Day In My Life: Lab Science Investigations

"I had never experienced a program that was both cozy and fulfilling, yet full of activity. But now, as a graduate of the LSI Program at Tufts, I have.”

This summer, I took part in the LSI Pre-College Program at Tufts University. The two-week program was an inspiring, new experience for me, so I have a lot to share. For example, there are activities every day, so you never get bored, and the main campus is built on a hill, which I found really cool. However, in this blog, I’ll focus on what mattered the most to me: campus life. From my own perspective, this post will walk you through an entire day at LSI.

My day at LSI began at 8:00 AM, still slightly jet-lagged. After brushing my teeth, I spent about three minutes deciding on my outfit for the day. By the way, we were required to wear long pants to meet the lab rules.

Then I took a 10-minute walk to the dining hall for breakfast. The breakfast wasn’t particularly impressive, but it was good enough to start my day. After dropping off my usedplates, I checked the protocols in my lab workbook—it explained what we  were going to do in the lab that day. What made these 20 minutes relaxing was that I could slowly finish a huge cup of fresh juice while sometimes looking out the windows at the beautiful views of trees and flowers. As usual, I headed to Eaton Hall at 8:50 AM, where we have lectures and discussions.

At Eaton Hall, the first activity of the day was “Capstone”, from 9:00 to 11:00 AM. The  Capstone project was the heart of the program—students research and propose specific solutions to combat Antimicrobial-Resistant (AMR) bacteria in a voted country. On the last day, groups present their solutions at the Capstone Gala. Parents are invited to attend and could ask questions or challenge the ideas.

Back to my first-person perspective, I greeted my teammates, took a seat, and our TA (teaching assistant) gave us a task—prepare for a practice presentation to our 12-person TA group. I have to say this section is well-designed, our TA gave us valuable suggestions, and we learned a lot by observing other groups.

Next came the lecture, from 11:00 AM to 12:00 PM. Every day, a different professor, professional, or expert from a biology-related field came to speak. The lectures were related to bacteria and often inspired ideas we could integrate into our Capstone solutions.

We went to have lunch at twelve, taking a one-hour lunch break.

After lunch, the lab started at 1:00 PM. That day, we did soil serial dilution and plating, as well as environmental DNA (eDNA) extraction. Soil collection and analysis were the biggest part of our lab work. We collected soil from AMR hotspots—places likely to have high concentrations of AMR bacteria—during our field trip to the Tufts University School of Veterinary Medicine. Then we controlled the concentration of soil-and-water solutions through serial dilution and plated them into Petri dishes containing different concentrations of antibiotics.

At 3:45 AM, the lab finished, and we walked back to Eaton Hall to have science communication (we usually call it sci-con). The content of sci-con varied depending on what we had done in the lab. It could be troubleshooting, discussing why we did what we did in the lab, or some extra, extended content.

At 5 PM, sci-con ended, and we were dismissed.

Things got even more interesting after 5:00 PM. There was always something to do:
     1. Daily activities written on a whiteboard (shown earlier in this blog)
     2. Gym—10 minutes from the dorm, including a basketball court and a pool
     3. Boston days (Tuesdays and Thursdays), when we could visit and explore the city

Normally, I would either go hoop or go to the gym. But that day was Boston day, so I had an early dinner and took the metro to the city center. By the way, the food at Tufts’ dining hall totally impressed me; visitors like parents can pay to eat, which costs less than $20.

That day, I visited the famous Quincy Market, near the Samuel Adams statue. My friends and I walked along the coast, enjoyed smoothies, and picked up a couple of manga at a cool store. Then I returned to the campus because I had arranged a rehearsal with my team to make the presentation smoother.

When I arrived at the dorm around 7:30 PM, the sky wasn’t even dark yet; instead, it was glowing with a stunning sunset—a super rare sight for me, a person who had always been living in China. At 8:00 PM, I gathered my team, and we spent an hour practicing and refining our presentation. This meeting really helped us for the final day, and I was glad about it.

We finished at 9:00 PM, and I took a shower. Then I spent about 30 minutes completing my post-lab homework, concluding our experiment for that day, and answering some extension questions. Afterward, I hung out with my friends for a couple of games of Monopoly. I didn’t win a single game, but had tons of fun.

Eventually, I brushed my teeth, said goodnight to my roommate, and fell asleep.

Looking back, those two weeks were among the most fulfilling experiences I’ve had. The program was challenging yet supportive, structured yet full of surprises. I not only learned about science, but also about teamwork, communication, and adapting to new environments. Most importantly, I made friends and memories that I’ll carry with me for a long time. Quoting some big words from my friend Ethan: “Do you know why people feel nostalgic? It’s because they remembered something meaningful”, and I’m 100% sure that I will feel nostalgic about the entire program.