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My name's Michael Rivera.
I'm from the University of Arizona, where I'll be a Junior this year, studying Ecology and Evolutionary Biology.
I applied to the REU program because I wanted to get a more diverse experience in animal behavior
and I heard this was the place to do it!
I've known that Indiana was a really good school for animal behavior
and after looking at the website and seeing the wide variety of research going on here
I thought that this would be a good program for me.
I'm working with Paul Meyer, who's a grad student in Dr. Alberts' lab.
The Alberts Lab in general is very interested in the development of mice pups.
I'm working on a project that's looking at how offspring can regulate maternal behaviors
so how does a child influence its mother to care for it.
On a typical day I will take a couple of mouse pup litters, so a mother and her pups
and put them in the recording cage.
So I'll set them in there for a couple of hours
And then I'll go and work on analyzing some videos from previous days.
And then if I have extra time I'll start looking through data
start managing these huge data files that we collect.
Also, I'm helping with the internal breeding
So I'll help pair and separate females and males, and record births.
I think the best way that Paul has really helped me adjust to this brand new research environment
is to let me figure it out for myself.
So it was a lot of letting me work alone
and then if I need help, he's definitely there for me
But he's not hovering, he's letting me discover things and work things out for myself.
So he's really giving me the freedom to explore this research topic and the research setup.
I think the best part of the non-research side of the REU program would be interacting with the other REUs.
From the first week we formed a really close-knit group.
We're always hanging out and talking, going on little outings together
and I thought that was one of the best parts about this program.
Meeting them, learning about their backgrounds and their research.
We're all doing really diverse projects, so it's been really nice to hear that.
And then, just hanging out. Like, one day we went out and played laser tag for an REU intern's birthday.
Stuff like that. It just really makes the program nice.
My name is Karen Ocasio, and I'm from the Universidad del Turabo in Puerto Rico and I'm majoring in biology.
I applied for this REU program because I really wanted to have a research experience outside of the island.
This REU program specifically focuses on animal behavior, which I was super excited about.
A lot of REU programs focus more on microbiology or on neuroscience
and so I really loved that this was an animal behavior one.
Just reading about it, reading that we were going to go the zoo, that we were going to be interacting with animals on a daily basis
That got me really excited, and I got really interested and I was like, "I have to apply here!"
We are working specifically on collective behavior.
So we're specifically working on individual and group or collective geometry
and the density-dependent effects of this geometry.
So we expose our subjects, which are zebrafish in this case
to different flow rates and different size tanks with different group numbers.
Through these three varying conditions we're able to study how does density affect their shoal orientation, or their group size
or their orientation towards the flow, or their latency to show rheotaxis.
So it is really a lot of work, but it's really fun.
You get to know a lot, you get to learn about programs that you didn't know before
you get to work with the fish and see how the fish react to these flow rates
and it's really interesting.
I think our REU program is really close.
Everybody's really open and we love to do things together.
This is new for all of us.
So we're always there for each other and helping each other out, giving each other advice
talking about the experiences that we're going through in our labs.
So Delia's great. She's actually very close to my age, which is really cool.
She's accomplished so much and she's very focused, very determined.
She's really a pusher. She challenges.
In the beginning it was hard, but now I'm realizing it's really bringing the best out of me.
It's really showing me what grad school's about.
How to challenge yourself and push yourself further so that you can reach that full potential that you're capable of.
I think one of the wonderful things about this program is it really gets you motivated for your future.
It really puts things into perspective, "Okay, so where do I want to go from here?"
So the next step for me would be taking the GRE, 'cause I'm a senior.
So I need to start applying to grad school. I really want to go to grad school, I really want to get my PhD.
So the next step for me would be doing that--taking the GRE, applying to grad school.
I want to focus more on science education, take that route.
So I've met with a few people here that have really given me a lot of great advice.
They've really pointed me in the right direction as far as applying for fellowships, applying for grants
what kind of economic help is there for people like us, for students.
So that's really the next step for me, getting oriented about all of that
and taking those next steps to better my future.
I'm co-advised by Jeffrey Alberts in Psychology and also by Emilia Martins in Biology.
In Emilia's lab, among all the other animals there are zebrafish
and that was actually one of the animals I worked with at my first internship, which was here
at the Center for the Integrative Study of Animal Behavior.
That was really a nice experience because I had never written a proposal before
and it got me immersed in the literature, seeing my first scientific talk
The REU program actually really influenced me in choosing my major for school.
Before coming here, I thought the only thing that I could do working with animals was go to vet school.
I learned more about ethology, and like, "Whoa, I really like this."
And I learned about the process of science here.
I got to see it from a beginning point all the way to completion.
Here I got my first publication. So I got a lot of firsts at IU.
I worked really hard with Theresa, who was my mentor here
and I scored a lot of videos.
So yeah, that was something really exciting and that's really followed me.
The next year I ended up getting an internship at Rice University.
Because of the CISAB REU, I had learned how to write a proposal.
And what did they ask me to do, when I went into Rice, was to write a proposal and do a literature review
And I was like, "Oh great! I know how to do this now!"
Being an REU student also showed me the benefits of wonderful mentors.
And I really have had astounding mentors.
I don't think I would be here today without the mentors that I've had.
And it's showed me what I should be in a mentor, or aspire to be.
Someone who gives me guidance
who's very devoted and wanting to help me without pushing their interests on me.
I valued that Theresa didn't say, "Okay, you're just a worker."
So they really took the time to train me
and watch me grow and see me develop.
And that's what I like to do for my students.
I like to give them, I guess, an experience.
I really enjoy the REU program.
I think it's great because someone gave me that opportunity when I was a really young age
and it still has really influenced me and it's something that I really remember.
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