Dear Sophian,
As a sophomore, I always see people at Smith accomplishing cool things like working in a lab or doing a special studies. Do you have advice on what can I do?
Dear Smithie,
My situation is very similar to yours. I’m a first year, and I also want to get involved in something cool, such as research, special studies or even study abroad.
Despite being an underclassman and not having a lot of experience in internships, jobs or special studies, I do have some background in independent projects which I can share. I can also share with you the great advice I’ve heard from various presentations and workshops that I’ve attended so far at Smith.
I would say that the first step is to figure out what fascinates you.
If you haven’t yet declared a major, a good place to start could be to reflect on the experiences you had in the courses you’ve taken. Are there certain classes in which you felt more enthusiastic than in others?
For instance, are you motivated to work hard in chemistry, or can you talk for hours about classical history? Once you determine your interests, you can narrow down the projects you might want to pursue. And I find that having a passion for something makes the work itself easier, fun and more productive.
After that, the next step is to be proactive. I cannot stress this enough. It is up to you to reach out and look for opportunities.
Ask your professors if they know anyone in their department, or even in the Five Colleges, who have research openings. Go to events centered around your area of interest, such as a presentation of a study abroad program. Check out the Office of Alumnae Relations’ online directory to find alumnae who might have advice or opportunities for you.
You are bound to come across something compelling, as long as you start looking.
Finally, try to contact as many people as you can, or apply to as many programs as you can, because you probably will not find the perfect project right away.
Do not be afraid to email a professor, or to apply to an internship. What’s the worst that could happen? You may not ever hear back from that professor, or that professor might not have any open spots for you in the lab. You may not land that internship you really wanted. But you would never have known whether you it was possible for you to achieve it, unless you tried to do so.
Don’t let rejections or refusals discourage you! There are plenty of other opportunities for you to explore your passions.
I can tell you from personal experience that this method and mindset works. I’m fascinated by the sciences, particularly biology, physics and data science.
Like you, when I was in high school I’d heard of college students getting involved in engaging projects, especially in research. I wanted to do that, too, as well as apply my learning to an environment outside the classroom to figure out what sort of career I would like to have after college.
So I did research of my own, so to speak. I looked through the science departments of my hometown’s local university, and I emailed faculty in those departments whose research seemed interesting.
I didn’t receive replies from all of them. But one professor in particular, although he had no open spots for me, recommended me to a colleague of his, with whom I then got in touch I ended up spending a month in that university’s radiology department, then the following summer in its neurology department.
I learned more about academic research, and I learned many skills that I now try to apply to my classes here at Smith.
I hope my advice helps and inspires you to get out there and find a “cool thing” of your own! As the saying goes, “You won’t know unless you try.”
