
E3 REU Research Intern/Fellow, NSF Evolution, Ecology, and Environment (E3) REU at Harvard University
Major: Environmental Science and Policy
Minor: Remote Sensing
Class Year: 2022
What was a typical week like in your internship position?
Every morning I would work on my research. This mainly involved coding, reading literature, and communicating with my team about any questions I had or help I needed. On Tuesdays I would have afternoon meetings with the Summer Research Opportunities at Harvard (SROH) Program and on Thursdays I would have E3 meetings. At these meetings we would do career building exercises, graduate school panel/advice sessions, and talk with guest speakers about their career trajectory. On Mondays I would have check-in meetings with my graduate mentors. Every week I would update them on our project milestones and they would help me with any problems I had. Each meeting I was expected to show the results of my code. If I needed more one-on-one time for debugging, we would set up extra meetings for the week. On Fridays I would check-in with the PI of my lab. Every week I would prepare a slide deck that included updates and figures I created from my code.
What do you enjoy most about your current position?
Being able to improve my technical skills and work in another lab. This position solidified my interest in research and allowed me to use my technical skills in an applied context. I also enjoyed learning about the structure and style of another lab.
How did your coursework help you in your internship?
My environmental science coursework was essential in understanding the foundation and application of my research, but ultimately my GEOG coursework in programming, GIS, and remote sensing best-prepared me for this position.
How did you locate your internship position?
I learned about NSF’s REU programs through the National Scholarships Office.
Advice for students:
Don’t limit yourself from applying because you are afraid of rejection. When applying for internships, ask yourself “What is the best that can happen?”. This framework really pushed me to apply for this internship despite my self-doubt!
Anything else you want to share with students about your experience?
I highly recommend applying for an REU program through the NSF, especially if you are seriously considering research as a career. This experience provided me with valuable insight on what it would be like to work in academia as a researcher.