The power of the unexpected.

I found myself in places I never imagined, doing things I never thought I was capable of doing, meeting and connecting with more people than I thought possible in a short period of time, and learning, not only information directly related to field science and various research projects, but about myself in ways I did not anticipate.

Major: Biological Sciences

Internship: Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute (STRI), Panama

I do not think it’s uncommon to go into an internship with a preconception of how you think your experience will be. I know I certainly did. But I have discovered that there is great power locked inside the unexpected and much to be gained from learning how to adjust to what is different from what was presumed.

There is magic to be found in the “different,” in the unexpected. I found myself in places I never imagined, doing things I never thought I was capable of doing, meeting and connecting with more people than I thought possible in a short period of time, and learning, not only information directly related to field science and various research projects, but about myself in ways I did not anticipate.