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So its nearly been a year since I was a nervous wreck on a train to London getting ready to fly out to Switzerland and begin my internship with Roche. I soon found my feet and like all the other interns excelled in the tasks put in front of me.

When I arrived back to the UK on the Sunday I was due to start university on the Monday so had no time to think of what I had achieved and what skills I had learnt which were to prove useful in the forthcoming year. I was straight in with the lab work needed for my dissertation and the work I had carried out in Switzerland put me head and shoulders above the rest. It was an intense year with nearly no breaks, but I survived and come with an exceptional degree (which I am very proud of!)

With regards to what the future holds I was constantly told that to achieve in science you realistically have to continue your study to at least the PhD level. So a PhD was the aim but with needing at least an upper second class honours degree and a recession to limit the funding available it looked like an uphill struggle but with saltire foundation on my CV it really did put me a cut above the rest. Coupled with the glowing reference from my boss back in Switzerland I applied for PhD in Edinburgh and was successful in the first time of asking which I am due to start in September.

Further to this I have been asked to present my dissertation at the annual Physiological Society meeting in Manchester this July. The fact my supervisor put me forward was a huge shock, it wasn’t helped by him telling me on April fool’s day that he had done it so I thought the whole thing was a big joke but after the official conformation came through from the society did it finally hit home what was going on!! I never used to be one for presentations but the confidence gained by doing the saltire foundation internship and all it comes with (presentations at other universities promoting the internships ect).

Who knows what lies ahead of me after the PhD but one thing for sure is that the internship set the ball rolling. So good luck to all those 2010 interns, never say no and don’t waste a second while you are there because you will only come to regret it in the future!!