After an hour delay, the game finally started! And then it was delayed again because of rain. Mr Lucas left early to give his poster presentation. The three of us stayed with Ms. Hannagan. So after 4 hours of facing the rain at this game, we finally left.
We all came back to the hotel, relaxed for a little bit, & then decided to go see a movie. We snacked on some food at the theater. Then, we faced the rain yet again when we walked home. We (minus Mr. Lucas) have decided that it only rains when we walk outside. Oof. Great luck, huh? Boston has been a great experience so far, except for the one way street that people keep driving the wrong way down. Boston drivers use their horns. ALOT. Tomorrow we have a lunch to go to, a visit to Harvard & MIT, possibly a museum to visit, & posters to present in the evening. It's going to be a busy day.
To end on a good note, the Red Sox won today, 5, nothing, against the Toronto Blue Jays. :)
-Amanda Anderson
Friday, August 13, 2010
Last Day Of The Last Year
It's the last day for us Project SEED kids. I can't even think about the whole thing without fluffing my feathers. I wrote what Mr.Lucas says to be an amazing paper, composed weeks of data into a giant chart, and created an information packed poster for the ACS meeting in a few weeks. This year I feel so much more accomplished. Last year I didn't know what to expect from Duquesne. A giant lab filled with machines that I didn't know how to use, and a professor talking to me about things I hardly knew? Yeah, that's what I got. But I also got so much more. I got a chance to work in a college environment many years before I would even have the chance to do that kind of research.
Last year I worked with Naudia, an undergraduate on Detecting Chromium III and VI in Dietary Supplements. I worked with her most of the time, and I have to admit. I felt like I shouldn't touch anything, or ask any questions, or even have my say in what she was doing. But after I started talking to her for a while, I learned that she was sometimes as clueless as I. When we did start talking, I think we sort of helped each other out. I asked questions, and sometimes even retrieved the answer from Dr. Rahman myself. The whole thing started to get intriguing right when it ended. Right when I was really into it. Until next year, I thought to myself.
Over the entire school year I looked at my poster in Mr. Lucas' classroom. All I could think about was getting back to SEED, and starting my research again. It was all I referred to when I was writing mediocre lab reports in science class, when everyone else was freaking out. Soon enough it was prom, and graduation, and soon enough it was back to Duquesne!
It was like I never left. I knew everyone, and where everything was at. The veterans helped the new kids out, and I have to say, it felt good to be familiar with the place. The new kids came and I have to admit, I thought they were all going to be a little strange. Although I knew the kids from my high school, Ian and Mary seemed to be unfriendly. Before you knew it we were all laughing and joking around like we had been friends for years.
When I did get back to my lab, I found that I had a new project to learn about. Oh boy, I thought. Another bundle of new, confusing information. It turns out, it was practically the same as my research from the year before. Instead of working to detect only Chromium, I was working to detect all dangerous elements in supplements. It was about three weeks in and I hadn't done much in the lab beside clean microwave vessels.
Boy was I in for a surprise, I worked my tail off for 2 weeks straight, and it was the most rewarding thing ever. I felt so accomplished. I was doing real, college research in my lab. After everything, SEED was completely and totally worth giving up my summers. I gained so much knowledge, acquaintances, opportunities, and friends. My work will be in a publication, and I will have a letter of recommendation from a college professor as a high school student. Take that, college applications!
It's been a great two summers and I'm so thankful for Dr. Aitken, Dr. Kingston, Dr. Rahman, Mr. Lucas, Naudia, and Greg and everything they've done for me.
I have to say, I'm going to miss Starbucks, the Batcave, the computer lab, the fun Macs, group meetings, Tristan's awful grammar, the football field, frisbee, the "boys" on the football team, the teal lunch tickets, the friends I made, the crazy tactics of the other kids, the drafts I kept revising, the early mornings, the late evenings, "da" buses, the table by Aitken's office, and most of all, the great people at Duquesne. It was a great experience.
-Amanda Anderson :)
Time to Say Goodbye
Wow, it is amazing how great things always go by too fast. I can remember coming the first day and everyone looking at me like I was crazy. I didn't know anyone. That time is now long gone. From the very first lunch we were all bonding very well and now we are great friends. The SEED students are all amazing people hat I am so glad to have met. This summer was amazing.
I had such a great time learning about all of the different aspects of chemistry from working in Dr. Basu's lab to touring PPG and Bayer. We did so many fun things this summer. I don't know what the rest of it will be like with about 3 weeks left full of Cross Country practice and getting to see my friends from school that graduated one last time before they go off to college. I think that it will still feel pretty empty though because I won't get to see all of my friends from SEED every day.
