University of Wisconsin-River Falls Cell Biology Day 19: Fireworks Day
Ahh, you smell that America? That’s the smell of charcoal burning on an open flame, fresh fruits sitting on the picnic tables. These are the scents that the United States was built upon, 250 years ago today. Feeling patriotic yet? And what better way to wish our beloved nation a happy birthday, than to make our founding fathers proud by doing science! So, come along and follow me on this day as I show you what we did here in Wisconsin to celebrate this special day.
We started off the day with some breakfast from Panera! Me and my friend Alyson enjoyed the savory taste of our breakfast sandwiches with some fruit.
Next, off to the lab! Here’s Uno & Saharsh. Working hard, or hardly working? Nah I’m just kidding, these two are always locked in. I couldn’t have asked for better teammates. Peep the special appearance from Dr. A in the back.
That’s it for the morning, now it’s time for lunch! The GOAT, Mr. S, got us a food truck with burritos, tacos, and quesadillas. Definitely a nice change from the typical dining hall food. Let me guide you through some lunchtime scenes.
Here’s the food truck!
Look at these goofballs waiting for their food.
Here’s my lunch!
Now, in true American fashion, we do what we know best, playing hard after working hard. And after lunch, that is exactly what we did. Here’s June and Yarei preparing to make a cheesecake! This better be good..
Messi, also known as Abhi, showing off his amazing header skills.
More progress on the cheesecake! Stay tuned for the official taste test at the end of this blog.
June being a soccer legend!
That’s all for the afternoon activities! Now we’ll move on to the most iconic part of Independence Day, the cookout! Here’s the program staff working so hard to keep us fed! Big shout out to both cell biology and astrophysics directors for the food!
After dinner, we moved on to sports & games. Arguably, this might be the most magical moment of SSP. For most of the program, cell bio and astro always had this rivalry. Between the battles for the loudest applause over dinner, and bickering over who has the harder problem sets, there always seemed to be tension. But here we were, sharing the volleyball courts, laughing by the fire pit, this day has brought together the community in a setting that might’ve been deemed impossible. Take a look at these photos here at River Falls.
Cell bio kids hanging around the hammock
From left to right: Yarei, TA Natalie, Amanda, and Precious playing some badminton
Alyson & Amanda again, 1v1ing in badminton
Half of cell bio gathered in a circle, trying not to make the volleyball hit the ground
Shiv being an absolute icon on the hammock
Evelyn and Kai being best friend goals
Yarei showing off her burnt marshmallow
And to wrap up the evening, here’s astro and cell bio at the fire pit, making smores together. Oh, and remember that cheesecake? It was delicious.
Thanks for reading! And in case you forgot, wish the United States a happy birthday today. It’s not every year you make it to 250 years old.
Oyin is from Atlanta, Georgia. Outside of pretending to be a scientist, she enjoys rooting against the Thunder, watching sitcoms, and hanging out with friends.
