Stephen Apostolidis '12 - Having just wrapped up my freshman year at Wabash I was truly beginning to realize what a unique campus Wabash actually is. As the majority of my friends were heading home for the summer to either relax for a few months or work at a job they have little interest in I was heading back to Wabash.

Dr. Schmitzer-Torbert had given me an opportunity college freshmen rarely receive, a summer internship. Of course my first question when offered the position was what would the internship entail. When he told me I would be a research assistant I expected to be observing, cleaning, and assisting with small tasks. From day one of the internship however, I began to realize that was not the case.

The research we would be carrying out was examining the role of the infralimbic cortex in cocaine facilitated habit learning. For the experiment we used a total of eight rats who all received brain surgery, training, post-training injections, and final examinations. Surgeries began on day one and I assumed that because this was a vital part of the experiment I would be observing throughout the whole process. After demonstrating on our first subject Dr. Schmitzer-Torbert turned to me and asked if I wanted to give it a shot.  A little nervous, but excited to perform my first brain surgery I eagerly jumped at the chance.

Dr. Schmitzer-Torbert anesthetized the rat and placed him on the stereotax and then began to guide me through the procedure. It was at that moment I began to realize that I would not be the one assisting with the research, he was. Its experiences and opportunities like this that set Wabash apart from the rest. In high school I never imagined I would be partaking in research, let alone brain surgery the summer before my sophomore year.

When I was going through the long process of choosing a college to attend Wabash was towards the bottom of my list. However, the more I learned about the college the more I became interested. Eventually Wabash became my number-one pick and I knew that’s where I belonged. A big part of that was because Wabash is known for its student faculty relations and grad school acceptance. This summer internship opportunity is a prime example of the reason I chose Wabash. Having just started my college experience I have already been given the chance to work alongside a professor and now have one of the most sought out criteria for grad schools, experience.