S-STEM Scholar Adel Karabegovic's Blog

      Thus far I have worked two jobs in my life, one was rather trivial at a movie theater and another at a hospital so at least for entry-level, no education required(which is a lie, a patient access representative needs three months education paid by the employer and then about a year of training to become relatively valuable to the company) type of job, I have some knowledge of what employers may be looking for.       My first and greatest experience that has given me teamwork, critical thinking, and communication skills was my internship with the NCEHSS program in the summer that was all about doing research. Being able to work with your peers on projects that are not gated by grades or strict piece-by-piece deadlines is a good way to build teamwork. Given two months to create a presentable research poster of a topic of our choice, my lab partner and I had to set up schedules, communicate results effectively, understand where this research le...

 Honestly, Environmental Science feels a bit difficult not because it isn't useful but because it is such a broad scope. I think this actually is more evident when I talk to my peers, where some are heavily invested into hydroponic research, soil, agriculture, entomology, and such. My own experience is showing that I am more geared towards microbiology research, specifically yeast and genetics. I am not only going after a degree in Environmental Science but also a certificate in Biomedical Research offered by New College. I was given advice by my mentor that it would be a good fit as it gives me a competitive certification for working in a lab setting that many people do not have. However, it does mean I will have to do one more semester in the upcoming fall, rather than graduating in the spring. If I were to be hired, I would prefer maybe a private sector where I can focus on products or research rather than government like the EPA where I feel it would be more bureaucratic and le...