• Home
• For
  Students
  • Prospective Students
    • General Info
    • Academic Planning
    • International Co-op
    • Student Profiles
  • Current Students
    • Academic Planning
    • International Co-op
    • Student Organizations
    • Student Profiles
    • Housing Info
  • Online Registration
  • Handbooks and Forms
  • Important Semester Dates
  • FAQ
• For
  Employers
  • Prospective Employers
  • Current Employers
  • Download Forms
• Externship
• Internship
• Co-op
  Alumni
• Co-op News
• About Us
• International Education
• Contact Us

Jared Wolfe

Student Profile

Back

Jared Wolfe

Microbac Laboratories, Inc., Summer 2006
Walter Reed Army Institute of Research, Spring/Summer 2007
Biochemistry and Molecular Biology

When I enrolled at Penn State my first semester, I entered as a biochemistry and molecular biology major. This choice was not the product of some long thought out and debated decision on my part but was more something that sounded kind of interesting, when I was filling out my application and so I decided to check it as my number one choice. Coming in, I knew that I had an interest in science, but outside the fact that my major dealt with science I really didn't understand much of what biochemistry involved.

As I moved through my freshman year, and into my sophomore coursework I began to understand more of what my major was about, and I came to realize that it actually did interest me. However, I also realized that a three hour lab at college and a bunch of lectures made a very poor representation of what the career of a biochemist would actually be like. To this notion I remembered back to my freshman seminar and to the Penn State Co-op Program; I decided that this would be a great opportunity to better understand what a career in this field might be like.

From this point I went to talk to the Co-op Office and began to prepare my resume and cover letter so that I could begin applying for jobs. The first co-op that I accepted was at a small laboratory based out of Pittsburgh called Microbac. This co-op was interesting, however, it turned out to be more chemistry based work and so I found that it had some gaps between what I actually wanted to do. For my second co-op I chose one that was much more in my field. For my second rotation I took a position at Walter Reed Army Institute of Research working on the malaria vaccine. This job has been very challenging and has greatly expanded my knowledge and technical skills in both the fields of immunology and molecular engineering. It has required me to take the knowledge I have picked up in my lectures and to in turn apply them to real experiments. I have enjoyed this co-op, as it has also taught me another very important thing, that this is not the right career path for me. This is not something that I would like to spend the rest of my life doing, and so while down here in D.C. I have decided that I will choose the path of a doctor instead.

Although I have decided that this was not for me, the Co-op Program has still been very beneficial to me in multiple ways. First it allowed me to experience my career before I graduated and to understand that it was not the correct choice for me. It also gave me some great practical experience and is something that will boost my résumé.