The Kate Adventures

     Hi guys! I feel as though I have not updated you guys for awhile but I also feel like I don't have that much to say so this may be a short post.      This week has gone by so fast! Next Wednesday will mark one month that I have been in Maryland and I cannot believe it! I have been working hard this week - I have been making graphs and charts and have continued to format the 26 years of data that I have. Each year takes about 2 hours to finish so this process is long and tiring.      There was a large church camp here for the end of last week and the majority of this week. That means that there were 700 extra people on campus and it was kind of crazy. The other interns and I got used to eating just the 14 of us and just not really seeing anyone around but for this week it was a different story. The cafeteria was always busy but we did get more food options which was nice. The campers went home Thursday so we are back to the campus being...

     Hi guys! I had a really good weekend full of fun adventures and am so excited to tell you about them! Okay, the interns here have kind of started this thing that we like to call "Fire Fridays." Every Friday we go out to a fire pit here on campus and have a bonfire complete with smores! It is always a lot of fun. We eat, chat, sing, and dance! We weren't out too late last Friday because we had a field trip on Saturday but it was still an adventurous night! Assateague Island. Beautiful! A stamp for my family's National Park Passport.      Saturday was nice because we got to sleep in and then left for our field trip at noon. We went to Assateague Island and went seining. I really enjoyed this trip and learned a lot! If you know my father, you know that we as a family love to go to as many National Parks as we can and over the years I have developed an affinity for the parks and visitor's centers. The visitor's center at Assateague was really c...

     Hello! I do not have a lot to update on the work side of the internship right now, but I was able to finish my proposal and turn it in to the program director and now I am working on a new set of data analysis that focuses on the sex and maturity of blue crabs in the Maryland Coastal Bays. This work is tedious and time consuming and not super exciting but by the end of the summer I will have a completed project that will hopefully show some cool new findings!      On the play side of things, we have had some adventures this week! There have not been many people on campus since we arrived, but this week that changed. There is a basketball camp that is going on so the UMES men's basketball team is here and there have been orientations all week that have brought a bunch of people to campus. It has been kind of fun to see new faces around and those basketball players are nice eye-candy ;) (one of them is 6'9 and I only come up to his waist! He is huge!). ...

     I have loved Gilmore Girls  for a few years now and one of my favorite things about the show is all of the witty and funny quotes by all of the Gilmore ladies. Here are a few of my favorite quotes and why I love them! Enjoy! 1. "If you're gonna throw your life away, he'd better have a motorcycle!"      When I was little I used to tell everyone that I wanted to be "the girl on the back of the motorcycle." Over the years I have changed my life goals and this is no longer my ultimate goal. I still want to ride a motorcycle but only once and I want to primarily be a scientist! 2. "It's all any of us wants, to find a nice person to hang out with 'til we drop dead. Not a lot to ask!"      Sometimes I have high expectations but I feel like this is NOT too much to ask for! ;) 3. "I can be flexible. As long as everything is exactly the way I want it, I'm totally flexible."      What can I say? I like plans and when th...

     This week has been incredibly busy. It has been full of research and writing and data analysis. I am really enjoying all the work that I am doing and hope that I will continue to enjoy my experience. The interns were able to go to the mall this weekend and have another bonfire. Both were very fun and I love all of my new friends here! I am so grateful for this opportunity to learn and grow so much. Some times it feels like I have been here for ever and other times I feel like my time here has gone by so fast. By the end of this summer I will have so many memories and so much experience under my belt. Earlier this week my mentor was giving me a kind of pep talk and she told me that I would be a real scientist by the end of this internship. This statement made me realize that I need to remember everything I learn here and take it with me for the rest of my life!      On another note, Happy Father's Day to the man that I am most like! I am so grateful fo...

     Well, I was supposed to go out on a boat yesterday, (Tuesday June 13) but that did not happen. Two mentors and three students, including myself, drove 45 minutes to a lab that is right by the bay and is owned by UMES. Once we got there the boat captain said that there were too many people to go on the boat and one of us had to stay at the lab. When the captain found out that I hadn't ever been on a boat in the ocean he told me to stay at the lab. At first I was really annoyed by this because I had planned to go out on a boat and now I was stuck in an office for 6 + hours with literally nothing to do. I was trying to figure out if there was anything productive I could do when I saw one of the other interns and her grad student mentor walk in. I asked if I could possibly tag along with them for the day and the grad  student graciously agreed. I was so grateful that they happened to be at the lab that day and that they were willing to take me with them. While ...

