As my project came to a close I began to reflect on the experiences that I have gained during my time as an undergraduate researcher. This process has been long and strenuous, and hasn't come easily. I believe that I achieved my goal regardless of my research results, because I learned the true process of the scientific method. I hypothesized, had everything planned out to execute my experiment, performed the techniques perfectly, and things still went wrong! So it was back to the drawing board to start the process over and over again. It was frustrating at times, especially when I spent hours and hours isolating DNA and running PCR..only to find that there wasn't any there. However, this is the true essence of scientific study. No great researcher or discoverer ever stumbled upon the right answer. It takes many trials and errors to achieve the results you seek. This experience has developed my problem solving skills, communication skills, logistical reasoning skills, as well as my laboratory skills. So while I may not have gotten the best results directly associated with my microbiology research, I still achieved my goal. My goal was to learn and grow and become a better scientist and develop skills that would benefit my career. I'm grateful for my experiences and time spent studying microbiology and I hope that this experience will aid my search for a career.

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For those curious about the specific techniques and results I obtained I invite you to take a look at my lab notebook that I maintained throughout the course of my Eriogonum corymbosum project. It is here that you get to see my journal entries that documented journey. I have since received the lab results and am working to identify species from the sequences. However, since working on the E. corymbosum I have been awarded the Gibson Fellowship Award. This fellowship has led me to working on the Arctostaphylos patula project, which is very similar to the E. corymbosum project. I am currently in the process of isolating DNA from the fungi extracted from the leaves of this plant. I plan to present both projects at the Festival of Excellence held at Southern Utah University on April 3rd, 2018.