Work is so exciting, woot woot!

(^this is the bench space I share with Kun! Many mice have sacrificed their lives on this bench in the name of science)

I am realizing how lucky I am to be here. Kun told me recently that Dr. Hayden gets hundreds of people asking about summer internships but he chose me because he was so impressed by my personal statement. I almost didn't even send that to him! I was debating on whether to just send him my resume, but apparently it was the personal statement that really made the difference.

Last week I was volunteering at a "single ion channel" conference in downtown Vancouver and people would ask me who I was working for. When I told them Dr. Hayden, they would always respond with comments like, "Whoa, how did you work that out?" or "Wow, that's a big name". This guy has a lot of power!

Even more, I am so lucky to be working with Kun. My first week in the lab, it was up to me to decide who I would work with and what I would be doing for the rest of the summer. I prayed about it because I knew that my decision would completely dictate my entire summer and I felt like I should work with Kun, even though initially she was someone I feared would teach too quickly and wouldn't have the patience for me. That decision to work with Kun has been the best choice I've made in Vancouver. She is brilliant and dedicated, she has a perfect niche for me to help her finish a project, and we get along great. She told me last week that Dr. Hayden was asking her about how I was doing. She told him lots of good stuff about me and said that Dr. Hayden believed her because she doesnt often praise students. He told her that that meant that they needed to find a way to keep me around and to do my graduate work in his lab. (!!)

A few days later, I got this email from him:

Dear Caitlin,

Wanted you to know I and others have so enjoyed you being here.

You are doing very well and your attitude and maturity is so evident and appreciated.

Thank you,

Michael

Today I ran into him and he said, "I've been hearing good things about you. We need to talk sometime. I think we need to start taking you a little more seriously. It sounds like you have some real potential and I think so too, I can see it in your eyes."

(Yes, he really did say that about my eyes)

It's difficult for me to express how exciting this is! I often doubt my potential as a scientist; whether I am qualified and whether it is the right course for me. To have a scientist as accomplished and influencial as Dr. Hayden think highly of me is a huge advantage in my science career, particularly because he is so well-known in the HD world and this is the world of research I want to stick around in. Although I probably don't want to do my graduate work in his lab, having him on my side will open doors and increases the likelihood of me working in a lab that I want to work in.

I am not sure yet what I want to do when I graduate, but I am blessed with the ability to choose. If research is the course for me, then God's hand is working in my life to make it possible.