S2.5: Off to an Exciting Start!!!

                                                                Off to an Exciting Start!!! 
Despite having three exams, this week went pretty well. I do have to give a shout out to my favorite study-buddy/tutor, Willie (see above video). In regards to the internship,I was super stoked when the filters arrived this week. Yesterday, I was able to run a sample test (referred to as "blank" of my experiment by using distilled water and filtering it through the vacuum filter for any microplastics and/or microfibers. Interestingly enough, after filtering and staining the filter, I saw the presence of microfibers when placed under the dissection microscope. The next time I am in the lab, I am going to stain a filter and place it under the dissection microscope without filtering any water. The purpose of running the blank and looking at an unused filter is to try and identify any potential sources of microplastic/microfiber contamination prior to filter the water samples. Basically, we want to be able to tell if the samples of water are being contaminated by our equipment during the filtering process. I am also looking forward to helping out with the Hermanas conference tomorrow! I really enjoy outreach!