Workshop Reflection

Honestly, much of the information presented during the workshops was not new to me, as I had learned it during previous UROP workshops and other activities that occurred during the academic year.  Nonetheless, the points that were emphasized during the workshops are vital for a successful future in research and medicine.

Career Development 101:

One of the key points I noticed in this workshop was the importance of communication and putting oneself out there.  Communication is key for expressing one's interests, strengths, and personality.  Especially in networking, it is important to be confident in one's communication skills in order to connect with new or current colleagues. I will try to work on my elevator speech; it is important for me to be able to explain my strengths and goals in a concise manner. Furthermore, the lists of verbs to use in the personal statement and/or resume will be helpful.  The resume building portion was a bit repetitive.

Academic Articles:

This workshop was helpful even though our writing is in the sciences and the presenter's was in the humanities. One thing I noticed is that the time scale for getting published is huge, including multiple revisions and peer reviews.  This means that every word must be carefully thought out. That being said, however, the presenter's advice that you do nto have to begin writing a paper from the intro, but rather starting from the middle or end, helped me realize the structure and perfection is not necessary in the first few drafts.