The opportunity to help Dr. Sanders with his research has challenged me to explore further into the realms of microbiology, immunology, and molecular biology. Research has encouraged me to reinforce and create new strategies to think critically to reach solutions. When looking at the results of an experiment that had taken large amounts of time and effort to complete, knowing that this newly found piece of information was furthering our knowledge of science, was an amazing experience. Not only did I learn lab techniques and valuable information, but I also developed critical teamwork skills that will certainly benefit me in a future career in medicine.

I was recommended by a former professor to become a tutor for the biology department. I tutored a large range of students that were taking anything from intro biology to advanced biology courses such as pathology, immunology, medical microbiology, molecular biology, and so on. I loved helping other students learn these courses that I once took. It also helped me reinforce the knowledge that I already had obtained. When I could find a way to explain a particular topic in which the student could easily understand, made all the time spent worth it. My position as a tutor forced me to come up with different techniques of explaining details.

I was responsible for ensuring maintenance standards would meet or exceed expectations throughout the facility. As a student who had taken a few microbiology courses, I made it a priority to keep the railings and areas where the patrons touched very sanitary to control the spread of disease. This job required good teamwork skills, because there were often times where I had to work on projects with other students. The lead, full time custodian often placed me as the manager of projects, because of my ability to work well with everyone and my good work ethic.

I worked at Best Buy as a sales associate in the digital imaging department. My position required me to interact well with customers and to be knowledgeable with the products that I sold. I enjoyed learning how to approach people with confidence and to be able to get on a personal level with them, instead of just being someone trying to sell them a product. Photography is a passion of mine, so I enjoyed using my knowledge to help customers get exactly what they were looking for. Working in a retail store has exposed me to all kinds of people, and this has helped me gain the understanding that different approaches may be needed to communicate efficiently with others at times.

I worked as a sales associate at Circuit City during high school and my freshman year of college. My initial training consisted of formal customer service and relations. I assisted and sold computers and components to customers. The job required the ability to communicate with others well and to be able to assist the customers in finding the exact product that fit their needs. This was a very team orientated job that relied on good employee interactions. Circuit City declared bankruptcy and closed in 2009, therefor I was laid off.