Think AGain
While one slogan highlights the variety of programs in the College of Agricultural Sciences by encouraging students to "Think Outside the Barn," many undergraduates in the college are looking into animal facilities and laboratories. By interning in the college's animal facilities and labs, they are working alongside professors, advancing their education with independent research and gaining valuable preparation to succeed after graduation.
Tara Chrzanowski, a senior in Toxicology from Sinking Springs, Pa., Matt Gardner, a junior Immunology and Infectious Disease major from Robesonia, Pa., and Tara Snavely, a senior in Animal Sciences from Berwick, Pa., interned last summer at a few of the laboratories and animal facilities on campus.
"There's no reason I can think of not to get involved in the research in Penn State's animal facilities and labs," says Chrzanowski, who studied mouse models of Alzheimer's disease in the Life Sciences Building. "The professor and graduate students I worked with were flexible with hours and allowed me to take off a few days before big exams.
"I now feel extremely competent working in a lab from the experience I gained in just a year, and it gave me the chance to explore what I'll be doing after college in a warm and friendly environment. There are lots of openings and it's not hard to get involved - it's just up to you to make the first move and contact professors."
Like Chrzanowski, Gardner, who worked with genetically modified viruses and gypsy moths in the Agricultural Sciences and Industries Building, believes the experience in the lab offers students opportunities not found in any classroom.
"While lab classes in the major are useful and important, they just don't compare to working in the labs and animal facilities," says Gardner. "Instead of a mistake costing you a grade, the atmosphere in the labs is safe and welcoming, so you're encouraged to take some risks and approach projects from angles that might be inaccessible in a classroom setting. I'm also able to conduct my own research in areas that interest me, so I'm much more passionate about the projects I'm working on in the lab."
Snavely, who interned in the Penn State horse barns, found that although the settings might be different, the value of working in one of Penn State's numerous research facilities is universal.
"Whether you are working with viruses, horses or people, it's important to get work experience before graduating," says Snavely. "I have learned so much more about the horse industry and different breeds since I started at the Penn State horse barns. Beyond fulfilling my desire to work with horses, I've learned what it takes to actually run a farm and the management practices that make a farm successful."
"The work I'm doing here builds on everything I've been learning in class and takes it a step further by giving me a hands-on taste of my dream job managing and operating a large-scale horsebreeding farm," Snavely adds.
"Anybody interested in graduating with work experience, creating lasting connections with professors and coworkers, or just looking to broaden their education should consider working in Penn State's animal facilities and labs."