The wrap-up

By Bradley Taylor at WFU Chemistry Department On · Add Comment

Hey there…thanks for checking back in with me! Wow, I am really not sure where the summer has disappeared to. My senior year at High Point University is nearing with much anticipation; nonetheless, this past summer was an extraordinary experience. As you know, I served as an undergraduate research assistant for my second year at Wake Forest University’s Chemistry Department under the direction of Dr. Christa Colyer. For a science major, it is imperative that one has opportunities to conduct research to utilize their talents, skill sets and knowledge in real-life applications. I am thrilled to have been able to conduct research with Dr. Colyer over the past two summers!

My research project this summer focused on determining the optimal binding and separation characteristics of an squarylium-based dye with simple sugars like fructose. First, I found the excitation and emission wavelengths using UV and Fluorescence spectrometers. Second, the wavelengths previously acquired aided me in setting up a method for separation by capillary electrophoresis. Lastly, I conducted various on-column and pre-columns separations using capillary electrophoresis to determine the optimal separation technique.

I cannot begin to express my appreciation to Wake Forest University, Dr. Colyer, High Point University, the HPU Chemistry Department and so many others for giving me the skills and allowing me to have this amazing opportunity. As stated earlier, a research internship is vital to a science major and I can wholeheartedly say that over the past two summers, I have learned a great deal and applied my classroom knowledge. When HPU speaks of experiential learning – this is one great example of how students like myself have the opportunity to work with outstanding faculty and organizations to utilize their classroom knowledge in real-life applications.

I want to end on a quote by famous scientists Albert Einstein, “Learn from yesterday, live for today, hope for tomorrow. The important thing is not to stop questioning.”

Moving forward

By Angela Tagliareni at Percepture Inc. On · Add Comment

WOW! I still can’t believe that summer is finally over and that my internship is winding down. This summer has been beyond amazing, and I could not be more excited about my future career in communications. The skills that I have learned from social media techniques to graphic design and more have helped me grow and build my resume. As many of you may know from reading my past blog entries, I have been hired by my internship for the upcoming school year, which is amazing because I will be continuing those relationships with Percepture. One of the most important lessons that I have learned from interning is to never stop learning and work hard. Life should be equal parts responsibility and fun. To incoming freshman, study hard, but don’t forget to balance and enjoy the next four years. To current HPU students, live by that same model. Future employers will notice your work ethic and drive to succeed so don’t be afraid to let it shine. I am extremely blessed to have had such an amazing internship this past summer, and continuing that relationship throughout my senior year will not only help me grow, but lead to future employment and success! Thank you for reading, all the best!

Guide to success

By Melia Sigmon at Chili Technology and T2 International On · Add Comment

Dear future interns,

Here I am on the last day of my internship writing a quick “dummies guide” to working for this awesome company. I personally wasn’t really sure what to do on my first day and I hope this letter will put you at ease. First off, the people here are really friendly. They’re not smiling and greeting you just because you’re the new kid. They do that every day. If you have a question, people are more than glad to help.

I loved Monday mornings (crazy, I know) because of the meetings. As Todd Youngblood put it during my first meeting with him, “you will be learning a lot by osmosis.” I came in as a media intern, but I definitely picked up a lot of business tips from the day-to-day “fire drills” they have around here. After just a day, I knew how flexible this company operates. They have certain things they would like for you to accomplish for them, but they also want to help you grow professionally in the areas you’d like to be involved in. So don’t hesitate to get involved. There will be some things you don’t always enjoy (I read tons of government documents for a couple days) and there will be fun days that keep you busy.

It’s time for me to write the paragraph that will hopefully dictate the way your internship goes. Make the most of it and take advantage of the opportunities offered. You learn fairly early how to communicate quickly and efficiently around here. When it comes to getting a job in the “real world” after you graduate, you’ll be sending potential employers some pretty impressive emails. If you have an idea that you think will be a big hit, then ask someone about it and plan a little bit. If there’s too much for you to do, take a moment to sit down and write a “do it” list so you can feel accomplished when you cross things off. If you find yourself just sitting pretty and bored, create projects for yourself (the Y Drive needs serious help) or do some research (If you use Google Alerts, the research comes to you!) that will help you become better at your job. The sooner you learn names, the better. If you find that a fellow worker is flooded with work, offer to stay late and help them solve problems because this business is teamwork-oriented, not you’re-on-your-own. Dress nicely, because you never know what big-name company representative will walk through the door. Plus, it makes you feel awesome. Keep a jacket in the car; it can get cold every now and then. Take a pen and a notepad into meetings because you’ll need it. You’ll be here for a while, so make yourself at home with a few pictures pinned up. This company can help you get to great places in your life, but first you have to help yourself. Take initiative and get things done. Be creative. And finally, the fridge beside Todd’s office has soda. All you have to do is drop 50 cents in the cup on the microwave. You’ll need the caffeine for your new cubicle job.

Feel free to connect or message me online. I’d loveto talk to you! I’m all over social media and I’m the only “Melia Sigmon” out there, so it won’t be hard to find me.