I am so glad to have had this opportunity to not only learn about chemistry but to meet new friends and have a great summer. Some people might think I was crazy for saying that this was fun but they weren't here, they didn't get to meet everyone. Thanks to Mr. Lucas for the coffee, the lunch, and all of the hard work that he put in to make sure we didn't look like idiots presenting at the symposium or when writing our papers. You made the summer great too. Thanks to Dr. Aitken, Dr. Basu, and Ben for helping so much in getting everything together for SEED and for helping me throughout the summer. It wouldn't be possible without you.
Most importantly thanks to Sydney, Marissa, Liz, Amanda, Mary, Tristan, and Chris for helping me survive here. Thanks for all of the great times and you are all amazing people. Keep in touch.
For the last time this is Ian writing a blog post. Thanks.
Last Thoughts
As I'm working on this final blog it's slowly coming to me that my time here is coming to an end. Funny how I almost didn't even apply to see last year. My chemistry teacher came up to me one day and asked if I would be interested in applying. Meanwhile I just failed the last two chem test and you think I want to do this for the summer! I really didn't think of applying since I felt wasn't going to be accepted. But I decided to apply and a couple of months later out of nowhere Dr. Aitken called saying I was accepted. After the excitement phase came the (what did I get myself into) phase. But once I got here things were easier (especially since everyone else knew as much as me). I've gone through many experiences that were both good and bad. It was nerve racking presenting in group meetings, since other professors and grad students were there. Presenting at the symposium was an incredible experience being next to college students who had much more experience than us.
The field trips we went on including Bayer, PPG, Mylon and my favorite Washington and Jefferson College. They were all interesting in their own way and the car rides to and from were great.
But not everything was fun and games though. The weeks before the symposium and during the lab reports were both frustrating and time consuming. But when looking back on it I do appreciate Mr. Lucas taking his time working on our papers, (especially mine). I hope to think that my grammar skills have improved somewhat since being here.
At the end of it all I learned an incredible amount of knowledge about Chemistry. I worked with HPLC and Microfluidics and accomplished a lot in my short time here. I feel that I made an impact in my lab and it certainly boost my confidence for anything I do later on in life.
There are so many people to thank for helping me here so let me start.
First, I would like to thank Dr. Aitken for choosing me to do this summer research program. I hope she feels she made the right decision by selecting me.
My professor Dr. Mitch Johnson for his guidance and help on me understanding my project.
My student mentors Angela and Sean for their patience and knowledge and help. I know that without them I wouldn't have understood anything.
Mr. Josh Lucas for being my temporary guardian for these past two summers. Everything he has done has been appreciated and I give him my eternal gratitude.
And of course the friends that I made over these summers. Amanda, Sydney, Terrance, Candy, James, Mary, Chris, Ian, Liz, and Marissa have given me memorable moments that I won't soon forget. Thank you everyone.
Everyone says how proud they are of me for sacrificing my summer to do hard research at a program. And every time I laugh inside thinking that "sacrifice" was never the adjective in my mind to describe my time here at Project SEED.
The field trips we went on including Bayer, PPG, Mylon and my favorite Washington and Jefferson College. They were all interesting in their own way and the car rides to and from were great.
But not everything was fun and games though. The weeks before the symposium and during the lab reports were both frustrating and time consuming. But when looking back on it I do appreciate Mr. Lucas taking his time working on our papers, (especially mine). I hope to think that my grammar skills have improved somewhat since being here.
At the end of it all I learned an incredible amount of knowledge about Chemistry. I worked with HPLC and Microfluidics and accomplished a lot in my short time here. I feel that I made an impact in my lab and it certainly boost my confidence for anything I do later on in life.
There are so many people to thank for helping me here so let me start.
First, I would like to thank Dr. Aitken for choosing me to do this summer research program. I hope she feels she made the right decision by selecting me.
My professor Dr. Mitch Johnson for his guidance and help on me understanding my project.
My student mentors Angela and Sean for their patience and knowledge and help. I know that without them I wouldn't have understood anything.
Mr. Josh Lucas for being my temporary guardian for these past two summers. Everything he has done has been appreciated and I give him my eternal gratitude.
And of course the friends that I made over these summers. Amanda, Sydney, Terrance, Candy, James, Mary, Chris, Ian, Liz, and Marissa have given me memorable moments that I won't soon forget. Thank you everyone.
Everyone says how proud they are of me for sacrificing my summer to do hard research at a program. And every time I laugh inside thinking that "sacrifice" was never the adjective in my mind to describe my time here at Project SEED.
