Researching at Rowan
by Victoria Brady
A few years ago, I was a wide-eyed freshman sitting in my very first college-level science class. It was Biology 1, and it focused on evolution and adaptation. My professor was so entertaining and I grew to like him more and more as the semester went on. I suppose he felt the same about me, for one morning at the end of the semester, he came over to my desk and looked at me with a furrowed brow. “What do you want to do with your life?” he inquired enthusiastically. I was a bit taken aback, I must admit, but I told him I wanted to be a physical therapist. When he found out I was someone who likes animals as well, he decided to invite me to interview to join his animal behavior research lab. I was warmly accepted by the group, and so my journey began.
Within a few months, I had a project to work on. I was continuing the project that lab members before me had started with Betta splendens (or as you know them without the pompous sciencey sounding name: betta fish). My research partner and I cared for ninety betta fish, all housed in individual containers, over the summer of 2016. It was tedious and I swore I never wanted to see another betta fish ever again (lie). I was able to present the poster with my partner at Rowan’s Summer Undergraduate Research Program, and it was an interesting first research experience overall.
Fast forward to this past summer, and I had another project! This time I embarked upon a brand new project with another research partner, and we worked with Italian Wall Lizards. You should have seen us running around Mount Laurel with sticky traps in 90 degree weather trying to catch these tiny lizards…it was quite a sight. My partner Jon and I worked quickly over two months or so to collect data, analyze it, and compile it into a refined poster. This is where things get exciting, folks.
My lab group and I had the amazing opportunity to present all of our research projects at the Animal Behavior Society conference, which was hosted at University of Toronto Scarborough campus in Canada. I am personally terrified of public speaking, so the idea of presenting our work to a bunch of animal nerds (who would knew if I said something wrong) really freaked me out. However, I decided to push past my fear in the name of the chance to present research at a national conference….but mostly at the chance to venture to CANADA. To give you a quick run down:
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Yes, everyone in Canada is ridiculously nice.
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Yes, they love maple. Their money even has a little leaf on it that smells like maple when you scratch it (side note: are we sure Canada is a real country???)
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Niagara Falls is beautiful and I was so in love with it. I also highly recommend walking across the border so you can see it from the US and Canada; also there is a spot on the bridge where you can stand in both countries at once.
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You WILL have a hard time ordering that tall glass of hydrating goodness if you pronounce it like “wooder”. To get water, you have to say it like “WAHHTER” or no one will know what you are talking about and you WILL get crazy looks.
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Poutine and beavertails are two AMAZING examples of Canadian food. Highly encourage eating it every single day. Also, they have ketchup flavored chips. Sounds gross, I know, but I promise they’re good and apparently super popular.
Basically, Canada was amazing. If I had never gotten involved in research years ago, I may never have gotten to have the experiences I have had so far, and likely would not have gone to Canada until many years later when I could afford it on my own (thanks Rowan!). If you have the chance to get involved in research, go for it! You never know where it’ll take you.