Best of luck,

Melia Sigmon

Wrapping up

By James Garrity at US Army in Hawaii On · Add Comment

Hey readers,
The end of the summer is here, and along with that is my final blog. I literally spent my last two days in Hawaii in the field for training. Although it made the plans for leaving difficult, I still wouldn’t have wanted to spend it any other way. We were in the same place as the week prior - McTab Training in Kaneohe Bay (which is the Marine Corps base).

I didn’t explain the training area we were at in the previous blog. The training area is called Marine Corps Training Area Bellows (MCTAB). Bellows is a beautiful beach that has a historic past dating back to WWII, when it was an airfield that was attacked along with other military installations on December 7th. I heard that the village came about after a rumored $400 million in renovations that consisted of more than 70 buildings (which are mostly container units that have been altered to resemble buildings), small generators, and market simulations with fake fruit, fish and clothes! When I was there, the men that had already been deployed said that it was extremely similar to what they remember – which made it a priceless experience.

There were pretty much three types of missions we did while we were there. The main focus was conducting raids, which are fast-paced movements into a location to capture a high value target. The other missions consisted of participating in quick reaction forces and doing route clearances. Quick reaction missions are when there is an attack and another unit needs assistance, or when there is information on where mortar fire came from and a unit is dispatched to try and keep the enemy from getting away. Route clearances are basically missions that consist of you keeping your eyes peeled for IED’s (Improvised Explosive Devices), which are popular in the Middle East.
During a route clearance I was the platoon leader and had to deploy on of my units to capture an enemy that had laid IEDs and was trying to escape the area. That was awesome and  an eye opening experience, seeing similar things worked in the real army compared to what we are taught in ROTC. Acting on instincts and making decisions and sticking with them is one of the main things we are taught, and that is exactly how it needs to be. Another mission I was a part of, I was tasked at being a team leader in charge of two other men during our raid. I had to use obstacles to our advantage and take those men on room clearings with me.

One of the main things that I learned that day is that combat is SO fast-paced. I look back on it now and it seems like a blur even though we were on the objective for more than 20 minutes. There is so much that is going on in your head at those times and this is only training! Unbelievably, it’s going to be three times faster when there are live rounds flying around and people have to make decisions that could affect another. This has definitely opened my eyes.

Well, on the other side, I’m in High Point now after three days of traveling and less than 10 days of family time, my summer has come to an end. As ready as I am to be a commissioned officer in the United States Army, I think I’m going to bury that for a few more months and enjoy my senior year at High Point University! If anyone has any questions don’t be too shy to ask me, any other ROTC members, or the Admission Counselors!

Thanks for taking time to read my stuff!

Cadet James Garrity

ChiliTips

By Melia Sigmon at Chili Technology and T2 International On · Add Comment

In the final days of my internship, I’ve been creating graphics and pictures in advance to give my company a little lead-way in my absence. For example, every Thursday, a “ChiliTip” will be posted to the Facebook page to help educate ChiliPad owners so that our customer service representative has less “general question” phone calls to handle.

Since the product I’m trying to promote helps save money for home owners with high energy bills, I used a cost-saving-calculator we have to educate potential buyers on how much they could save in a solid number. However, since this was done via a social media medium, it needed to be fun and light to engage fans. I made a poster announcing the service and an example “results” poster to help encourage others to try it. For those who stay well-read on popular memes, this is indeed the “punny” Science Cat.

Last day at SAS

By Stephen Clowes at SAS Institute On · Add Comment

Today is my last day here at SAS and tomorrow I move back to beautiful HPU! This summer has truly flown by. My internship has been an absolute blast. Being able to take on a new project with social media that hasn’t been done at SAS before and see it come to good use is such a great feeling. Social media intelligence is becoming a hot topic for many big companies.

This experience has been a great way for me to get a head start on my career after graduation. A college degree is an absolute necessity to have, but nothing can better prepare you for entering the career of your choosing like an internship.

Having the opportunity to explore new ways to help sales generate revenue from social data has led me to discover my niche in digital marketing. I have been excited to come to work every day because the tasks interest me and push me to think of new ideas. It is so easy to see why Forbes ranks SAS as one of the top places to work in the US. Everyone I had the chance to work with has been very supportive and helpful. The atmosphere around SAS campus reminds me a lot of HPU.

I have made a lot of new friends through SAS and I encourage anyone who is planning on doing an internship to be adventurous, never be afraid to ask questions and learn from every mistake or success you have. Although I am sad my internship is coming to a close I am so excited to get back with the soccer team for preseason. Go panthers!

Designing content

By Melia Sigmon at Chili Technology and T2 International On · Add Comment

Since media is a big part of my internship, I’ve started to design and create more original content for the fan pages and website. A lot of it was done in Adobe Photoshop, while a few parts were done in InDesign and Illustrator. I plan the pictures, create them, get feedback and then promote them on social media.

For most of them, the plan was to either encourage fan engagement, or get a main idea across. I’ve really enjoyed brainstorming these creative themes.

I’ve included some of these pictures for you guys to check out! Be sure to test your Anagram skills with the Scrabble graphic.

