7/31

It's hard to believe that today was the last day of my internship! Jenn and I have been working hard all week trying to understand the process of a program with help from Kris. It was difficult when we both did not know how to begin, but we were able to make a lot of progress today. Right before leaving, I was able to enter most of the deliverables for a project from start to finish. Michael was back in town this week, so I was also able to help him by merging a list of leads and updating records. It was nice being able to contribute to the Tergus team, and I'm going to miss working with everyone.

10: Write a final reflection of the entire internship experience.

Working at Tergus was an invaluable experience. Not only was I able to learn about the industry, but I also learned so much about myself in the process! I realized that when I don't have enough tasks to complete, it's a good idea to ask for additional responsibility early on. I discovered that I liked collaborating with my coworkers as well as working independently. I found that being open-minded in the workplace allows me to think positively and try new things that I would not have predicted to be enjoyable.

One unrealistic expectation I had was that each day would be filled with a new, exciting activity. But what I realized through this experience was that some days are more interesting than others, and the important thing is that the interesting days make the job fulfilling. The best part about working at Tergus was the freedom to explore all the aspects of the industry which interest me; I wasn't confined to only one area. It's easier to communicate new ideas in start-ups when the company is still focusing on change, and that was another benefit to my internship. I had a very positive experience, and I'm glad that I reached out to Tergus for this opportunity. 

7/26

My next project at Tergus involves a higher level of project management. I met with Kris and Jenn on Wednesday to discuss the requirements of a successful system.

   

Kris's chart to organize each aspect of project management

Using a Microsoft Access program created by Kris, I am currently filling the database with information from the master calendar I created earlier, including employees, client codes, program descriptions, and projects/deliverables within each program. I'm glad that this can be of long-term value to the company. Some of the reasons why organization is so difficult is because many tasks are interdependent, the amount of time certain tasks will take cannot be predicted, and resources are limited. When I am not entering data, I am in the lab, updating the website, or discussing marketing strategies and promotional products. 

Lunch with my coworkers (after a breakfast of cake balls and Panera bagels)

9: What major problems or frustrations have you experienced or observed in your work? How did you handle it?

One major frustration that I experienced was not being able to accomplish the task of project management to my satisfaction because I don't know enough about the inner workings of Tergus. Each employee here is an expert in certain areas of the company, and the challenge of synthesizing information from each person that is relevant to coordinating is difficult for an inexperienced newcomer. However, as I continue to work with Jenn on this database to for the next few days, I will be able to develop a better understanding of the project management process.

7/22

Recently, I've been working on updating the website by modifying each page and adding new content. I'm compiling a list of questions to interview my coworkers, creating a flowchart, and rewording some of the pages among other tasks.

I am also researching organizations that Tergus can become more involved with to increase networking and expand the company's reach. Some organizations also have supplier discounts, events, and other benefits for its members. Tergus is taking some of my marketing strategies into consideration by allowing me to purchase promotional products, including mugs and gel sticky pads that adhere to car dashboards. Getting quotes from suppliers has been a fun experience!

While working on revamping the website, I am also helping in the lab by preparing mobile phase solutions, diluents, and samples. This really teaches me how to manage my time throughout the day so that I am able to work on all of these tasks.

                    Pipetting acetic acid using a volumetric pipette                      Calibrating the pH meter 

Weighing sodium acetate trihydrate 

8: What have you learned about yourself and what you want in a career?

I've realized that although I love working independently, I also like to collaborate with others. Generally, working as a team is more challenging and fulfilling. Through this internship, I've learned to speak up when I'm ready to take on more responsibilities, and I discovered that I'm capable of handling more than I initially thought I could. I realize that I want a career which allows me to handle multiple tasks in different areas of the workplace so that I am not always sitting at a desk. Splitting my time between my desk and the lab here at Tergus has given me a perfect balance. By witnessing and experiencing many roles within the company, I have found that I enjoy planning, multitasking, staying organized, and doing hands-on lab work. 

7/18

Yesterday I was able to finalize the master calendar with Jenn, Kailas, and Vijendra. The calendar will need to be maintained as new projects arise, but for now that task has been completed. I was also given the responsibility of preparing formulations for sample analysis with Sarala and Haritha's help. It was my first major lab assignment, and I enjoyed the work. 13 different sample preparations were needed, and I learned to multitask efficiently so that no time was wasted when pipetting, vortexing, heating, sonicating, and cooling the flasks before filtering the solutions.

