DeKarra's Practicum Reaction Paper

I completed my practicum project at the Animal Science building on the University of Maryland campus during the 2009 winter term. My site supervisor, Dr. Richard Kohn, works for the Department of Animal Science at the University of Maryland, his work focuses on researching the impact animal byproducts have on the environment.

Before I was employed by Dr. Kohn, the process of finding interesting, local internships was difficult for me. My search for employment began in the summer of 2008 and ended sometime in late November of that year. Two major factors that limited my scope of potential work sites included accessible transportation and flexible hours. I did not own a car so I relied on family and public transportation to get around. Moreover, I needed an internship with a reasonable work schedule that could account for the time it took for me to commute. This was a major dilemma because I am an animal science major specializing in large domestic animals such as cattle and swine. The majority of available internship opportunities within this narrow field are located in the countryside, outside the designated zones of cheap public transportation and weekly rides from relatives.

When I realized that my internship search outside academia was unproductive, I contacted professors within the Animal Science department. I wanted to work during the 2009 winter semester and many professors did not have internship openings until the beginning of the spring semester. However, for individuals who needed interns during winter term, I organized meetings with them before the end of the 2009 fall semester. Consequently, I met Dr. Kohn whom worked in an agricultural field related to large domestic animals, he offered a flexible work schedule during the winter semester. After I agreed to work for him, I arranged housing with a relative that lived near College Park so my commute time was cut by more than half than if I commuted from my home in Baltimore County. Overall, the research process of finding an internship was long, unless a student has no limitations or preferences for a work site, I do not recommend that future scholars wait until the last minute to turn in their practicum supervisor and work site information.

Anyway, I worked in three different locations including two laboratories and the "grinding" room while under the supervision of Dr. Kohn. In one laboratory on the third floor of the Animal Science building, I cleaned laboratory equipment such as test tubes, flasks, beakers etc; most of the equipment contained useless rumen bacterial cultures and rumen samples. On the second floor, I weighed small samples of frozen silage (wet feedstuff) - collected from numerous Maryland farms - into aluminum pans and recorded their weight in a research journal. I would then place the pans onto a cart and take them to a large oven where they would defrost for a couple days. Afterward, I took the pans to the "grinding" room in the building's basement and placed them into a machine with sharp blades that pounded the feedstuff into dust. I then place the feedstuff into labeled containers based on the list I had created in the research journal. Then either a graduate student or an assistant professor collected the containers and performed chemical tests on samples. The purpose of this activity is to measure if there is nutrient loss in silage given to Maryland dairy cattle and if the feed formula should be changed as a result. Other intern responsibilities included working with senior interns to transfer rumen bacterial into sterilized, sealed test tubes or glass vials containing special nutrient mediums.

I enjoyed my internship with Kohn laboratories because I gained many experiences including research skills. For instance, I learned how to take notes and maintain data in a research journal. Also, I learned the importance of maintaining clean equipment in order to collect accurate amounts of data and new techniques for washing special instruments. Additionally, the experience affected my perspective on the significance of animal science on society. Beforehand, I did not realize countless studies and experiments were conducted to maintain and improve food sources for the human population. Now, I believe that the work performed by faculty in the Animal Science building is invaluable knowledge.

Despite having a positive experience while completing my internship under Kohn laboratories, I think the internship reinforced my current career plans. I would like to be in a clinical profession instead of a research based one. I want to be a veterinarian for large domestic animals, I prefer to do a lot of hands-on work with animals instead of working with research that is indirectly connected to them.

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