Well, here we are at the end of the semester again. As I write this, my comrades-in-arms of the S-STEM program are at the Estrella Mountain Community College campus getting prepared for their poster presentations at the student conference. Unfortunately, my research was not accepted for presentation at this conference. In all actuality, I am happy about this. Due to failures in being able to produce good results with my genetic extractions, I would have only been able to present evidence based on the observable characteristics of the Palo Verde rooting systems. Even though this is very good information, it would have felt like I was only presenting half of my work. That does not sound like a big deal, but to those that know me, it kind of is. I feel that there is a lot of potential in this project and I want to see it to its end and be able to present the totality of the work. I hope that I am lucky enough to still be involved in this program next semester to be able to conclude (successfully, I hope) this research.
Having said all of that I wish the best for my fellow stemmers presentations today and look forward to seeing everybody's work displayed/presented tomorrow in the lab. Speaking of which, I need to put the final touches on my PowerPoint presentation for tomorrow, so I will leave you with this:
Credit unknown, my wife sent me this in jest.
I thought it poignant. It seems after all the design and preparation involved in a presentation, nobody ever really considers how to end it. This can lead to a very awkward and uncomfortable moment... :)
Good luck everybody
Hope to see you all next semester!