(Just another selfie from the lab)

James, my mentor who helped me find this internship, stopped by Tergus for a visit on Tuesday. It was nice to finally meet him in person. Several months ago I tried securing an internship on my own by making cold calls and sending my resume to pharmaceutical consulting companies, and I wasn't having much luck. I called James and he told me that he couldn't offer me a position in his home-based company, but he had helped students find jobs in the past. He offered to help me too by providing contacts and websites that would direct me, and that's how I found this opportunity at Tergus.

For the past week, I have been helping Kailas with her chapter in a scientific publication by summarizing several IVRT-related articles. Some were difficult to comprehend, but I now have a slightly better understanding of these tests. Today Vijendra has given me the assignment of evaluating the Tergus Pharma website to identify changes that would make it more appealing to clients. We will also be discussing some of the marketing strategies I shared with Michael earlier.

                             The area of the lab where I perform            18 IVRTcells used to analyze release rate

                                             most of my experiments

7: How has this experience affected or changed your career/college plans?

Through this internship I am realizing that I enjoy lab work more that I initially thought I did. It's very different from the labs we did in class because at Tergus there is a practical purpose for each experiment. This exposure to the pharmaceutical industry has shown me one part of the field, and now I want to explore other careers in drug development so that I can compare my experiences and determine which aspects I love the most. I am still highly interested in biochemistry and business, and I have now realized that a solid foundation in science is equally as important as a foundation in business because a project manager who doesn't fully understand the industry she is working in cannot benefit the company as much. I still do not know exactly what career I want, but I am confident in my interests and I hope that they will lead me in the right direction.

7/15

The task of creating a master calendar has been keeping me occupied for the past few days. On Friday before Ryan left for hi vacation, Jenn and I had a meeting with management where we discussed the status and approximate start date of each project. We realized that the calendar I had initially been working on was not updated with the current list, so today I have been focusing on making these corrections.

After the meeting, I offered to buy dry ice from Harris Teeter so that cadaver skin could be stored. I was excited to be going on this errand, but right when I was about to checkout, the cashier notified me that I was underage. It frustrated me that I was only four months away from being able to purchase it, but I am glad that I was trusted with this task in the first place!

Today I also observed John and worked with Haritha to prepare a standard solution for Project Z. It was exciting to help out with this project because the results would be communicated with one of the top pharmaceutical companies in the world.

6: How have your duties changed since you first started? Have you been given more responsibility?

My duties at Tergus Pharma have been constantly changing, and I enjoy the flexibility to assist in aspects of the industry that I am interested in. At first, I mostly observed the scientists or listened to meetings to get a general understanding of how the company works. Now I am given more specific tasks, such as lab work and project planning. Instead of only listening at meetings, I am now able to contribute in some way. And the great part is that my role is still dynamic, so my responsibilities will increase as I continue to become more involved. 

7/10

I started off my day by helping Neha conduct her experiment. She was working on method development for a cream, and she needed to pick between two methods by determining which one was better. When I had finished with this, I did not have enough work to keep me occupied for the rest of the day. My coworkers were reluctant to give me simple tasks to do, like filing, so I decided to speak to my boss and ask him for more work.

Tergus does not currently have a master calendar that is updated with projects several months in advance. This has been a pending task that the company recognized, but now that Client Y has asked for a timeline, there is a greater urgency. Vijendra asked me to work with Jenn to create this calendar so that it takes into account the length of each activity, start/end dates, and resources (people, equipment, etc.). It's a little overwhelming, but I'm excited because I now have a specific job that I know will challenge me.

5: What do you feel is your main contribution to your internship site? What have you done at your internship that makes you proud? Why?

As an intern at Tergus I have been assisting with experiments and helping to manage a timeline while simultaneously learning as much as I can about the industry. I wish I could do more for the company, but my coworkers realize that this is more of a learning experience and it is difficult for me to make a meaningful contribution without fully understanding the industry. Filling out the first few pages of my lab notebook during training was one of my favorite parts of this internship. It made me feel like a real scientist, since this training was something that all the scientists at Tergus had gone through at some point. Eventually I hope to come up with a master calendar that will be of some value to my coworkers, helping them plan in advance.

