Friday, July 10, 2009

Westchester Lab and MoMA

Hello!

As Sofia said, today we went on a field trip to Westchester County Department of Laboratories and Research and I made a new discovery. Actually, thinking back on it, I feel like I really had a closed mind about what I could do with a BA degree in science. I originally had the idea that by having any one specific major would limit my job opportunities to a job directly related to the degree. However, today I learned that to work at the Westchester Country Department of Lab and Research, all they require is at least a BA in a biology/chemistry background. This meant that I could have a BA in chemistry and still have an opportunity to work in a biology based job according to experience. I assume that I can associate this to most other science fields and I don't feel as stressed now about my major because I know that I won't have to be completely restricted in what I can do.

The Lab and Research facility was amazing, we were able to see so many aspects of what people did in the labs and again see what we can do with a biology/chemistry background. To name just a couple, we toured the microbiology lab, the radiology lab, the virology lab, etc. I'm very happy that our professor was able to set up a tour of the lab because I doubt I'd ever be able to see an actual government laboratory on my own. Everybody at the lab was very welcoming and glad to introduce us to what they did and why (like why the lab has to test water, etc.).

I really like the class we're taking because we are constantly shown what we could do in the future. Instead of just teaching out of a book, we're learning practical uses of chemistry and getting hands-on experience with success and failure.

In the evening, I was able to go to MoMA with an RA group and Jessica Tran. Apparently it's free every Friday from 4:00 PM - 8:00 PM sponsored by Target. I don't really understand what modern art is but the museum was really fascinating. However, after going to the museum, it seems modern art can be anything as long as we call it that... One really big project caught my eye though, the "Waste Not" exhibit. The artist and his mom worked together to consolidate and display all the things that the family has hoarded over a period of ~30 years in China following the Cultural Revolution. It was interesting to see the exhibit because it reminded me of the grandma and my mom who happen to have the same tendencies to hoard things like clothing and old newspapers.


Julie

2 comments:

Charles Tillman Ramsey said...

I am glad that you got a little taste of home, it never hurts. I am also happy that you are taking in as many sites as possible in New York. When you return, you and Dennis Shem will have a lot to discuss. He had a great time in New York last year and I know it was good that each of you had a reunion last week.

Julie, you have a lot of talent and I can see your personality really coming out in this trip. I hope that you have found it to be a useful and that you will take this experience and apply it to your college application process. Please let us know how you have changed because of your time on the East Coast and let us know what importance the time in New York, or for that matter, the visits to other campuses on the East Coast.

Hope all else is well.

Charles T. Ramsey, Esq.
School Board Member
West Contra Costa
Unified School District

Don Gosney said...

Julie,

I’m afraid that working at a lab like you visited might soon seem much like an assembly line type of job where you’re doing pretty much the same thing day in and day out. I could be wrong, though. Performing research, though, might be something I could embrace with new challenges every day and something to tax my mind along the way.

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