Visiting Chicago to attend the Oncofertility Consortium was an amazing experience as a high school student. The opportunity to listen to experts discuss the field of Oncofertility further inspired me beyond what I learned over the summer. The Consortium was very educational and gave updates on the cutting edge research being performed around the world. I was honored to meet Dr. Teresa Woodruff and Dr. Robert Wah, President of the American Medical Association. Both gave advice on college and career paths. After listening to speakers during the afternoon, I, along with the other OSA girls, was able to present my poster during the reception. I loved being able to share my work with professionals interested in it. It gave me the chance to receive feedback and also learn about other research being done. During the reception, I met the girls from OSA Chicago. It was great meeting them and sharing our summer experiences and future aspirations, which had a lot of overlap.
The second day, Megan Castle took us to the Northwestern University campus in Evanston for a tour. Two current students took us around, and then we had a private tour of the Chemical of Life Processes Institute. Inside of the lab, we got to see the equipment being used to research Oncofertility and we were also shown a zinc spark. We received more information about how to be successful in science and learned about different types of emerging careers. The campus and lab were beautiful and I appreciated the chance to see another university. Megan took great care of us that day, including transportation and lunch. Overall, it was a spectacular few days with my OSA sisters. The conference was so impressive and I will never forget the things I learned.