1. For my project, I conducted research for seven weeks in Glasgow, Scotland. I studied the effects of aluminum on callose deposition in Arabidopsis seedlings, and I learned several laboratory procedures including fluorescent microscopy, seeding agar plates, and sterilization protocols. When I was outside of the lab, I had the opportunity to explore major cities, lakeside villages, and the beautiful highlands.
2. After visiting Scotland, I realized that the outside world’s view on Americans was profoundly different than what I expected. For example, I believed that Europeans, like a majority of the world, held a negative image of Americans. However, Glaswegians did not mind the origin country of the tourists that were visiting their city, and they only asked about your origins if you prompted them to. In the U.S, people use their citizenship and origin country to define themselves, and there is a lot of emphasis placed on this status in politics. These identities seemed “looser” in Glasgow, with different people and cultures freely interacting to produce a unique atmosphere. The Scottish people welcomed all types of travelers. Moreover, in America, people with certain citizenship statuses or origin countries are often alienated from the rest of society. The U.K, on the other hand, held very little of this animosity, and I met people from all around the world, from Singapore to Turkey.
While in Scotland, my understanding of myself also changed. Since I live 20 minutes from my hometown when I am attending OSU, I had felt like I never experienced living alone before. Moreover, my family and I worried about my ability to manage my medical condition on my own. However, my stay in Glasgow showed that I could successfully live and thrive in an independent setting. I was able to plan daily trips for myself, design and carry-out a six-week experiment with little interference from my mentor, budget my finances, and stick to an eating schedule. In the end, my confidence has grown immensely from this trip, and I feel like I can achieve things that I would not have pushed myself to try previously.
3. Since a diverse range of individuals visit Glasgow, interactions between people with different perspectives were common. Regardless of their differences, people were always incredibly friendly. They would happily converse with anyone around them, and they would stop what they were doing to help you out if you were lost, confused, or inconvenienced in any way. Once, when walking to class, I saw a woman help one of the government workers in charge of cleaning out the storm drains by holding an umbrella for him. The storm drain infrastructure is very old and the debris that gets swept away during storms clogs the grates, resulting in massive puddles of standing water. As he was working to clear the debris in the rain, a woman came out of her house from across the street and stood beside him, covering them both with the umbrella as it continued to pour.
I encountered this kindness again when I was leaving for a trip to the Northwestern-most point of Scotland. Since I enjoy hiking, I scheduled a visit to the Isle of Skye—a location known as one of the most beautiful in the world. To get to the isle, I bought a bus ticket from a station near my residence. While waiting for my bus, an older woman walked up to me with her dog, unprompted. She took the time to explain that the road was closed for the weekend, and the bus wouldn’t be coming. With that information, I was able to determine that I needed to go to the central bus station and inquire about other lines that were leaving for the day as soon as possible. Otherwise, I might miss the trip entirely. The situation demonstrated the compassion of the residents there as well as increased my confidence in my ability to problem-solve any obstacles I came across.
Lastly, a huge part of my program was getting the opportunity to design my own experiment. I initially believed that I would simply be following the instruction of my mentor, assisting in her project. However, I quickly realized that I would be solely responsible for designing an experiment that would address the prompt and carrying out the study. It was an incredible opportunity and very daunting. With some slight guidance from my mentor, I was able to conduct preliminary research on what has already been studied on the subject and adapt my experimental structure. I was then able to choose a unique condition to test in my experimental groups—one which combined my interests in human health and climate change. The opportunity to conduct an independent study as an undergraduate was amazing, and it gave me a wealth of experience to carry into my future.
4. In the end, I believe that this experience has broadened my understanding of the nature of people and exposed me to alternate methods of solving issues experienced by all societies. I got to see how other countries structure their politics, public transportation, and healthcare. It was particularly amazing to see their solutions to gun violence and pollution, and how their communities thrived from these changes. Glasgow was one of the cleanest and safest places I had ever seen. It was mind-blowing to see the people’s love of green places and how that love manifested as a notable absence of litter on the streets and the construction of community parks.
This program also exposed me to a laboratory setting for the first time and has whet my appetite for research. I learned how to prepare media for agar plates, measure pH, use specialized pipettes, maintain a sterile environment, stain seedlings for fluorescent microscopy, handle a microscope, record data, and perform analysis on that data to determine if my results were significant. I also learned how to design an experiment from the ground up, account for limitations in time and resources, write a scientific paper, and present my findings to other researchers. With more lab experience and more confidence in engaging with scientific personnel, I am looking into labs offered on campus. Ultimately, I think I would like to pursue research as a part of my career in medicine.