- In the movies, I was only really exposed to research through, like, movies and TV and things that happen there. It was kind of like the undergrad student, like always, like, wash the test tube and did the file cabinet stuff. I kind of went in and I was like, okay, I'm ready to like, do all the grimy work and just start there. And I remember on my first day, I came in and the first person I was working with, I think it was Juan, Bing, and Jessie, and they were graduate students, and they came in and they're like, okay, we're gonna show you the protocol, and then, next week you're gonna start running participants, and I was just like, what? What do you mean, I'm gonna do the experiment? And they're like, yeah, that's kind of like, yeah. That's what you're gonna do. So I guess, like, I wish I knew that coming in, but it was kind of like, a happy surprise. But also in addition to that, like, the lab that you're in, I guess, like, I don't know if it's all labs with especially, I'm like, I kind of feel like I have like a little research family. Like, I feel like I'm able to go talk to graduate students or the lab manager if like there's things going on with my research, but also like if I need some time off, if it's a really stressful week like I know Professor Gutchess and Danny, our lab manager, always asks us, like "How are you guys doing in school?" "Do you guys need help with anything?" "Do you need less hours in the lab this week "'cause finals are coming up." So, they really like care about their research, but they also care about you as a person. It's kind of like a good thing to know and not something I necessarily knew coming into it based on like the media and like everything we see about research before we're actually in it.

- Going with what Emma said, definitely I feel like the lab is like a family and a very welcoming environment. An important thing in which I wish I was told or I was told by didn't really take seriously about looking at research opportunities, was that the environment is very important. And so in a couple, in a few labs, you don't have any direct contact with the PI or you do getting in, but like once you actually get in the lab, your main contact is the graduate student. And I know a lot of friends, a lot of my friends, once the graduate student graduates, or they move on to something else, then they don't really have a topic to focus on. Versus with in the Gutchess lab, like we found, you can bounce from multiple topics. You can pursue multiple interests of the grad students' projects. And so definitely, I feel like, with research experience, there are different ways that labs are run. There are different opportunities that labs give. And definitely connections with the PI is very important because I like being able to just talk to Professor Gutchess and express to her my interests, because I expressed to her how I was interested in race in connection with other things. And so, it's just a friendly face to talk to. But in other labs, you wouldn't necessarily get that connection. So I feel like the environment of the research lab is very important. And another thing is to talk to people in the lab 'cause they can give you the insight as to the inner workings of the lab. Like if the PI is mean or if they're nice, or like how they work with you. So I feel like that's a very important thing to know.

- I felt that it's been helpful to remind yourself, especially in the social sciences when you're applying to research to do your own research that this is your research, that this is your project. And my experience in Chile, when I did my research there, the advisor I had there would make me feel at times as if this was her research. And it felt very difficult for me to navigate my own thoughts and what I wanted to do in my research project because I wanted to make her happy. I wanted to make sure that I was giving her what she wanted. And so to come in with assertiveness and confidence of what you want to do with this research project and what you need your advisor or your faculty member to do for you, like what you need them to do to support you throughout the process. This experience that I've had most recently with Professor Ferry has been extremely helpful. Professor Ferry is well aware that I am a student, I am a daughter, and I am also extremely supportive to my family. So I think she's really humanized the project, made it a very accessible for me to come in and out of my project, working time, and has also been extremely supportive in giving me different sources to research and look into. So it has been more of my project. I am navigating this and I can control it, but also I have someone who is guiding me and reminding me that I need to do this. I have deadlines. I should be adding this to my project. So yeah, coming in with assertiveness and confidence is my number one advice.

- I think that one thing that's really helped me working in the lab is not being afraid to ask for help. I kind of feel like, when people are like shown things once, they kind of feel like they can't ask again if they're still confused or like, if a graduate student is explaining something to them, they get afraid to like, ask clarification questions and it's actually more beneficial to you and to the lab as a whole, if you are confused to ask for help. I remember, I was with an undergraduate student and we were waiting for a participant once and there was like, a huge problem with like the gate and the person and we were trying to figure it out, for the longest time and then we had to go to class. And if we texted our graduate student earlier on, we could have solved the issue much faster than if we waited. So I think the biggest thing is the graduate students, well at least in my lab, the graduate students and the PI, they're not scary. Like, they hired you for a reason. Like, you're supposed to be there. They want your opinion. You are qualified. And I think like, reminding yourself of that and that's what Alejandro was saying like, the confidence aspect of it. So they want your opinion, they want you to ask questions. You are someone that is adding something to the lab. That's why they hired you and want you there. So don't be afraid to ask questions and, you know, give your opinion on things. We have lab meetings and I know Professor Gutchess and like the other graduate students present. And they're like, okay, any opinions? Or like anything to say? Any feedback? And it's usually the undergraduate students stay quiet. And then once the graduate students go, they're like, okay and the undergrads, do you have anything to say? So they kind of even set it up for us, which I think like, in the beginning, for me, that was really helpful. 'Cause I was like, "Oh, we're supposed to talk." Like, they want us to talk, but now I know that they want us to talk. So I think early on, just kind of like, getting comfortable with like, talking to people that are a little more set in the field, but then also knowing that I do have something to add as well and building that confidence for myself.