Hi everyone,

Well it was a year ago that I was at the halfway point of my internship with Genzyme and I just don't know where this past year has gone! After reading many of the blogs from the 2010 interns it is clear that they have all thrown themselves into both the work and cultural aspects of the internships. It brings back so many memories and makes me realise just how important the experience was for me.

Over the past year I have completed an individual research project within the materials department, during which I was able to discover some interesting results. I do believe that the summer I spent within Genzyme prepared me, to some degreee, for this challenging year. My fifth year at University has absolutely flown by and I can now, gladly, say that I am a graduate with an MChem degree in Chemistry with Materials. After returning from Boston last summer, it definitely took me a while to adjust back to University life. This is due to the two months that I spent working within the biomaterials department of Genzyme. I realised that I was doing something that I loved (including the working Monday-Friday).The Saltire Foundation gave me an invaluable experience and as a result, opened my eyes to the direction in which I would like to pursue a career.

Just for a bit of an update, I am currently takinga little time out to fulfil some more travelling desires before getting my teeth stuck into the next big challenge. The past couple of months have been used to plan those adventures. However, I am now in the  middle of applying for jobs that will take me in the right direction as soon as I return from travelling. As I am sure many of you know already, the applications forms acn be quite daunting, but as long and laborious as the applications forms are I now know that it will eventually be worth it once the work begins, I just need to stick with it and keep my fingers crossed! Congratulations to all of the previous interns that have now secured positions in the 'real world'.

Well I look forward to catching up with everyone after this years internships have finished and all the stories can be shared