Week One . . . Moving In

One week down, seven more to go for me in Cambridge. Last Saturday, I moved the majority of my belongings from my home in Windham, NH, to an undergraduate dorm on Harvard University’s extensive campus. And this is where they will stay until August 17th. Moving in was uneventful, a day of chaos, boxes and suitcases, and a million brand new faces of the thousand or so high school students living on campus with me for the next two months.

The Harvard campus is beautiful. From Harvard Square to the Charles River Boathouse, Widener and Lamont Libraries, and Annenberg Dining Hall (which bears an uncanny resemblance to the Great Hall from Harry Potter), there is always something new and exciting to see every time I venture in and out of historic Harvard Yard.

As a day student, living in a dorm is a new experience. My room, a single bigger than most of the doubles at Brooks, is located in Hurlbut Hall, a Union dormitory just outside of the Yard. There are forty high school seniors living in this dorm (including two others with Brooks internships) and four proctors, making it one of the smallest dorms. Everyone I’ve met on campus has been great, giving me directions when I can’t find the mailroom, walking with me back to my dorm after an evening class, and even letting me in the dorm if I’ve forgotten my Harvard ID up in my room. The mix of students here is impressive; there are students from around the world: Korea, China, Switzerland, Spain, India, England, and more. The dining hall is a jumble of languages and accents, all blending together.

While living here, I’m also taking a science course, called Biological Perspectives on HIV and AIDS. As a course for both undergraduate and graduate students, I’m probably the youngest student in the 20-person class. I had thought that the course would be far over my head, considering I only have a year of biology under my belt, but the material is not only understandable, it’s also unbelievably interesting. I never knew that AP Biology would be so helpful.

I’ve spent most of my time this week getting accustomed to Harvard and its many amenities, but I also started work at Langer Lab at MIT late this week. I’m working with a research team that has a variety of projects that, if successful, would help with surgical operations. For reasons of confidentiality, I can’t say too much here, but it’s pretty amazing. Much of what I hear in the lab is a little over my head, but once everything is explained to me slowly and simply, I understand a lot more.

I’m working under a post doctorate, Sarah, and on Friday afternoon, once all my training was (finally!) completed, I was able to actually go into one of the labs with her, and help to pipette stopping solution into growing cell cultures. It was a small task, but it was pretty exciting just to be in the lab with all these great minds and great experiments surrounding me. Next week, however, I’m going to learn how to grow my own cell cultures and help with some preparation for an experiment we’re starting in mid-July.

Below are some pictures I took this week. There is a picture of my dorm room, two of my dorm (Hurlbut Hall), and one of the Harvard Square train station entrance, which I've gotten to know very well.

That’s all for now, Happy 4th of July!