Greetings from the rooftop study lounge in Rodin [dormitory],
My name is Matt Pimentel and I will be participating in the Summer Undergraduate Internship Program at the University of Pennsylvania (through the Leadership Alliance) this summer.
I left my humble dwelling in the hills of Westwood on Sunday, May 23rd to catch a flight to Philly.
5 hours later, after a flight of conversation with an 84 year old woman, an hour waiting for baggage at baggage claim, and a $10 taxi ride where I sat quietly panicking after realizing I had lost my cash, I arrived to UPenn. I should inform you that my summer program has about 34 students, however, I have arrived 2 weeks early in order to accomodate my need to attend summer school at UCLA while fulfilling the 10 week committment to research at Penn. On top of that, the quarter doesn't officially end for another 3 weeks, so I will be juggling working a full time job and school for a while. Wish me luck!
After a few hours of sleep, I groggily headed over to my lab to begin work. Even though it's only been two days, I can say with confidence, that this is going to be a good summer (especially after Finals are over)! I am working with Dr. Gary Koretzky in the Department of Medicine, and my graduate mentor is a Penn M.D./PhD student named Tao. Tao is a 5th year student, and Dr. Gary Koretzky is a well known PI in immunology, he is particularly interested in T cell signaling pathways, and is the director for the Penn MD/PhD program. As a result, there are about 5 MD/PhD students, 1 postdoc, 2 graduate students, a tech, lab manager, and 3 undergraduate students in my lab.
My first day at work was a long one. I arrived at 10AM and left around 8PM. However, I really enjoyed it. Tao introduced me to so many people around the School of Medicine, showed me what he's working on, and already gave me a paper that I need to read by Wednesday. The lab is really lively, and the Dr. Koretzky is really involved in the lab, on top of all of his administrative duties.
Today (2nd day of work), was a beautiful day, sunny just like most days at UCLA (in contrast to the day I arrived when I was greeted with a warm gust of moist air). Other then enjoying the beautiful weather, I spent 3 hours in a lab safety class, did some reading, and had lunch with the program coordinator. The program coordinator is extremely helpful and has been working tirelessly to make sure I have everything I need.
For most of my time this week I will be taking all of the lab training courses that will be necessary for me to start my project, and hopefully I'll be able to make some time for studying after work.
Penn is a beautfiul school, and I'm really looking to exploring the city and the resources at Penn...after Finals (15 days to go!)
Also, to those that have read this far (kudos to you!), I forgot to bring a camera so my 3.2 megapixel camera on my LG EnV Touch will have to suffice. Additionally, lets hope that the humidity stays far from Philadelphia this summer!
See all of you beautiful people in 10 weeks,
Matt
