UPR Cayey

Summer 2012:

My Growth as a Young Scientist

BIOL. 3095-140

Prof. Elena González & Prof. Eneida Díaz

September 28, 2012

During my summer experience in the Research Initiative for Scientific Enhancement (RISE)

Program, I greatly improved my scientific skills. The program allowed me to interact with other

young scientists with interests similar to my own. Through this summer bridge I learned several lab

techniques which I was not familiar with. It also enhanced my interest in other branches of Biology.

The RISE Program was a unique experience that gave me more certainty of my passion for Biology.

The General Biology course and the Biology Laboratory helped me acquire new knowledge and

learn new laboratory skills. This knowledge will be extremely useful throughout my academic life.

The summer bridge made me develop analytic skills that now allow me to state hypothesis and de-

velop proposals, such as the one that I did for the laboratory presentation. It introduced me to proce-

dures such as SDS-PAGE and explained me how they were done and why they were useful. After

taking this course I feel very confident with my scientific knowledge and my scientific skills.

In the course, I had to write a research proposal stating an innovating solution to a current scien-

tific problem. This made me analyze the current problems in the different fields of biology. As I

wrote my proposal, I noticed how much my scientific vocabulary had improved after only several

weeks taking the course. For my proposal I had to analyze the scientific problem and state several

possible hypothesis for it. This experience definitely helped me grow as a young scientist due to the

fact that it gave me the ability to recognize a problem and come up with possible solutions for it.

In the RISE Summer Bridge I had the opportunity of going on two field trips, one to the Guanica

State Forest and the other to the Caribbean National Forest, or “El Yunque”. In these field trips I

learned about botany, ecology, and zoology. This experience helped me appreciate other branches

within biology. It gave me understanding about how the communities within these ecosystems re-

late to one another. A good scientist must have some knowledge about every branch within his

field.

My experience as a part of the RISE Summer Bridge 2012 was essential to my academic

growth. It gave me the tools and knowledge to become a better scientist. I have been able to become

more familiar with my field of interest. The laboratory techniques that I learned during the summer

will help me throughout my career as an investigator. The RISE program was a great opportunity to

expand my view of biology.