Exploring Memory: My First-Year Research Experience

Posted on by Angel Toasakul

The picture shows Dr. Augustin Hennings and I in the MRI control room on the C Level of Princeton Neuroscience Institute. We were monitoring the screens in one of the pilot scans.
Dr. Augustin Hennings and I in the MRI control room, C Level, PNI

It felt a little odd to begin an email with, “I wrote about your lab in my application to Princeton!” but it was the truth. Since high school, I had been fascinated by memory and its profound effects on shaping our lives, which motivated me to pursue a degree in neuroscience. Professor Kenneth Norman’s work in the Princeton Computational Memory Lab captured my attention while I was exploring Princeton’s resources for my application essays. I wrote about how I wanted to be a part of the lab and study human memory, specifically focusing on how the brain and mind can overcome the emotional consequences of trauma-based memories. After arriving at Princeton, I had been eagerly awaiting the right time to reach out to Professor Norman about getting involved in his research.

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Thinking About Doing a Research Internship Next Summer? Start Your Search Here!

Posted on by Cecilia Kim

When most people think of summer, they think of warmer weather and longer days filled with newfound time to relax, travel, or to try something new. However, for many Princeton students, one summer topic that might be a source of both excitement and stress is summer internships. The summer can be the ideal time to pursue opportunities related to your interests in a more hands-on way, and summer internships provide (potentially paid) opportunities to do so. Many internships also provide avenues for Princetonians to do extensive and meaningful research, which, given the pace and workload of a typical Princeton semester, may be difficult to find time for during the academic year between classes and other extracurricular commitments.

The internship search process may be overwhelming, especially for freshmen and sophomores, who are still learning about the abundance of opportunities that Princeton has to offer. This post focuses on setting yourself up for a successful internship search by outlining popular programs, resources, and deadlines to ensure that you are able to find experiences that will enrich your (summer)time at Princeton. This list is not exhaustive and focuses on internships that include aspects of research, some combined with community service and professional development.

The summer internship search can be stressful – sit back, relax, and read this article for a place to begin!
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Finding Funding for Unpaid Internships

Posted on by Kamron Soldozy

We spend a lot of time finding and deciding what internships and jobs to pursue over the summer. There are quite a few posts on this blog alone that help with that process, including this one. After exploring my options, I think I know what I’ll be doing this summer: staying on campus to do research in a neuroscience lab (an experience I’ll talk more about in a future post).

However, knowing what I’ll be doing this summer isn’t all there is to finalizing my summer plans. For one, I don’t know how my experience will actually be funded. Second, I’m unsure where I’ll be staying for the duration of my research.

To better finalize my plans, I turned to SAFE, the Student Activities Funding Engine. SAFE is a website where students can apply for funding for internships and other activities. In addition to finding a relevant funding source for my summer plans, I came across many other interesting funding opportunities for students who have secured unpaid internships over the summer. I’ve gone ahead and summarized a few of them below.

The Student Activities Funding Engine Website (SAFE)
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Internship Step One: Reaching Out

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A few weeks ago, I participated in an event hosted by Princeton’s Peer Career Advisers called an “Insider’s Look at Internships.” I was there as an ambassador for OURSIP—the Office of Undergraduate Research’s Student Initiated Internships Program. OURSIP makes it possible for Princeton students to pursue unpaid research opportunities over the summer, such as my own, by providing funding to cover anticipated expenses.

Use professors and advisers as resources to help find summer opportunities

The unique thing about OURSIP is that it asks students to take it upon themselves to secure their own internship before asking Princeton for help with funding. As opposed to other Princeton programs, like PICS or IIP, which also assist students in the internship search process as part of the program. As students came up to speak to me about OURSIP at the event, I found that their first question was always, “So what is OURSIP?” and after hearing my description their second, more hesitant question was always, “But how did you find your internship?”

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