What is link?
LINK is an internship experience that all Animas High School juniors complete. LINK stands for Leading Internships in New Knowledge. This internships allows students to gain real world experience of crafting a resume, interviewing possible mentors, and applying to different work forces. After getting an it set up, student's attend their LINK for three weeks, completing 90 work hours.
What was my link?
For my LINK internship, I worked at the University of Nebraska Lincoln, in the Center for Brain, Behavior, and Biology, or CB3. At CB3, I worked with two different fMRI studies, conducted data analysis on both, then plotted them using coding languages R and MatLab. One study I looked at observed the brains of obese individuals during diet and exercise plans. I organized the data based off of the time period and accuracy of the fMRI read, then plotted similarities in subjects brain regions using R. The second study I worked on looked into the difference in performance on tasks before and after concussions. I plotted this data using cat and whisker plots in R. Below are two of the plots I made.
Skills and abilities that were useful during my link
Before I attended my link, I had a basic understanding of how to use the coding language python. This knowledge helped me adjust to using coding languages R and Matlab, because the interface and commands are similar to python. Skills I'd refined at Animas, such as organization and time management for my work also proved to be very useful during my LINK. I had to keep all of my scripts and plots organized on my computer so that my co-workers could navigate through my work. I also had to have my time extremely managed in order to complete everything on my schedule.
skill developed during my link
During link, I gained knowledge about how to code and create plots using R and Matlab. I also learned how to be more responsible in regards to work. I had to wake up early each day, prepare anything I had to bring to work, and get there on time. I also had to not get too swallowed up by my work and set some social time aside for myself.
How i worked through challenges during my link
While I was working on my plots in R, I frequently ran into problems with my code. Often, graduate students were not in the building to help me fix my errors, so I had to do it myself. I worked through my coding errors by trial, research, or reading the manual on the program.
Why should unl accept other high school students for internships?
When I entered CB3, I immediately brought new fresh ideas with me. I gave different ideas and perspectives to graduate students about how they could refine research projects. I was able to ask valuable questions that weren't thought of previously, and I think this is something that all high school students could bring to UNL. It's important to have outside perspectives and high schoolers do a great job at doing so. It's also great to have interns to organize data and write script so graduate students can spend their time on more urgent and fundamental work.
how has my internship has helped prepare me for college and future careers
My internship has given me an amazing college experience. I was able to sit in on two lectures, have a tour of UNL, have my own student ID card, and eat lunch at the union. My internship has also helped me know I want to pursue more research in college, specifically clinical research using human subjects. While I am still not 100% sure, I think I want to achieve a major in neuroscience and continue further to medical school for neurology.