Grinnell College

Chemistry Research Intern

May - August 2022 • Grinnell, IA

What I liked

I love being able to be in the lab and mix chemicals

What I wish was different

I wish I had more time to advance as much as possible in the project

Advice

Be brave and don't be afraid to reach out

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Math Education Software Developer

June - August 2021 • Grinnell, IA

What I liked

I loved just about everything—the people I worked with, the professor I worked under, the readings I was doing, and the development and testing process itself.

What I wish was different

Not much. I just wish I could have continued.

Advice

Go in with some ideas, ready to start working on a project that you, personally, are interested in.

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Mentored Advanced Project Researcher

June - August 2021 • Grinnell, IA

What I liked

I was able to work closely with my advisor and my colleagues, collaborating and sharing ideas regarding our research goals.

What I wish was different

Advice

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Stew Makerspace Manager

June 2020 • Grinnell, IA

What I liked

I liked the opportunity to get hands-on training during the summer to prepare the Stew Makerspace for reopening this fall.

What I wish was different

I don’t think I would change anything about the experience.

Advice

Taking on leadership roles, even when you don’t feel ready, is an amazing learning experience.

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Software Engineering

May - August 2020 • Grinnell, IA

What I liked

My supervisor is super helpful and pushed me out of my comfort zone to help me learn a lot

What I wish was different

Advice

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Student Researcher

May - August 2020 • St. Cloud, MN

What I liked

I was impressed that I was able to do physical ecology research virtually. Once the research project got started I had to check on the seeds three times a day, but I still had lots of flexible time to do literature review or other activities.

What I wish was different

I would have preferred to be in the lab and in the field in person, but our virtual work was effective.

Advice

Because you are spatially distanced from the professor, you must stay on top of your work and manage your time well.

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Admissions Intern

June - August 2019 • Grinnell, IA

What I liked

I loved my co-workers! It was great to enjoy Grinnell during the slower pace of summer and be one of the few current students that prospective Grinnellians met during their visit.

What I wish was different

Advice

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Student Researcher

June - August 2019 • Grinnell, IA

What I liked

I enjoyed trying the 40 hour work week and having a hands-on experience with chemistry lab research.

What I wish was different

I wish that I had found a better work - life balance.

Advice

Completing a MAP is a wonderful experience and should be tried by those considering research in their post graduate plans.

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Student Researcher

May - July 2019 • Grinnell, IA

What I liked

Flexible schedule, personalized project

What I wish was different

More team work and slower pace of the introduction of new complex material

Advice

Get ready to motivate yourself to read a lot of theoretical research papers

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Mentored Advanced Project

June - August 2019 • Grinnell, IA

What I liked

I loved being able to spend time doing research alongside a professor with a PhD in the field.

What I wish was different

Advice

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Bulk Mail Clerk

May - August 2019 • Grinnell, IA

What I liked

Not much

What I wish was different

Boss and also I wish I had found a different more resume-relevant job somewhere else

Advice

Do not stay in Grinnell over the summer without friends just to live with your significant other

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Prairie restoration assistant

May - August 2019 • Grinnell, IA

What I liked

I enjoyed getting to know the history and ecology of the Conard Environmental Research Area (CERA).

What I wish was different

The internship would have been improved if there were more than a single Grinnell College staff member dedicated to working at CERA.

Advice

Drink lots of water.

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Historian Research Assistant

June - August 2019 • Grinnell, IA

What I liked

I loved being able to read challenging text and then discussing them with three other people. I enjoyed working at my own pace and being able to work towards deadlines at my own pace.

What I wish was different

I wish we would have been able to take a trip to a museum that performed our area of study.

Advice

I think a MAP is a great experience for any Grinnellian. It is worthwhile to dive deep into a subject matter of your own choosing with hands on professor assistance.

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New Student Orientation Coordinator

May - August 2019 • Grinnell, IA

What I liked

I liked the structure of working regular hours and getting to set my own to-do list. The job appealed well to my strengths in detail-oriented multitasking and it was fun feeling like the work I did was important and made a big difference to the incoming students.

What I wish was different

I wish I had had a full-time supervisor for the whole summer, although that was a one-time situation due to transitions in staffing over the summer. I feel like I would have been more confident in my abilities and I would have been able to better share my work duties.

Advice

Don't be afraid to ask for help! Even though much of my job was self-directed, I had plenty of people in Student Affairs from which I could ask for help. Also, it pays to stay on top of your emails!

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Annual Giving

June - August 2019 • Grinnell, IA

What I liked

Very friendly work environment, lots of flexibility in directing where I wanted my work to go

What I wish was different

Would have wanted to get out of Grinnell more often

Advice

If you spend the summer in Grinnell, make sure you either plan regular trips out to do something different and/or have people you really like staying in Grinnell as well who are willing to spend time with you

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Student Researcher

May - August 2019 • Grinnell, IA

What I liked

Flexibility

What I wish was different

Mentor

Advice

Be careful choosing project/research to work on

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Conservationist Intern

May - August 2019 • Grinnell, IA

What I liked

The job. Working outside with a crew was fun.

What I wish was different

Nothing

Advice

It was very cool and helped me learn about the prairie ecosystem.

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Mentor Advanced Project researcher

May - July 2019 • Grinnell, IA

What I liked

I enjoyed being able to be a part of a project that a professor at my college had been working on for quite some time. It was nice to be contributing to the larger goal of unearthing a novel finding. I also valued the technical skills that I was able to learn (e.g. streaking bacteria, gel electrophoresis, confocal microscopy, etc.). The knowledge and skills I obtained through this research helped to enrich my coursework during the semester.

What I wish was different

I wish I had had more resources to understand the material. When we first started, it felt a bit overwhelming because I had not had enough background in advanced genetics. A lot of the terminology and the direction of the project was not as clear until the second week.

Advice

This research position requires studious and attentive workmanship. I would say that time management ( working around the schedule of the C. elegans and understanding how the experiments must progress) is a big part of this experience, so do not slack off in that regard.

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Physics Research Intern

May 2019 • Grinnell, IA

What I liked

I really enjoyed the opportunity to get to apply the knowledge that I had gained in my advanced physics and math courses to solve real-world problems.

What I wish was different

I wish we had known going into the project how difficult the software we were working with would be to use.

Advice

Make sure you read plenty of papers about the physics you're simulating and read the documentation of the software you're using. Don't assume you know how it works.

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