My first couple of days at the Mouse Behavior Assessment Core have been interesting and exciting. On Monday, I woke up feeling ready to take on the world- until I had the keys to the car in my hand. I was going to drive up to the Scripps Research Institute by myself, but I ended up convincing my Dad to ride beside me on the way up because the nerves of driving in rush hour traffic simply got to me. I left at 7 and got to The Scripps Research Institute at 8:15 (traffic is so real), just in time to meet with Deinse at Human Resources. She helped me sign all the paperwork necessary and I had my picture taken for an ID badge. Once everything was signed, legalized, and filed, I was ready to head to the lab. I instantly knew why I was meant to bring my dad with me that first morning of my internship when my car engine didn't start. We spent about 15 minutes trying to find someone in the parking lot who had a jumper cable and would help me start the car.
I somehow made it to the lab on time right at 9:15, and walked into the office where Dr. Roberts and Sal greeted me (both of whom I met when I visited two months ago) and I met the rest of my coworkers: Chelsea, Stephanie, and Tali, who all work on various research projects. I sat at my very own desk and began to go through the online safety courses that I had to take before I could work with the mice. Throughout the day, Dr. Roberts had experiments to attend to in the vivarium, so I kept myself busy with the online certification courses, doing some research on creativity in non-human mammals and getting to know my coworkers. I even got to chat with the IT lady, who stopped by and kindly helped me set up my account and get oriented with my desktop.
I have my own desk and computer monitor, and I work in a small office when I'm not in the vivarium. One of the things that struck me the most these first few days was the casual schedule structure in the workplace- my coworkers are all on their own schedules depending on what experiments their doing. They may arrive at various times in the morning, conduct their experiments, taking trips to and from the lab when needed, and once they are done with what they need to do for the day, they head home. I am the only one who is here for a "regular" work day schedule. My schedule during my time here is completely up to me- I can eat lunch whenever I'm hungry while I'm working at my desk, and if I have extra time after I finish an assignment, I can decide what to do with my time. It's a very different feeling from being at school for a structured 7 hours each day, and I know that I'm going to have to learn how to manage my own time and be as productive as possible without relying on anyone to tell me to do so.
Today was a particularly interesting day. To begin, I (finally) completed and passed the safety courses that I needed to finish to actually start working in the lab on my own. I also met with Dr. Roberts to discuss the experiment that I'm going to be running. We will be testing to see the ways in which male and female mice exhibit creativity by placing them in group settings and presenting novel materials in their cages with which they will build their nests. We will be recording their progress to identify any patterns in their behavior. So, now I have my next assignment: brainstorm what novel materials we will present in the cages and design the cage so that the mice experience diversity in their environment. Our plan is to begin testing by next Monday.
One of the most challenging things about adjusting to my new work environment and schedule has been being independent in a professional workplace. I'm noticing that I'm starting to appreciate the little things about my school, and see how they play out in the "big picture". For example, we don't have a bell system at school because when you're working, you have to know where to be and when and decide when you need a break. We also have lots of opportunities to manage our own time and break down big projects into manageable pieces (SCRUM Lists!). We also need to be in close and open communication with our teachers (now my mentor/boss).
This first week is going to be exciting and exhausting as I start to adapt to my environment, the morning commutes, and more independence. But, I have no doubt that once I start to work on my experiment, this internship is going to go by in a flash.