This is a blog detailing my experience whilst partaking in a work experience placement here at LSTM.
I am currently a Year 10 student at Ormskirk School studying for my GCSEs and I have keen interests in many subjects, particularly languages, performing arts and sciences. Because of this, I decided to reach out to LSTM for my work experience to try to get an idea of what a career in STEM would look like.
Before arriving, I researched the facility and the work that happens there so that I had a firmer grasp on the history of the school and how it is being carried into the future. On my first day, I was given a tour of the school and shown various departments before eventually setting up at my desk. I had already been made aware of what I would be doing during my time at LSTM, and I was excited to get started!
The task that I would be helping with was an informational card game project about some of the world's most dangerous snakes for the New Scientist Live Event taking place in October of this year. To begin with, I decided on the snakes that I would be using in the game and was sure to use a range from around different parts of the world. I then began my research. Using files from LSTM and the World Health Organisation, I was able to find out about the venom composition from different snakes and how they adversely affect prey and victims of snakebite envenoming. I began compiling my research in a spreadsheet in order to make it more accessible in the future.
After my lunch break, I was able to meet with other team members working on the project and share my research with them, both to ensure that I was on track and receive constructive feedback. I was also able to speak with a colleague about her career path and the journey that she took to get the job that she is currently in. If there is one thing that I have learned this week, it is that there is no one linear way to achieve a career.
Through speaking with so many different people on their routes through education I have been made aware that there isn't just one way to become successful and happy in one's job. After this checkup, I went back to work on the project some more until I was satisfied with the extent of my work for the day.
The next day, I was lucky enough to speak with a member of the school who had worked extensively in maternal and newborn care, an area which deeply interests me, and I would consider a career in. I learned about her background in nursing and midwifery alongside the training she had to go through to get to her current position. During this talk, I was given lots of useful advice and tips for making decisions regarding my career in the future.
That afternoon, I was able to continue with the New Scientist project for some time before making a visit to the herpetarium. This was a definite highlight of the week as not only did I find it incredibly entertaining, but also extremely interesting! I was first given a tour of the various snake rooms and became acquainted with many different species, some of which I had been previously researching. After being shown round the snake rooms, I was then fortunate enough to watch a venom extraction taking place, an experience I definitely won't be forgetting anytime soon!
My final day on the placement began with beginning to design the physical cards for the New Scientist event. I enjoyed the way in which this allowed me to let out my creative side more whilst also staying in science. After around an hour, I got the incredible opportunity to look around Liverpool Insect Testing Establishment (LITE) and learn all about the work that takes place there.
One particular part of this tour that interested me was the way that non-usable donated blood from the NHS is heated and used to feed the mosquitos being kept on site! Once I had returned to LSTM from the LITE tour, I was able to put the finishing touches on my New Scientist project and consolidate my research. The final part of my placement was spent in talks with a Doctor of Medicinal Chemistry, a career I had not yet considered. She told me about her background and route into her current position and she also educated me on the role of pharmacology in modern society. This really opened my eyes as to the importance of these jobs as I had never really considered them before, inspiring me to research more about the profession.
Overall, my week spent at LSTM was highly educational and I feel strongly as though I have gained a lot of useful skills, guidance and information from it and I feel incredibly lucky to have been given such an amazing experience.