By Rai Ahmed

When I first landed in Texas, I was beyond excited to see what was in store for me. It was my first time traveling alone, my first internship, and my emotions were everywhere! I was so full of curiosity and excitement; I really made an effort to abandon my introverted ways and talk to everyone, and that I did! I’ve met so many kind people during my time here, and so many who are so passionate about their niche. I was so ready to work with them, until the day after we landed, my body decided to fail me. What started as a tingle in my throat transformed into fever, chills, bodyache, and every other kind of symptom you can imagine. I tested myself for both COVID-19 and the flu, and while there was no indication of COVID-19, I tested positive for Influenza-A. I was scared to say the least, I mean, who wouldn’t be? It was my first time being away from home without anybody and I was in an entirely new state. I know it’s good to be pushed out of your comfort zone, but for me, this was too much. I had to tell my team members that I wouldn’t be able to attend the lab for our research days, which crushed me as I was so eager to use the equipment in the repository and do actual, solid research. But, one of our core values this year was to take care of our bioneeds, so for the safety of myself and others, I refrained from attending.

Being sick on this trip definitely impacted my mental health: I felt guilty that out of a number of applicants, I was chosen, and then got too sick to even participate. But, I was fortunate enough to be surrounded by the most amazing instructors and peers, who did everything in their power to help me get as much out of this experience as I could. Even after their numerous CVS runs to get me medication, electrolytes, and everything I needed, they still wanted to make sure I could participate in research while being in my hotel room. My group members made all the research they did super accessible to me so that I could really help contribute to the actual poster-making of the project. Our project was based around looking at the mold growth on the cores themselves, so we needed to use the microscopes and smear slides to determine what kind of sediment housed the most mold growth. We also were going to use the Section Half Imaging Logger (SHIL) to examine color analysis, which would help us determine if there was a relationship between mold growth and core composition. The SHIL is able to map the topography of the core and outputs data using RGB color analysis. It is also able to produce a clear image depicting where the mold tends to cluster, especially when it isn’t easily visible to the human eye. My teammates were able to document the photos of the mold smear slides they made, along with the images the SHIL produced of the cores used in our study. Having all that data compiled onto one document made all the research they did extremely straightforward, and it was super easy to transfer all of their findings onto our poster. It was found that the mold growing on the cores favored areas with bioturbation, specifically burrows from ancient organisms that left an organic-rich trail for the mold to cling on to. The bioturbated sediment also proved to be more porous and permeable, allowing moisture to trap more easily, and therefore harbouring higher moss levels.  We all worked super hard on the project and were all so happy with the way things turned out! We were even able to video call each other, so it really felt like I was there working with my teammates.

I think the most important thing that I have learned from this experience is the importance of taking care of yourself, but also learning to accept help when you need it most. I’ve always been hesitant to take advantage of the resources people provide for me, but in this instance, I had to do it in order to get better, and I’m so grateful I did! I’m truly so lucky to have been surrounded by so many great people on this trip who wanted me to get better, and to have the most amazing group mates who made me feel as involved as I possibly could be.

Although I was sick for the most important days of this trip, I would never think twice about not attending this internship. The people here made it possible for me to learn so much and I can tell I’ve created great bonds with so many people here. My experience goes to show that even if things don’t work out the way you want them to, there is always an opportunity to broaden your knowledge and make the most out of any situation you find yourself in.