     Hi friends! I have already spent a week in Maryland and it is going by so fast! My new friends are amazing and everyday I look forward to hanging out with them in the evenings. My research is coming along but it is taking time and I am trying my best to be positive about what the results might be. Campus is pretty and although I still get lost I like it a lot.      This Saturday we went canoeing in the morning, played basketball in the afternoon, and went for a run with some of my gal pals in the evening. I love spending time in the sun and enjoyed my Saturday so much! Canoeing was a little scary, but for my first time I think I did pretty good! My arms are extremely sore but it is a good sore. I am learning so much and loving every new experience! I have played pool, softball, and basketball which are all things that I do not do very often but have had a good time doing!     This Sunday I got to go to church in Salisbury. It was nice to d...

The start to my trip was a little bumpy and I was honestly not loving the experience,  but as we have all settled down more I have really started to love where I am and what I am doing.  That has a lot to do with the people I am spending my time with so I wanted to introduce you to some of them. (For privacy reasons I will not put names of the other interns.) The person you share a room with is very important. They can make or break your experience.  Luckily for me,  I got a really cool roommate! My roommate is originally from Indonesia but was adopted when she was young and raised by her family here in Maryland. She is so sassy and funny and you always have a good time when you are around her. Although we have our differences we get along very well! My mentor is another person who I will be spending a lot of time with.  Before I was assigned a mentor I was worried that they would expect me to know a lot before I got here and that they would be really in...

     Hi guys! I am enjoying my time here in Maryland and have been surprised at how quickly we have jumped in. June 6 was a complete orientation day. We learned each other's names, got some what acquainted with campus, and filled out a bunch of paper work. All of the interns are really cool. There are 8 girls and 6 boys. We all live on the first floor of a dorm room called Court Plaza and are split between two halls by genders (so Grandma, you don't have to worry;)). About half of the other students are from around Maryland, but there is a girl from Puerto Rico, a girl from Texas, a guy from California and a guy from Chicago. It has been neat to talk with everyone and get to know each other a little better. Blue Crabs I was able to meet with my mentor yesterday. Her name is Dr. Enjiro Mayor and she is from Nigeria. I will be working closely with her for the next ten weeks. We have decided to do our research on the distribution of blue crabs across the Maryland Coa...

     Well, I am writing this from Princess Anne, Maryland! After a long day of travel I was able to get to my dorm around 10:30 last night, got a half way decent night of sleep, and have met all of the REU students. Even though I got here safe and sound, I would have traded my travel experiences if I could have (just kidding...kinda;))! Without further a do, let's walk you through my June 5, 2017 experience.      So, my morning started bright and early at 4am. I got up and ready and headed out to the OKC airport around 5am. Dad and I drove to OKC and arrived at the airport around 6:20am. So far so good. I had a little hiccup with my boarding passes, but it was easily resolved and not a big deal. After checking baggage and everything I said "bye" to my dad and happily walked through the very short TSA pre-checked security line. Side note: I would highly suggest getting pre-checked because it saves time and headaches. Everything was going so smoothly as I fo...

I am so not ready to go. I leave tomorrow. I am so not ready to go. Don't get me wrong, I am very excited to be in Maryland, but the whole process of getting there is stressing me out. I have never flown and I am very nervous about my full day of travel. Once I am in Maryland I hope that I will be able to clam down and enjoy the experience but first I have to get to there. Trying to pack your life in two suitcases is a lot harder than I thought it would be. Things like laundry soap and enough shampoo for over 2 months are essential items but they are also items that take up quite a bit of space in my suitcase.  If nothing else, this experience has taught me that I own too much stuff! I leave tomorrow morning at some ridiculous time (around 4am) to drive to the OKC airport. From there I fly to Dallas then to Philadelphia then to Maryland.  For a girl who has never flown I feel like I will be a pro after this trip! One funny thing that has happened as I have prepared to go is ...

     Hi guys! I have started this blog to connect all of my friends and family who may be interested in what I will be doing this summer. To get started let's introduce ourselves. My name is Kate Draper and I am from Ada, Oklahoma.  I have lived in Ada for nine years now and love my charming little town.  Right now I am in the summer after my Freshman year at East Central University.  I am a molecular biology major and love everything that has to do with science! In just a few days I will be venturing out of Oklahoma and into Maryland for the summer.  I will be working as an intern at the University of Maryland Eastern Shore and will be researching marine biology for 10 weeks.  I am not exactly sure what I will be researching but I am incredibly excited and will let you guys know as soon as I figure it out!      I will post on this blog as often as I can so I can keep everyone up to date about my studies, activities,  and ever...