我在火博体育的第一个夏天的化学反应
As I extracted the next sample for my experiment on nitrite photodecomposition, I thought back to where I was just one short year ago — still in high school, unable 想象我今天在哪里.
To catch you up, here’s the short version of what’s happened over the past 12 months.
I moved to 萨拉托加温泉市 from a small town in southern 新汉普郡 and enrolled at Skidmore, a proud member of the Class of 2022. 几天后，我加入了 爱. 的 people were friendly and passionate, the classes were engaging, the campus was beautiful — it seemed too good to be true. (这不是.)
One of those classes, Principles of Chemistry with Juan Navea教授， 是我的最爱. 纳维娅注意到我也很擅长. 仅仅一个学期之后， he offered me a position in his 研究 lab.
At the time, I was surprised by the opportunity. 但我了解到这个提议并不罕见 — by the second semester of your first year, any student can participate in 研究.
我的实验室之旅让我不知所措. But Navea and his team of about a dozen other students 欢迎和支持我. So, I spent the semester learning the ropes and jumping into atmospheric physical chemistry 研究.
A few months later, Professor Navea offered me another opportunity: stay for the summer and work full time on multiple 项目s in the lab, including delving further into 那个我已经交往过的人. 我立刻就感兴趣了.
I spent the summer studying how light decomposes nitrites and how four important atmospheric gases are produced from organic materials in the presence of light.
My days mostly entailed detail-oriented tasks like preparing experiments, adjusting parts of our vacuum system and crunching data. 但结果将是一个不断增长的 body of knowledge in the science world about how sunlight and greenhouse gases interact and what those interactions mean for our climate.
For example, nitrous acid, or HONO, is a greenhouse gas that contributes to climate 改变. When it breaks down, hydroxyl radicals are released. 这些自由基是一个 of the key species in photochemical cycles responsible for ozone formation and can lead to "photochemical smog" in polluted regions. 它们还引发了许多其他大气 processes and reactions, so knowing where they come from can tell us a lot about where 我们的气候正在.
All that to say that as a rising sophomore, I had landed in the middle of an amazing 项目.
Nitrogen compounds aside, the experience also introduced me to Skidmore’s tight-knit 研究社区. In just a few short months, I’ve grown close to the other students in my lab and gained more confidence in my own abilities.
Just one year into college, I feel comfortable discussing complex academic literature, making hypotheses and carrying out challenging procedures on multiple 项目s in the lab, both on my own and with other students.
And when I traveled to San Diego to work at the Scripps Oceanographic Institute (another Skidmore opportunity), I didn’t hesitate to participate, as these experiences prepared me to engage at a level far above most undergraduate 研究ers.
While I certainly had high hopes for my future a year ago, I never dreamed this was 所有可能的. And it’s all thanks to Skidmore’s commitment to faculty-student collaborative 研究.
Luckily, since photodecomposition may not be for everyone, transformative learning experiences like this span all Skidmore departments.
的 心理学系 uses an eye tracker to study the behavior of online shopping. 的 生物系 looks at single-celled plants as an organism to model more complicated life forms. 的 管理及营业部 recently looked at the evolution of shopping malls in America. 这只是a 暑期研究的一小部分.
So, whether it was destiny, luck or intuition that led me to 火博体育化学系， 我非常感激. And I can’t wait to see what the next year brings.
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