Purdue Biochem I Day 33 — Huy

Hi SSP Familyyy! I’m Huy Hoang and I will tell you about day 33 at SSP.

I started this day just like any other during SSP: I woke up at 6:20 AM to get ready, then went to breakfast at 7:20 AM. My breakfast was so simple (just some sausage, a bit of fries, and a pastry). What excited me the most about going to breakfast each day was the chance to see my fellow participants, eat together, and talk about everythings around their life.
(Photo below)

After that, we headed to the lab at 8:00 AM to prepare for our poster presentation. The preparation took longer than I expected, as we had to cut and tape together pieces of paper to create a complete poster. We demonstrated great teamwork and successfully finished it perfectly after two hours. (Photo below)

Next, I completed my end-of-program survey after five months with SSP and wrote thank you letters to the sponsors and donors of SSPI, who made it possible for me to have such valuable and unforgettable experiences. After that, I wrapped up the morning with some enjoyable conversations with my friends and went to take lunch at 11:30 AM. (Photo below)

After lunch, we returned to the dorms to change clothes and headed back to the lab for our poster presentations, which began at 1:00 PM. The entire presentation lasted two hours (from 1PM to 3:00 PM). Through the presentation, we learned many valuable lessons about how to improve our future research posters by receiving helpful feedback from faculty and audiences. Moreover, I recognized why Dr. Mariani said that participating in this program is like stepping into an elevator-at first, we may feel lost and unsure of what we’re doing, but toward the end, especially during the poster session, we begin to see outside, to understand the whole journey we’ve experienced, and to be amazed by what we’ve accomplished. (Photo below). I felt proud of the entire journey we had gone through by looking at the long process from the first day to now.

After the poster presentation, we had dinner-this was also our last dinner at Earhart Dining Hall, a place that had become so familiar to us. The dinner was filled with excitement and joy. A lot of topics flowed throughout the meal, making the atmosphere lively and relaxed as well as comfortable. Following that was the Talent Show, which was very fun and highly anticipated. The performances were captivating, and the songs performed by both participants and faculty were catchy and enjoyable.

At the end of the Talent Show, we received a special gift-designed shirt for our program. The shirt was beautiful and meaningful when it had everyone’s names printed on it along with symbols representing 12 groups in our program . I will definitely treasure this memorable shirt 😉. After a long day, we hung out for boba together and shared conversations about the wonderful time we’ve spent with one another. (Picture below)

That’s how my day went. I was satisfied and excited to experience moments like these. We only have two more days left so I hope we can end the program in a memorable way. I will miss everyone so much. Love you guys 🥰.

Huy is a rising senior attending school in California. His hobbies are playing soccer, basketball, and also playing video games.