LEAH Knox Scholar Testimonials

I started noticing that I have an interest in doing research. I had never been in a professional lab before. The lab at our school is nothing compared to an actual lab. Watching the news where people are showing how they test for COVID and develop vaccines, I thought, ‘I did something really similar.’

Coming into this program I had viewed science as this distant, mysterious thing. I didn’t really understand the complexities of DNA and proteins and the applications. But going through the workshops and then having the TAs explain every single process made me truly understand the science — and that made it more real to me.

The LEAH Knox program was a stepping stone to my future career as a neurobiologist, and became one of my most cherished memories. I had a beyond amazing time learning with fellow peers, primarily due to the instructors who came up with work-arounds and virtual labs that flowed fantastically. I was able to work with lab equipment such as micropipettes, and was even able to conduct gel electrophoresis — all while at the home over Zoom!

The whole summer experience soared above my expectations for virtual programming. One of my favorite moments was when we created homemade gel electrophoresis. My awesome TA would assist us through Zoom while we melted our agarose gels and poured the liquid onto the mold. I’ve learned more about biology in the five weeks of LEAH than I did in a whole year of biology class. The lab experience was amazing, and the community of peers gained is priceless.

I thought we were going to be babied and taught like we were at school — about lab procedures and anything else we were going to learn this summer. But they really pushed us to work on our own strengths and learn about more advanced things than we would at school.

LEAH taught us the science stuff and lab techniques, but also taught us to be more open to meeting and working with new people. We learned how to interact with people we didn’t know and grow bonds with them. LEAH taught us professionalism.

My favorite experiment was anything that had to do with running gels! LEAH Knox Scholars was a great experience that I will never forget. I’m even more determined to become a researcher after this program.

The LEAH Knox program was one of the best experiences I ever had with a program set up for students. I was able to meet  people around my age who had similar interests as me and work with them throughout the summer. LEAH Knox has definitely anchored my future career choice and I’m thankful that it helped me do so. With all the knowledge and techniques learned throughout the program, I was also able to succeed in my science classes in school. I hope this program will continue on for many years to come.

I loved the experience of meeting the scholars and professors from MIT, as well as the environment and the workplace. Whenever we had lunches with the professors or students from MIT, we also had the opportunity to ask a lot of questions, which was a highlight. The instructors were incredibly knowledgeable and helpful whenever I needed help with anything. I really enjoyed the UV assays although I had to do it a dozen times. I feel like each time we did it, we got better.

Not only did we have the opportunity to work in MIT’s labs with their equipment and conduct intense experiments, but we also got to work with MIT professors and instructors. My peers and professors were very willing to help and concerned with helping each other, and it was also beneficial to be surrounded by people who loved science. My favorite experiment was the sporulation assay, because I was able to develop the procedure on my own and see great results.

The worms, even though they were really gross, were also very fascinating, especially seeing the different types. My favorite part about working at MIT was the instructors. I liked how easy they were to talk to because it is not usually as easy for me to do so.

I especially liked the UV experiment, because I liked figuring out which level of UV caused cell death. I also enjoyed getting to know my instructors and peers.