Purdue Bacterial Genomics Day 27: Posters, Pizza, and a Perfect Sunset
Good morning! Today is a bittersweet day because it’s our last full Saturday here at SSP. It’s hard to believe that just a week from now we’ll be packing our bags and heading to the airport. Time has gone by so much faster than I expected. Today is also a special day because it’s one of our fellow participants’ birthdays. Happy 17th Jacob!
We started the morning bright and early with our Natural Transformation lab led by Dr. Caitlin. It’s crazy to think this was one of our last labs at SSP. Of course, we had to take a computer selfie with our lab mates and lab neighbors to remember it. After the lab, we had open classroom time to work on our final research posters.
During our break, our directors and TA’s put on Just Dance, giving everyone a much-needed chance to stretch, dance, and take a break from staring at our computers. We also squeezed in a quick bathroom mirror flick before getting back to work.
After a few hours of poster editing, we headed to the dining hall for lunch. Once we had thoroughly stuffed our faces, Ruth, Erin, Roksana, and I went back to the dorms for a quick nap before returning to the lab and adding LB3 broth to our experiment.
Once that was finished, we let our tubes incubate before starting drip plating. While we waited, we continued making final edits to our poster. After incubation, we headed back into the wet lab to finish the experiment. With another lab checked off the list, we returned to the dorms to change into business casual for dinner. Ruth and I ended up unintentionally matching!
For dinner, I made myself a delicious pizza before everyone gathered to celebrate Jacob’s birthday. Afterward, we took a walk to see a blooming agave plant. Agave is native to Mexico and only flowers once before it dies. Since it usually takes around 10 to 30 years to bloom, we felt incredibly lucky that it happened during our time here at SSP. It was definitely one of those moments that made today feel even more special.
After taking plenty of pictures, we headed back to the lab to continue polishing our research posters and finishing the assignments due that night. By 9:30 p.m., we finally packed up and walked back to the dorms. Even though it was late, the sun was still setting, so we got to end the day with another beautiful SSP sunset.
After such a full day of labs, posters, birthday celebrations, and sunset chasing, I went straight to bed, so ready to sleep in for Sunday.
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Nicole H.
SSP Participant
Hello! My name is Nicole H., and I am from San Francisco, California! Outside of academics, I love playing tennis, shopping, hiking with my giant dog, trolling, and spending time with my friends. Around SSP, you can usually find me laughing in the lab, napping on the big blue chair, or singing a cappella in the basement with Ruth.
