Brandon Lowry

Over the last ten weeks, I learned about many aspects of education. I was privileged to observe the inner workings and logistics necessary to maintain a robust and dynamic human gross anatomy course. The team of professionals, Dr. Carolyn Meyer and Kenny Ivie, modeled a consistent and personable demeanor with their students that shaped and influenced my teaching style. I know I will be a more capable and dynamic professor because of my time observing the two. Through collaborative dialogue with Brian Kelly, I gained incredible insight into the delicate and intentional processes of crafting student learning objectives. He engaged my interests and aspirations to develop this internship into something meaningful for me with patience and mastery. He taught me valuable 3-D modeling skills using the program Blender. But perhaps most importantly, our time together produced a great deal of professional development within myself, concerning how I approach my learning, extracurricular activities, and the balance between the two. Dr. Tod Clapp and Katie Brown purposefully developed my critical thinking skills within the realm of academic research. The opportunities to observe and participate in various aspects of their research and data analysis further affirmed my choice to pursue teaching instead of medicine. I come away from this internship feeling inspired and motivated to identify the best methods to teach the next generation of doctors, physical therapists, nurses, and researchers.

Initially, I approached Dr. Clapp with the idea of working with him, and he asked me what I intended to do with my time in his lab. I took that as an opportunity to create an internship that I would enjoy doing. Working with various team members, I developed an internship proposal that reflected my personal career goals and supported the operations and current direction of the Clapp Lab. Once Dr. Clapp agreed to bring me on as an intern, I began to pursue various funding opportunities available; that is when I found the Career Center’s Unpaid/Underpaid Internship Grant. We applied, and the Career Center granted the funds necessary for me to participate. Ultimately, I feel I landed the internship through persistence and consistency.

Do not be afraid to put yourself out there, ask questions, and ask for help. The vast majority of professors here at CSU are 100% committed to improving our experiences as a student. They want us to succeed and to have experiences that affirm our choices to do and not do something. If there is no internship advertised, and you feel that you can contribute to the lab, show them the value you will bring before telling them about it.