Thursday, April 30, 2009

End of an Era (or something like it...)

Last night , I couldn't keep myself from sitting at the fountain, thinking about the past four years of college. Is it really here? I can't believe that sometimes.
As scary as it to go out into the real world, I'm strangely excited about it. I'm not sure about my job status yet, I'm still going on interviews, I'm still looking for apartments. But I've made my peace with WPI. It was the best experience to travel to a new country, learn about different people, work and play, and live the WPI fast-paced life. But here we go, we're moving on.

Thank you to everyone who's been in my life these four years- whether we are friends or foes today, it was good while it lasted. I hope to see you all have a bright future. My friends- we're doing that once-a-year-reunion in random places in the world- no excuses :)

Thank you all WPI faculty and staff- you've given me a wonderful experience I won't forget. I wish everyone who's graduating the best of luck. I can only hope to take the best things from here on toward my future. Since this is my last entry, I also wanted to thank everyone who's been following my life. Thanks for reading this blog and wishing me well, when you ran into me. I guess it wasn't too hard to figure me out.

Best wishes
~Shree

Wednesday, April 22, 2009

Status...

So I didn't really talk about this before, because I was trying to stay on the DL a little, but I got some interview calls recently. Good thing I did a mock interview way ahead of time, and did some fair amount of prepping before my time. Here's the order they were in...

1) atrocious. That's the only word for the first one....you know how they say, it's all great to be prepped about the questions, but it's the curve ball you have to be prepared for...yeah. They asked me physics questions. All I could do was say..."Uh, I'm majoring in Biotechnology.....". I don't even know what to say to someone else for the future on how to deal with something like that....plus I was so nervous, I couldn't think about any of the normal questions he asked me...so that was a disaster. We'll see what I hear from them...I'm not expecting anything

2) Much better. Aside from making a fool of myself by appearing too eager and arriving 30 minutes early, not too much of a disaster area. I have a call back for a second interview...so I'm pretty pumped :) Note to self: carry printed copy of poster so you can talk about your MQP, if your poster is about ready...not only is it good prep for Project Presentation Day, it helps keep your mind on track when you talk.

3) Went well too! Phew! What a relief- this one is for a very competitive position though, so once again I'm not expecting a miracle. But at least I didn't stumble upon my words, or say or do anything embarrasing. From here on, it will just be a battle for who they thought was the best. Note to self: make sure to thank EVERYONE you meet at the company...I emailed a thank you letter to the secretary as well. Besides, she was super nice :)

Well, that's it for now folks. Let's see what the future brings....

Monday, April 13, 2009

It's here, it's here!

So project presentation day is in like 10 days...wait, does this mean I'm done with MQP???? YESSSSSSSS. Well, almost.
Of course many of you know we have to make MQP posters for the big day, and mine is pretty close to completion. The real project poster is due by 17th- or 20th at the latest. So it's crunch time for me to get the ball rolling and finish up! Obviously this weekend is my personal deadline to finish it up so I don't have to look at it anymore...:P
Looking back upon that, my MQP was one of the best things to have happened to me. I owe a lot to my lab members and above all, my project advisor who took me under his guide, not knowing much about me, except my performance in his class and my interest in genetics (and jazz....we both love jazz ^_^) It really teaches me to never be afraid of trying anything new- because the way I saw it a year ago,I had nothing to lose by asking him for an MQP project.
The amount I've learnt by being in a lab could never compare to what textbooks teach. For every incoming freshmen or upperclassmen who have any interest in life science or bioengineering- my best advice would be to get into a lab as soon as possible. Even if it's workstudy or volunteer and all they make you do is autoclave- believe me, these are worthy skills to learn.
I realise I have a long way to go now, but I've been encouraged in this scientific direction thanks to my lab. And even though I'm sick of this MQP and want it to be over, I know that if I had another year, I would draft up several more projects to get the hidden answers.

So good luck to you in MQP and whatever projects you undertake-whether solo like me or with project partners, it's an unbelievable opportunity and we should all take full advantage of it.

Friday, April 3, 2009

Looking for Jobs?

Yes, I am. So after this follow-up business, I was actually dumb enough to NOT pick up a call from an unknown number, and I missed the chance to talk to a certain employer. Now I'm leaving them messages but have been unable to get to talk to them so far. So yeah, lesson number one: Don't Screen Your Calls....

After a lot of writing of cover letters and e-mails, I'm a little bummed I haven't heard anything back yet. I hear it's a bit of a long screening process though, so everyone is telling me to sit tight. Yeah, if I don't hear back by like Tuesday I'm probably going to be sending some gentle reminders to some companies I liked a lot :P

In cases like these though, the CDC is a great place to stop by for a quick question. I'm definitely going to ask them for a little advice on the matter-I'm sure they deal with this kind of thing a lot. Perhaps they can help me curb my enthusiasm? I'll let you know....sit tight, I guess :P