​​​​ Our lab investigates how social isolation during childhood and adolescence influences depression, anxiety, and ethanol-drinking behaviors. This research is crucial for understanding how early life experiences shape mental health and substance use, paving the way for clinical applications.

Fun fact: Did you know that rats, used in our research, are awake during the day and live in red-light rooms because they can't see red light, but we can?

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Workplace

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I feel like I’ve already learned so many new skills, even though the internship is just getting started. Improving my time management was one of my main goals, and the experience I gained as a peer mentor at 21st Century has been a big help. Balancing multiple responsibilities and sticking to deadlines taught me how to prioritize tasks, which has been essential for managing the long lab hours and other internship responsibilities. I’ve also developed teamwork and communication skills through my anatomy lab and previous coursework, where collaboration and clear communication were key to success. These abilities allow me to work effectively with my teammates during experiments and to ask questions or share feedback when needed.

In addition to these skills, I bring leadership, problem-solving, and interpersonal strengths to the internship. Being a peer mentor taught me how to motivate and guide others, while coursework and projects sharpened my ability to analyze data and troubleshoot issues. My volunteer experiences in customer service also helped me develop empathy and active listening skills, which are vital in both healthcare and teamwork settings. These strengths ensure I can contribute meaningfully to the internship as a professional and team member while preparing me for my future in nursing.

        This year I have been a helpful and a learning team member this year. My role changed a lot from the beginning because, during my first couple of weeks or months they were teaching me how to do certain things and how to approach certain situations. They were teaching me how to read data and how to input it also. My role changed from a beginner to an active member that completes tasks. My efforts impacted the project because this project is very team work based. While it can be done with just one or two people, having to work as a team makes it go three times faster and helps a lot of the data remain accurate because more people review it. My efforts allowed other members to focus on other tasks so we can work a lot more effectively. 

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   Success and Challenges

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  The first time I felt successful as an intern is when I started to understand the terms and phrases they used. During the first day, I was introduced to many parts of the lab but what hindered me was the mnemonics they used. Things like PRP or PRL just sounded like random words. Now I fully understand the terms and it helps me really understand what is going on. Another time I felt successful is when I started holding the rats. In the beginning I never thought I would be able to hold them but after some practice and help from my supervisor I felt no fear and started holding them. A new success I have experienced is knowing how to work the boxes. The boxes are where the rats stay in for 1 hour increments so we can test their responses. In the beginning I would just wait for someone else to help me, but after they showed me how it is done I realized that it was not hard I was just afraid to do it. I learned that I should always try to learn and not be afraid. 

One thing that was challenging was understanding some terms. Even though they explained the meaning everytime I just kept forgetting them. Eventually, hearing them say the word multiple times helped me remember it. Another challenge was my schedule. Around this time during the semester, there are many exams and assignments all due before a certain time. Finding time to fit different things in my schedule became an arduous task. But my supervisor was supportive and gave me great flexibility when it came to my schedule. A new challenge for me is forgetting to weight the animals. On some days we have to weigh them before we put them in the boxes and I forget a lot, so I tried implementing a system where I would not forget. Sometimes I use an alarm or  my group helped me by writing a to do list that day. My team helped me overcome my fear of incompetence.