The Gift of Mentorship

16 Jul The Gift of Mentorship

Another two weeks of my internship has flown by and the end is inching closer every week. I am so happy with the amount of knowledge I have gained, but one part of the internship tops the cake! Keep reading to discover what my favorite part of my internship experience has been so far!

Over these past eight weeks, I have enjoyed learning more about the park’s history and working on projects for public education. These projects could not have been completed without my mentor Charles Beightol. This internship has given me a supervisor that has helped guide me through this very interesting experience and coworking with an established biologist has definitely been my favorite part! We have been able to work on multiple projects that can assist me in my future career as a biologist and as a future graduate student. Some assignments we have worked on are peer reviewing scientific articles and preparing a personal statement. Comprehending articles has always been pretty difficult me, but the one on one training has made me more comfortable reading them. Our other project, writing a personal statement, was also a much-needed project for me. Having a mentor allows me to talk through my writing methods and generate new ideas for my statement.

Having a mentor has been my favorite part of the internship because I can see myself growing as a biologist and a researcher with the extra assistance. Stay tuned for my next blog as I will summarize my overall experience as a biology assistant at the Vicksburg National Military park!