West Virginia University

Student Lab Worker

May - August 2022 • Morgantown, WV

What I liked

This internship gave me the opportunity to experience real lab work under the supervision of a PI and PhD candidate, and allowed me to decide if this was something I wanted to go to school to do for a career.

What I wish was different

The time that the internship occurred meant that I only had about 3 weeks of summer vacation, and 4 days between the end of the internship and the start of the semester, so I experienced pretty extreme burn-out very quickly into the semester.

Advice

It is 100% worth it to have an internship under your belt, whether you want to go to grad school or not. It offers insight as to what your future could potentially look like, and you get to meet some great people!

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Undergraduate Research Assistant

May 2022 • Morgantown, WV

What I liked

I loved how I got experience working with different instruments and was able to read relevant literature to my field that I would not have read otherwise.

What I wish was different

I wish I got paid or credit because I worked 20 hrs/ wk for free which was really had on me this summer.

Advice

Say yes to everything.

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Conference Services Intern

March - August 2021 • Morgantown, WV

What I liked

The atmosphere of the people of worked with and the different tasks I was able to accomplish.

What I wish was different

I would have liked to have had more hands on work with the department heads.

Advice

Make sure to enjoy the different things you are tasked with and to always be a proponent of hard work.

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Orientation Leader

May - August 2021 • Morgantown, WV

What I liked

I liked being able to interact with incoming freshman and share my experience with WVU! This job encouraged me to apply to graduate school in Higher Education Administration, and I am now beginning my program this upcoming summer.

What I wish was different

The first half of the job was online due to Covid-19. I wished this experience was in person as sitting on the computer for eight hours a day was difficult. However, I think we made the best of it! I still enjoyed talking to students over zoom.

Advice

I would share to always be mindful of your words and attitude. While you might think you are having a conversation with a coworker, a family could be nearby. In this role, every little decision you make could influence whether a person stays with their choice of being a student here.

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Fisheries Technician

May - August 2021 • Marshall, VA

What I liked

I got to work in the lab and in the field. The most rewarding part was in fact getting the experience of both settings for a fisheries research and career.

What I wish was different

I wish I could have gotten to interact with more agencies and people. I worked in a one on one setting with a grad student.

Advice

Take every opportunity and ask all questions to get the most out of tour experiences.

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Undergraduate Research Assistant

June - August 2021 • Morgantown, WV

What I liked

I got to do research with my capstone research mentor full-time. This was a great opportunity to learn more about the variety of projects going on in the lab and experience the type of intensive research I will do in grad school.

What I wish was different

The class associated with SURE tended to be at inconvenient times and a lot of the content was not applicable to me.

Advice

Establish a relationship with the faculty member you want to work with before applying, since faculty recommendation is a critical part of the application.

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