Busy week at the VA Medical Center

By Mallory Moore at Durham VA Medical Center On · Add Comment

This past week at the Durham VA has been a busy one. The majority of my time this summer has been spent in the pharmacy filling inpatient and outpatient prescriptions. By doing so, I have been able to learn names of perscriptions by seeing them first hand. I have also spent time working the outpatient window, talking with patients and finding their prescriptions for them. All patients at the VA Hospital are veterans and a lot of them will actually tell you what branch of the military they served in and when.  It is very rewarding to talk to them and know you are helping them out in a small way compared to their fight for our freedoms.

This week, however, I spent two days shadowing two different pharmacists in the hospital. The first one was a critical care pharmacist. This was very interesting. Earlier this summer, I shadowed an ambulatory care pharmacist, (she is actually a professor at UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy) who works largely with diabetes and hypertension patients. After that day, I thought I wanted to have the one-on-one patient interaction that I saw the patient’s pharmacist having, talking about diabetes prevention and diet planning. However, as soon as I shadowed the critical care pharmacist on the surgical ward, I quickly changed my mind. He talked to me about how much he enjoyed working on the SICU (Surgical Intensive Care Unit) because of the fast turn over and interesting cases. After doing rounds that morning with himself and a doctor, I soon learned why.  Every day there is a new case, each one as interesting as the other. I also learned about the different kinds of perscriptions the patients in the SICU were taking, the reasons as to why they were taking them, and the healing impacts the medications were having on their bodies.

Two days later, I followed the Geriatric pharmacist in the nursing home which was an enjoyable experience. I was able to follow the pharmacist and the doctor, visiting the different patients in the VA nursing home. These patients were very interesting to talk to. It was clear that they have been through a lot during their lifetime and were willing to share all they could remember. A lot of them enjoyed discussing what they do in their free time and it was nice to hear them discuss their passions. I was, once again, exposed to the different medications that these patients were on and their different medical conditions, seeing real life examples of medications in action.

Before beginning my internship at the Durham VA Hospital Pharmacy, I had no idea that all of these different types of pharmacy existed.  I learned that a pharmacist can do so much more than work at a local grocery store or drug store.  Nearly every ward in the hospital has its own pharmacist that does daily rounds and is always on call for medicinal advice.  My time at the VA has definitely redefined my passion to go to pharmacy school, knowing that I have so many different options to choose from once I have completed my PharmD.

Going for gold

By Cara Read at French West Vaughan On · Add Comment

What an amazing past week! When my eyes haven’t been glued to the T.V. watching Team USA win, what seems like everything, I’ve been busy finishing up my last assignments at FWV. I have enjoyed my internship this summer more than I can say. I have learned so much this summer and have had amazing guidance throughout the way.  The Olympics have been a special time for me, as two of the clients I have worked with this summer are connected to the London games. Earlier in the summer I worked with the swimwear giant, Arena USA. Some of the top athletes at the Olympics have been sporting Arena suits, goggles and caps this year. One athlete in particular is the recent gold medalist, Rebecca Soni. She rocked her hot pink Arena suit as she won the 200m breaststroke and broke yet another world record. It has been awesome to see her get so much attention for winning and for wearing a great suit! Another connection I have to the games through my internship is with Jessica Hardy, also a U.S. Olympic swimmer. I help with her media coverage by organizing her interviews and media hits. Although I have never met Rebecca or Jessica, it still feels like I have a small connection to them! I love that about public relations. In a way PR practioners are much like the fans in the stands. We essentially “cheer on” clients and get them the attention they so deserve. I’m going for gold in my final week as an intern. I hope to finish strong, just as the incredible U.S. swimmers do!

Research: Navigating some bumps in the road

By Bradley Taylor at WFU Chemistry Department On · Add Comment

Welcome back! Check out the latest in my research from the
Colyer lab at Wake Forest University! In my last update, I had re-tested a theory by modifying my injection pressure test method and begun some new studies with on-column labeling. After those new studies were developed to provide consistent and reproducible data, it was time to analyze the data.

One of the most interesting problems that I encountered with
the on-column labeling was quite a learning experience for me. Dr. Colyer and I determined that using a fructose solution made in DI water would be better than in the phosphate buffer solution. However, every time I injected this solution, there was a huge drift in the current and response for about three minutes until both leveled off. This really confused me! I felt bad taking these graphs, which I determined was “bad” data to a meeting with Dr. Colyer; however, it really was not that “bad” at all. She made me realize that the water base of the fructose solution did not respond well with the electric current on the capillary, thus making the current and response drift. Although, when the injection had run the length of the capillary (eluted from the end), the current and response came to equilibrium. WOW…how simple. This really was an exciting phenomenon to learn about through experience.

Over the next few days, I will begin to wrap up some experiments as my internship is coming to an end. This summer has really gone by fast, all while learning some amazing new concepts and gaining some great experience with research. I will ask that you check back one last time for my last entry for the summer (you will not want to miss it)!

A famous scientist, Wernher Von Braun, once said, “Research is what I’m doing when I don’t know what I’m doing.” Sometimes we may not understand what we are doing or how we will get there while conducing research, however that is the fun of it!

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