Tony Caldwell (2007):

Greetings from Ithaca. Making the transition from the Midwest to the East Coast has been a welcome change. I've found plenty of great restaurants, bars (I recommend the IthacaDuple Ale), and trails to explore. Trayton and I have ventured around the city, as well as to two state parks that are within 15 minutes drive, both providing hours of entertainment and breathtaking views. I've also been able to travel to Ottawa, Ontario, and Washington, D.C., and also made a surprise visit home over Memorial Day to visit family and friends that I hadn't seen in months. Thus far my experiences as an intern at the Boyce Thompson Institute for Plant Research have also been great. My work focuses on protein-protein interactions in plant pathogens, using the Yeast Two-Hybrid model system for my work. Though I'm studying plants, all of my work goes on in the test tube, and I've learned a great deal about microbiology, biochemistry, genetics, and molecular biology. Dr. Taylor has been great about making sure each step of the way we know not only what we're doing but what it ultimately leads to, allowing us to learn from our successes and failures. I'll be here for another 3 weeks and then I head to work with Wabash alum John Clymer '80 as an intern at Partnership for Prevention, a healthcare lobbying firm in downtown DC. Major gifts officer Alison Kothe located living arrangements for me with Wabash alum Thomas Ochsenschlager '66 and his family in Great Falls, VA. That said, it has been one of the best summers of my life and am looking forward to two more months of work and taking the MCAT exams in August before heading back to Wabash

Trayton White (2008):

After my experience working in a Wabash College lab as a research intern last summer, I jumped at the opportunity to come out to Cornell University and work for Dr. Ann Taylor (a Wabash chemistry professor on sabbatical). The project I am working on is based upon new developments in the areas of biochemistry dealing with gene silencing of tomato plants. Given the recent discovery of gene silencing, just about everyday in the lab requires me to learn something not found in textbooks. Some days can be frustrating due to mistakes unkowingly made, but that usually means I will learn a lot more by the end. This endless pursuit of knowledge is why I enjoy science. Thankfully my Wabash education is helping me develop necessary skills and learn to critically analyze new information. The lab is only a portion of the internship experience, though. Ithaca, New York is the home of Cornell University and is located at the center of about five state parks. In addition to hiking along many of the waterfalls, the environment is well preserved offering many breath-taking views and scenic runs. Along with the running, which is a bit more difficult here due to a massive amount of hills everywhere, the Cornell pools are open for summer swimming which has allowed Tony and I to begin training for next season.