Nancy Price
Richard Stockton College of New Jersey
Pomona, New Jersey
Dear Members and Distinguished Leaders of the National Science Foundation,
As a participant of the 2003 Research Training Program at the National Museum of Natural History, I would like to extend my most sincere thanks for all that your funding has allowed me to do. To say that my experiences through this program were invaluable would be an understatement, for I am going home with a completely different perspective on my future career, and happiness, than I had arrived here with.
Embarrassingly enough, prior to this summer I had no idea of how to go about doing scientific research. In fact, I only had a vague idealistic view of what research was. This was my first venture into a true scientific research project. Since I am the type of person that learns skills only by doing, reading scientific papers between classes was getting me nowhere fast. By having the opportunity to work with Dr. Brian Huber on a paleontological problem involving foraminifera, I was able to have the vital first hand experience of what it is like to do scientific research from the beginning with writing grant proposals to collecting data to the end when the conclusions are made. Those experiences have grown to become a valuable corner stone in my scientific education. I can finally say that for the first time in my life I feel like a real scientist.
Of course, the learning didn't end there. This program with all of its workshops, tours, and activities, along with the sagely advice and blunt observations of some of the Mineral Sciences scientists, made me question many of my fundamental, personal ideas. Suddenly, their questions such as "why I was so diligently set on paleontology as a career goal" and "if I am really happy with the direction I am going" caused me to completely rethink my future plans and why I do the things I do. I understand now that I enjoy doing research, but that research in paleontology may not be the path for me. I'm thankful for having the opportunity to discover this now, as opposed to later, when it could have been too late. However, whatever field I do end up doing research in, I will at least make sure that I have followed my heart there and that I am happy.
Once again thank you for helping to make possible all the opportunities that were available to me and all the experiences that will serve to shape the very nature of my future and the type of scientist that I will become.
Sincerely,
Nancy Price
Research Training Program, 2003
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