My Fred Hutch Explorers Experience
My experience this past two weeks at the hutch was amazing! I have made so many new friends and got to engage with plenty of new speakers and people while sharing my ideas. The fact that I got the chance to receive this opportunity has allowed me to realize that this was a privilege and that I should cherish the moments that I currently have. This explorers program has introduced me to a lot of stuff including HeLa cell splats and BRCA1.
On my first day of the session, I was kind of intimidated, but soon after, I literally made friends with more than half of the class. On the very first day, we did some ice breakers which allowed us to feel closer and break the awkward tension between all of us. During these past days we went through a ton of stuff, and here are just some things that we covered: such as breast cancer, hallmarks of cancer, HeLa, Dye/indicator labs, BRCA1, the immune system, critical race theory, imposter syndrome, spot test, and the Immune system. There’s a lot more that I have not mentioned but let's just admire on how much fun I had during these labs/activities.
During these times I have gained so many new ideas and techniques I did not know I was capable of. Some things that really sparked my eye was the tours and speakers we had during this program. Such as Dr. Cecilia Moens and the reasons of why she uses zebrafish and the critical race theory talk we had. The fact that they had the time to share their thoughts and experience has really allowed me to sink in their words and think twice. As time went by I slowly gained a reason for my time being here, and it was to gain a better experience. Till now i still don't know what I want to do in the future, but having this experience has allowed me to branch more into the STEM pathway.
Taking many notes and paying close attention has also allowed me to look back on the experience so I can remember the times I had at the Hutch. So in conclusion, being at the Hutch has been such an impactful and memorable experience. I’ve made a lot of friends who are super open and got closer to the advisors who were extremely nice. If you do have the chance to be apart of this program, please consider applying and have fun!
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