A Graduate Internship that Confirmed a Career Path

This past summer, Anthropology graduate student Laura Pott took on a ten-week joint internship with the Minnesota Supercomputing Institute (MSI) and Liberal Arts Technology and Innovation Services (LATIS) through the University of Minnesota. Her experience, made possible through the variety of internship programs within the College of Liberal Arts (CLA), has prepared her for a career in research.

What were your job responsibilities? 

At MSI, I evaluated how easy it was to install and use two Python-based single-cell analysis tools to analyze immune receptor sequences. I used these tools to analyze a T-cell receptor dataset that had previously been analyzed in R and to identify the pros and cons of each tool. At LATIS, I worked on expanding a Canvas course teaching researchers in the College of Liberal Arts how to use Linux. I developed a new module covering how to use MSI’s computational resources.

I have been using MSI and LATIS’s computer clusters to analyze genomic data as part of my PhD research, but I was mostly teaching myself as I went. Working at MSI was a good way to build on the computational skills I already had while learning a lot about single-cell genomics as well as how a university supercomputing institute works. I didn’t have a ton of prior experience with Python outside of classes, so the main challenge at MSI was the learning curve of learning a lot of new things at the same time.

At LATIS, the main challenge was understanding how to translate technical computational concepts into clear, step-by-step information that was more easily understandable. That process of writing that documentation and figuring out the clearest way to explain it turned out to be really helpful for me too, since it deepened my own understanding.

How did you find your internship? What tips do you have for others seeking similar opportunities?

I knew I wanted to stay in Minneapolis for the summer and was looking for opportunities that would complement my PhD research. Since the CLA program offered funding to design your own internship, I did a mixture of cold-emailing and reaching out to a former graduate student from my department. 

When I was searching for internships, I wished I had done more informational interviews. I was initially intimidated by the idea of reaching out to people out of the blue, but the conversations I did have were more helpful than I expected. It was helpful to start with people I had some sort of connection to through my advisor or undergraduate connections, as well as people who had both academic and industry experiences. 

What are your top takeaways from your internship experience? 

I really enjoyed this experience this summer! One of my top takeaways is that I definitely want to pursue a career in bioinformatics or research support roles. This internship confirmed that I'm drawn to the problem-solving aspects of research, and I enjoy getting the opportunity to learn new things every day.

Another really valuable experience was getting to work in two new environments—both different from my usual schedule in grad school. I appreciated seeing how research support roles function, which helped me realize what kind of work environment I’d like to have in the future. It also prompted me to think more about what kinds of skills I should focus on developing by the time I graduate, and gave me ideas about how to structure my time in a more purposeful way for the rest of my PhD.

This story was edited by Rory Schaefer, an undergraduate student in CLA.