Intern Anniversary Series: Richard Craig

Richard Craig
2013 intern in Jeff Doyle’s lab while a freshman at Louisiana State University

Now: Completing his undergraduate degree in biological engineering in May 2016 with plans to pursue a Ph.D.

How did your experience at BTI affect your career path and what is your current position?  

This experience made me realize how important experience is during my undergraduate career and as a result I applied for even more REUs and internships in the following years. The following summer I completed the Nano@Illinois Internship at The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. During the summer of 2015 I completed an international internship in Grenoble France working in the Institute for Nanosciences and Cryogenics.

What are you most proud of in your career thus far?

This is tough to decide. Being able to go to France and do research at world-renowned facilities is high on the list of proudest moments in my career so far. Both in Illinois and while in France, I was able to generate enough data to present at national research conferences.

Would you recommend this experience to others and why?

I would unconditionally recommend this experience to others. I had the opportunity to learn several techniques from extremely qualified researchers. Having these experiences can also open doors to other opportunities and allow you to evaluate potential graduate programs. You also meet people with similar interests with whom you can form life-long relationships.

More information on the Plant Genome Research Program summer internship and its history is available here.