7/9

My first priority after the Fourth of July weekend was to complete my lab training. Yesterday, I was assigned my very own lab notebook, and Rachel taught me how to calibrate the analytical balance and pipettors. Amey also taught me how to calibrate the pH meter. The actual training itself hardly took much time, but documenting the experiment in my lab notebook was a little more tedious. I kept forgetting to initial and date the top of every page before I started writing a procedure, and unfortunately that can't be added at a later time without documenting an error code along with it! I like the independence that I'm given in the lab, but I also like the fact that I can always ask for guidance when I need it.

This week I've also been helping Kris type up a Quality Survey by compiling several questionnaires and avoiding redundant questions. This survey will be used by Tergus to gather information about subcontractors that the company is interested in doing business with.

Today I completed my lab training by preparing an acetate buffer with Haritha. It took me a lot longer to do this than it would have taken my coworkers, but I'm sure I will get the hang of it with more practice. I also got the chance to enter the Formulation lab where Ryan had been working with cadaver skin, and to my surprise, it didn't make me feel nauseated.

Excited to have my own lab coat and goggles!

4: How is the internship meeting or not meeting your expectations/objectives and why? Do you have control of this? Explain.

My original expectation was to be a project manager, but after my first day I realized that I was not ready to do this since I didn't understand the process of completing a project at Tergus. So far, my experience with project managing has been limited to observing Jenn and Kris. Although their work interests me, I also like to be independent, so I have been focusing more on lab work. However, since my main career interest is project management, I am still observing my coworkers and listening to conferences so that I can get a good sense of what it entails. I can't control that I'm not yet experienced enough to actually manage a project, but what I can do is continue to learn as much as I can about this industry so that after college I will not only have the skill set to be successful in this field, but I will also be more familiar with it.

7/2

Yesterday I met Michael, the Business Developer, and Jenn, the recently-hired Project Manager. I am interested in both of their roles, so I am glad to be working with them. Since Jenn is also new to the company, it is nice that we can learn together. I listened to Michael and Jenn discuss a specific project timeline for Client X using Microsoft Project, and I watched as they put together a PowerPoint presentation to convey a status update today at a conference call. The call with Client X went well, even though a few minor concerns were brought to the company's attention.

After the meeting, Jenn and I moved to the huddle room where she began typing up the minutes. As she explained her thought process to me, I began to understand the perspective that a project manager needs to have when facilitating a meeting. A project manager is more concerned with deliverables, or action items, than with actual procedures. Although understanding a procedure is of great value in building a solid foundation, it is important to stay on top of a project and manage overall tasks to be successful in this career.

Personalizing my cubicle!

One important thing I have learned so far is to not be so afraid of inconveniencing someone that I do not benefit out of an experience. Earlier I tried to be too considerate of my coworkers' busy schedules that I would hesitate to remind them if they had agreed to meet with me or assign a task. But Vijendra explained to me that I need to be more aggressive in order to get the most out of this internship, and I am trying to find a balance between being considerate and pushing for additional responsibilities.

Sheryl Sandberg's book Lean In, which I started reading in May, has begun to have a new meaning for me since I can now see the practical application of her ideas in the workplace.

My last assignment of the day was interesting. Michael gave me the challenge of coming up with several marketing strategies and a list of top pharmaceutical companies whom I could potentially contact through LinkedIn and other communication methods. This was a little difficult at first because unlike most companies that advertise a product to consumers, Tergus is advertising a service to a unique target market: another business. 

3. How has your classroom experience prepared you for the internship? What do you wish you had learned prior to the internship?

The skills I learned in AP chemistry have significantly increased my understanding by making me slightly more familiar with concepts and lab procedures. The requirement of keeping a lab notebook to document everything is one idea that does not change from the classroom to the workplace. The concept of integration that I learned in AP calculus has also increased my understanding of data analyzed by the HPLC. Group projects, especially in AOIT classes, have helped me to develop organizational skills and collaboration abilities. The computer applications class I took during my freshman year taught me how to use Excel and Access, software that is important in this field. AOIT networking was also very helpful in making me comfortable with talking to adults, but I would have preferred more of that. I also wish I had been taught how to use Microsoft Project, since it is a useful tool no matter what industry you are in.