My fingers drummed across the table at a rhythmic pace. The musical beat played the chords of my growing anxiety. I ignored the triumphant cheers from the other groups as I held my breath waiting for our results.
My shoulders fell as a wave of defeat accompanied the empty screen. The only thing that arose was the doubtful thoughts belting in my head.
“I’m wasting so much time.” “Do I not have what it takes to be a scientist?”
The contrast of my dark skin and bright lab coat was noticeable in the laboratory. Yet, the white coat stayed on as I continued jotting my observations in my lab notebook. An array of different colored beakers decorated my workstation along with many pipets. For the duration of my eight-week internship, my partner and I had to extract DNA with PCR primers and show its dilution through gel electrophoresis. If done correctly, the DNA bands will appear on the imaging scanner. In other words, we had to grow resilience.
Along with our increasing failed attempts, our resilience began to blossom. Despite setbacks, our endeavor’s brought us closer to the scientists we worked with. “Success doesn’t come easy, if it did then it wouldn’t feel successful” one of our directors lectured. With those words, an inferno ignited as I put on my lab coat once again, eager to continue my attempts. By the seventh week, we were back in the imaging room awaiting our results. I held a pencil in one hand and my notebook in the other keen to note any areas of improvement. Surprisingly, the screen presented our DNA with zero contaminants. My heart skipped a beat as my face grew sore from my grin, eyes glued to the rows of perfect DNA bands– I felt successful.
This kind of prosperity attracts me about Hopkins,– a victory that is met with consistent labor. Being America’s first research university shows the resilience and dedication it takes to make the world a better place. I would like to be a part of this trajectory by working with Dr. Bastian and her fascinating investigation in advancing our understanding of the genetics of inherited neurological and psychiatric diseases. At Hopkins, I can continue experiencing success along with a community of like-minded people.