I am not a man of grace. I applied to the Freshman Research Initiative the day of the deadline on a whim after officially deciding to attend UT. I walked in on the last available orientation session and completely guessed what classes to take for the first semester. I make a lot of really hasty, last-minute decisions and generally stink at short-term planning, and I regret almost everything I’ve done regarding college applications and my first semester at UT. Choosing the DIY Diagnostics stream is not one of those regrets.
This lab in particular is incredible because it offers you skills that never lose relevance, and it exposes you to scientific disciplines you might not have explored. While we definitely focus on the microbiological aspect of lab work, we also learned coding and 3D printing. As someone with parents who couldn’t figure out how to work a TV remote, dealing with coding has been a growing experience for me. In the second semester, things only get better. You get a frightening amount of freedom with your individual project, and you can immerse yourself in whatever your heart desires!
More than practical skills, the lab offers a home. Although it sounds super cheesy, it’s true. I come from rural East Texas and often struggle to make friends, but DIY has given me the opportunity to form a group of friends that I wouldn’t otherwise have. Dr. Riedel very often conveys how much he cares about our success as well as our safety, and he is one of the extremely few professors/teachers I’ve had that sees us as actual people as opposed to students.
Ultimately, I found that lab is what you make it. It can easily be a room full of boring people pipetting weird things into other weird things and recording any seemingly insignificant changes. For me, it’s a place to laugh when using the bead beater (a very loud lab instrument) in the middle of a serious conversation in the lab. For me, it’s a place to challenge yourself in all the areas and ways you’d like to. For me, it’s a place that rewards you for hard work regardless of whether you hit it big or hit a wall. I hope you’ll take a chance on the DIY Diagnostics lab and make it whatever place you need it to be, as well!