Purdue I Biochem Day 1 – Heidi
Helloooo Summer Science Scholars, and welcome to your day 1 blog at Purdue! Buckle your seat belts and enjoy this hectic sleep-deprived journey that started with waking up at 5:45 a.m. 😞 After forcing myself out of bed, and getting ready half asleep (remember to wear long pants for lab!), we met up in the lobby at 6:45 to head over for breakfast and surveys.
Breakfast consisted of a colorful assortment of yogurts, tiny bites, fruits, orange juice, and milk. While munching away, those of us who haven’t completed the survey went ahead and completed that. Fortunately for me, after countless emails reminding me about this neglected survey, I had completed it the night before arrival day, and just spent this hour eating muffins.
From 8, we headed over to the lecture hall, where Dr. Das introduced us to fungal inhibitors, the potato famine (which is still a problem), and the central dogma. While the dim lighting seemed to worsen some people’s sleepiness, the lecture was overall engaging and necessary to review some basic biology concepts before we started in the lab.
After the first lecture, we headed to the lab, where Dr. Das taught us how to use a pipet, introduced a pH meter, then sent us along our merry (somewhat) clueless way to start our first lab! After pipetting water back and forth, we timed ourselves journeying to the water fountain and back as our first lab journal entree.
Finally, came lunch! By then, I felt like I’ve already lived two lives (it’s been a long day.) Mr. Pham surprised Vivien with a birthday hat and cupcakes for the rest of us. Lunch was at Union square, which had some much needed caffeine and chicken tenders.
Soon rolled around 1 pm, and we headed back to our second lecture of the day, by Dr. Mariani, presenting on transformation through heat shock and the analogy of the Empire State Building. After learning about our lab, we went back to the lab and spent the next two hours pipetting and incubating bacteria — hopefully our positive gels glow tomorrow.
Tonight marked the beginning of semi-formal dinners, as we took over the balcony of Purdue’s dining hall. Highly recommend the spring rolls here.
We ended the night by going over the rules with Mr. Pham. Anddd that marks the official first day of SSPI this year! This may be the first night in a long while that I’ve slept before 10pm, but it’s time to crash after this learning filled day. Thanks for tuning in, and please look at my amazing sea urchin (best team out there btw).
Heidi is a rising senior from Boston. She currently goes to boarding school in Connecticut, but in her free time she love theater, playing hockey, listening to music, and hanging out with her friends. She hopes to pursue a pre-med track with interests in anthropology and biochemistry.