The End
My whole summer felt like an adventure. My first day at Duquesne didn’t start off so well. I had no idea how the whole bus system worked. Liz and I left two hours early to catch our bus, at a bus stop that was far away (even though there was one much closer, but we didn’t find this out until later). Riding the bus into town, I felt a little better, but I was still pretty nervous. When we got off the bus, we had no idea where Duquesne was. There was another bus that could’ve taken us to Duquesne, but Liz wanted to walk so I acquiesced. We were so lost. We walked in a lot of circles that were technically squares because, you know, the buildings and streets only really make straight lines. We crossed a few dangerous intersections, saw some scary things, and walked up an old wooden staircase that didn’t look too safe, but after an hour and a half we had finally made it to Duquesne. But when I saw the Starbucks, we ended up waiting outside for an hour until it opened to get breakfast before going over to Mellon. When we got there, everyone was gathered at the table near the window and I saw Sydney and Amanda already there. Me and Liz sat down and joined them while we waited for the rest of the SEED kids to arrive and talked about how lost we were that morning. I saw Tristan come in and my first impression of him was, “Oh…I really don’t think I like him.” Then came Mary, and then Ian. I thought they were both kind of weird at first. Ian looked like the kind of nerd that would be stuck up and correct people a lot. After everyone was there Mr. Lucas delivered us all to our labs. When I was introduced to my undergrad student, Matt, I was told he was really weird, but that he was really smart, too. And he was. I was introduced to everyone in the lab, and they were all really nice. Then Matt started showing me around the lab and explaining about my project. I swear I barely understood anything that came out of his mouth. I thought there was no way I was going to be able to understand all that and do research on it by the end of the summer. Matt kept telling me I’d understand it though, and also that I would hate him by the end of the summer. When it was time for lunch we all met up and walked over there together. The food was good, but sometimes the guy serving it would scare me so I tried getting most of the self-serve stuff for awhile. After lunch I went back to the lab and Matt explained how the Infrared Spectrometer (IR) and Gas Chromatographer (GC) worked. I didn’t like the GC, I still don’t. The IR was better, but… I still don’t like it too much.
The next day another girl was in my lab, doing the same research as me. She was Phoebe and her dad was friends with Professor Pintauer, and she was also coming to school here in the fall so he let her work in my lab. We had the same project so pretty much all of our work was together. That made me feel a lot better, having someone else that was as clueless as I was, or at least it felt like that. I thought Phoebe was a little weird at first, but you know I ended up realizing she was really cool and in the end, I’ll miss her.
The next weeks were spent reading chemistry books so I could understand my project, ask Matt a bunch of questions and running long scans on the GC only to find that most of them turned out bad, or that whatever it was we shot into it, didn’t come out. The IR also broke that week, so most of our project turned to the GC. It wasn’t that exciting, most days we both would just sit there and read our books. After lunch we would go to the field with everyone and play Frisbee. Except Liz, because she didn’t like Frisbee since apparently it’s a VERY dangerous sport, and sometimes it was. The field trips were fun and some of them were really interesting.
Then came the week of the symposium and I was gone the whole week at band camp. I really miss band before I went, but by the end of camp I really missed everyone here. The way some people talked about the symposium, they made it sound different than I imagined. I was scared some big professor was going to ask me a bunch of questions about my poster that I would have no idea how to answer, but I was able to explain everything to everyone who came over and answer all their questions, along with help from Phoebe.
The week after the symposium, the IR was finally fixed. All that week I spent getting data from the IR and procrastinating going to write my final paper. I actually didn’t start writing it until the final week. The last week here, I was really sad to leave, but I’m excited to finally be able to sleep in this summer.
In the end, I’m really glad I did this and I can’t believe a long time ago back in the school year I thought about not doing it. I would’ve done SEED all through high school if I could’ve. I learned about my project, ATRA, the machinery, and a lot about just working in college in general. It gave me a better perspective on a lot things, and it’s made me think harder now about my future and where I want to go for college, and how I’m going to get there. I really can’t say how much I’ll miss my lab group, since half of them won’t be there next year and all the seniors, even though they’ll come back and visit anyway. I’m glad I get to come back next year, but I really hope we still remember how to get here by then.
Thanks to everyone in my lab for helping me have such a good summer; Matt, Ash, Sean, Will, Carol, Raj, Anita, April, Phoebe and Tom. Also all the Project SEED kids; Liz, Sydney, Amanda, Tristan, Mary, Ian, Chris and Mr. Lucas for making sure we got everything done on time, always helping when we needed it and then sometimes buying me coffee. The cold stuff is still better.
