A Well-Rounded Education
By: Diane Ingabire
I am glad that I am always developing different skills at Spelman. Spelman gave me an opportunity to explore a lot both in my major and outside it. In November, I got a chance to attend the Annual Biomedical Research Conference for Minority Students (ABRCMS) that took place in Indianapolis, Indiana. The conference was a learning experience for me and allowed me to develop different skills as a college student. I had an opportunity to present my UCLA summer research, where I had a chance to practice my presentation by presenting it and getting some feedback from different judges. Apart from presenting, I also had excellent networking opportunities with undergraduate students, graduate students, and recruiters from colleges/universities and various companies.
Winter break started, and I went home to Rwanda for the first time in one year and five months. I did not realize how much I missed home until it was the beginning of December, and I could not wait for the time of my flight. It was a nice flight because I thought I was going to fly alone, but I met three people I knew. Being home and seeing everyone was fun, and it was something I needed. While I was there, I got time to visit my family and friends. Even though I was excited to see everyone and have fun, I also talked to the people in the forensic lab in Rwanda to see if I can get a chance to see the new lab. It did not happen as I had planned due to different reasons, but I made sure to get the information for next time when I go back.
After returning to the US, I travelled to Florida A&M University (FAMU) and Florida State University (FSU) with 4 other Spelman students and our professor, Dr. Gaines. The tour was of Dow Chemical at FAMU and FSU engineering school. In this visit, we had an opportunity to visit the College of Engineering, College of Pharmacy and College of Environmental Science. It was a fantastic opportunity to see what is going in different science fields. It is better for me to explore different things since I still have time to decide on what I can do in graduate school. Having an opportunity to talk to various faculty members at FAMU and FSU, and also students from other universities, including Howard University and Tuskegee University, was great.