When I interviewed my mentor she said something along the lines of, "Failure is unacceptable." At the moment I was really shocked because through my schooling career we've always been told that it is ok to fail and make mistakes. However, after I worked with her more, I realized what she meant. Failure IS unacceptable especially in the workplace. It's unacceptable to fail at creating a product that satisfies your client or fulfilling the responsibilities of your job. These are things that you HAVE to accomplish. But, it doesn't mean that you won't make mistakes. I've made mistakes during my externship, my mentor has make mistakes, Lauren has made mistake and sometimes our mistakes turn out really bad. But, we never "fail" because we (and really Dr. Ngo) find a way to work around our mistakes in order to accomplish the bigger goal. I'm really grateful to be in an environment where I can learn that and improve but, not be pressured to be perfect.
I'm incredibly grateful to my mentor, Dr. Truc Ngo. She is an amazing person. She set the bar incredibly high and expects everyone to rise up to the challenge. She answers all of my questions and is supportive. When she gives me a compliment, I know she genuinely means it because she tells it like it is. She's also really kind and funny and I enjoy working with her. I'm also appreciative of Lauren. She oftentimes is the only other person working in the lab and is the main source of my human interaction. Whenever I have questions about life or college or going into the workforce I always ask her because she's been through all of that (and recently) and she always gives me an honest answer. |