The next day another girl was in my lab, doing the same research as me. She was Phoebe and her dad was friends with Professor Pintauer, and she was also coming to school here in the fall so he let her work in my lab. We had the same project so pretty much all of our work was together. That made me feel a lot better, having someone else that was as clueless as I was, or at least it felt like that. I thought Phoebe was a little weird at first, but you know I ended up realizing she was really cool and in the end, I’ll miss her.
The next weeks were spent reading chemistry books so I could understand my project, ask Matt a bunch of questions and running long scans on the GC only to find that most of them turned out bad, or that whatever it was we shot into it, didn’t come out. The IR also broke that week, so most of our project turned to the GC. It wasn’t that exciting, most days we both would just sit there and read our books. After lunch we would go to the field with everyone and play Frisbee. Except Liz, because she didn’t like Frisbee since apparently it’s a VERY dangerous sport, and sometimes it was. The field trips were fun and some of them were really interesting.
Then came the week of the symposium and I was gone the whole week at band camp. I really miss band before I went, but by the end of camp I really missed everyone here. The way some people talked about the symposium, they made it sound different than I imagined. I was scared some big professor was going to ask me a bunch of questions about my poster that I would have no idea how to answer, but I was able to explain everything to everyone who came over and answer all their questions, along with help from Phoebe.
The week after the symposium, the IR was finally fixed. All that week I spent getting data from the IR and procrastinating going to write my final paper. I actually didn’t start writing it until the final week. The last week here, I was really sad to leave, but I’m excited to finally be able to sleep in this summer.
In the end, I’m really glad I did this and I can’t believe a long time ago back in the school year I thought about not doing it. I would’ve done SEED all through high school if I could’ve. I learned about my project, ATRA, the machinery, and a lot about just working in college in general. It gave me a better perspective on a lot things, and it’s made me think harder now about my future and where I want to go for college, and how I’m going to get there. I really can’t say how much I’ll miss my lab group, since half of them won’t be there next year and all the seniors, even though they’ll come back and visit anyway. I’m glad I get to come back next year, but I really hope we still remember how to get here by then.
Thanks to everyone in my lab for helping me have such a good summer; Matt, Ash, Sean, Will, Carol, Raj, Anita, April, Phoebe and Tom. Also all the Project SEED kids; Liz, Sydney, Amanda, Tristan, Mary, Ian, Chris and Mr. Lucas for making sure we got everything done on time, always helping when we needed it and then sometimes buying me coffee. The cold stuff is still better.
Goodbye~
This experience has taught me so much, from riding buses and not getting lost, to spiking Frisbees J I don’t know what exactly to write to convey how much I am going to miss everyone and how amazing this experience has been. One thing I do know, is that I had one of the most terrifying experiences here when me and Marissa rode the bus all the way to McKeesport. That was our first day of work, and we spent all day trying to get back home L
Besides the experience I had getting to Duquesne and coming from Duquesne my first day, I really had fun this summer, and, learned so much, I wish I could do it all over again, just because I don’t want to leave L
After eight weeks of Project SEED, it is now truly the end. I know everyone is probably really sad to be leaving, but I WILL be the optimist! We will definitely keep in touch. This summer I gained lab experience, knowledge, and friends that are indispensable. I'm really going to miss all of the very awesome people that I had the opportunity to meet. That is probably really bad grammar, but in the words of Tristan it would be correct, and there is no better way to describe everyone I met. At the beginning of this, I was really scared, of just working in the lab, but it was really fun, and I learned so much, I hope I have the opportunity to come back next year, because I definitely want to. So goodbye Sydney, Ian, Mary, Tristan, Amanda, Chris, Marissa, Chelsee, Shaun, Tim, and Dr. Cascio, and thank you for letting me work in your lab, and for teaching me so much.
Besides the experience I had getting to Duquesne and coming from Duquesne my first day, I really had fun this summer, and, learned so much, I wish I could do it all over again, just because I don’t want to leave L
After eight weeks of Project SEED, it is now truly the end. I know everyone is probably really sad to be leaving, but I WILL be the optimist! We will definitely keep in touch. This summer I gained lab experience, knowledge, and friends that are indispensable. I'm really going to miss all of the very awesome people that I had the opportunity to meet. That is probably really bad grammar, but in the words of Tristan it would be correct, and there is no better way to describe everyone I met. At the beginning of this, I was really scared, of just working in the lab, but it was really fun, and I learned so much, I hope I have the opportunity to come back next year, because I definitely want to. So goodbye Sydney, Ian, Mary, Tristan, Amanda, Chris, Marissa, Chelsee, Shaun, Tim, and Dr. Cascio, and thank you for letting me work in your lab, and for teaching me so much.
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