Summary of Experience
Interning at the EPA as a research lab technician was truly a unique and rewarding experience. It was definitely my most professional internship thus far. The thing I loved most about interning at the EPA was being able to work in a multitude of environments. I had the opportunity to work in a lab, in the field (salt marshes), in New York and in an office. Most of my days consisted of working under a flexible supervising style in which I was given a set of samples and cores to process in a lab. These samples came from the roots, soil and leaves from the salt marsh invasive Phragmites. My main focus was preparing these slides so that they could be run through a Mass Spec machine for data collection, input, and analyzation.
Having no extensive prior knowledge of laboratory equipment, interning at the EPA gave me vital training on the use of various lab equipment. I also gained experience collecting data in the field that had been placed there months before. Aside from everything I learned about doing a research project, I was able to learn so much about working for a government agency in general. Working at the federal level, security is extremely high and every employee must undergo many training programs and background investigations including fingerprinting and security badge tests. I was also given my own office, EPA email address, employee badge, and phone extension. I really felt like a part of something big while I was in the building. I was able to build relationships with other employees at the EPA whether they had been there for a long time or they were a student like myself.
Although I wasn't able to finish my project in the 3 months of my internship, I am planning on continuing the project into the summer. We are just starting to run tests on the samples and hopefully once the data is collected, we will write up the results and publish them. Interning at the EPA was a great stepping stone for me as a graduating senior. I feel as though it really gave me the experience I needed in working in a highly professional environment. I am happy to continue my work with the EPA and excited to see where the next phase in my life as a professional will take me.
