Overcoming Obstacles! (Prompt 3)

mounted Braconidae wasps

a size comparison to my hand

Every so often one of my advisers will give me feedback on the work I am doing. One thing I have been told I am doing well is mounting the wasps onto pins. You have to be extremely careful when doing this because the specimens are small and fragile, and they have to be mounted in a specific way. I'm glad to hear the effort I am putting into this is appreciated. I was surprised that working gently with really tiny items must also be a weird, natural skill of mine. I had never really tried anything like this before this summer but I really enjoy mounting the wasps now.

On the other side of things, something I could probably improve on is asking questions. I try to avoid asking questions and be independent whenever possible, to avoid unnecessarily bothering my advisers. When I do need to ask questions though I need to improve on asking these questions more confidently and more clearly, allowing more effective communication.

1998, 1999, 2000!

One of the main challenges I have encountered with working in the entomology department at the NMNH is repetition. In entomology it is commonplace that specimens come in the hundreds and eventually thousands. This is true especially when I am databasing specimens. I just recently surpassed 2000 as the number of specimens I have databased. When you are doing the same thing over and over this many times you have to make sure you stay are staying focused enough so you are still doing the job correctly. You also have to try to still keep things lively. I play music and every once in a while take a short stretch break to help with both of these things. By overcoming these challenges, working on the projects remains just as fun as it was when I first started. From this experience I learned that it is important to be aware of how you are reacting to the project. That way you can catch yourself if you are losing focus or enthusiasm and try to change your reaction.