A Student’s Dynamic Reflection on Intensive Undergraduate Research Experiences

Reflection is a valuable practice that causes the participating individual to analyze the rational and emotional aspects of an unexpected situation. This practice can be incredibly beneficial in a professional setting as well as an academic setting. To demonstrate this, I will reflect on an intensive, eight-weeksummer internship that led to personal growth. The most unexpected result of this internship was the magnitude of knowledge gained over two months. In this manuscript, I propose three distinct theories for this outcome. The first theory postulates that the instruction and encouragement of my research mentor was the primary driver of the internship results. The second theory states that the condensed structure of the program created the optimal conditions for accelerated learning. The third theory cites personal drive and work ethic as the main rationale behind the results. Ultimately, I decided that the main contributing factor to the success of the internship was the mentorship that I received. From a larger perspective, this reflection illustrates the importance of the mentor-student relationship within the academic setting.