Students will be able to prepare and present, orally and in writing, to scientists in other disciplines and audiences outside the sciences.

One of the very first classes that taught me to prepare and present to a more general audience was in BIOL 288. In this class we had to write a general audience paper and then present to the class a slideshow that was based for a more general audience. These assignments were on a topic of our choosing and I chose to focus on Allergies in Humans. This allowed me to gain experience in writing towards a more general audience, and I know for my draft I struggled with completing this task. Coming into the biology department one of the first things we are taught is how to write a paper for a science based audience, but this paper in BIOL 288 proved to be challenging because I was not sure at first how to scale back my scientific knowledge for someone who did not have a science background. This paper and presentation, although challenging, prepared me for my future classes and to be a scientist.

The BIOL 288 class prepared me for a presentation in my Immunology class that I took in my junior year. Some of my peers and I decided to make our immunology class a split section for the Cormier Honors College, so that we would gain honors credit. For this project we had to decide a topic that we could present to a general audience that would convey the topic’s importance. My fellow peers and I decided to present on Covid-19 and the comparison of vaccines and the Spanish flu. My group and I presented our presentation virtually at research and we were able to show information on the Covid vaccines and how they differ from other common vaccines. It was informational as a scientist to present current data and our research to non-scientists who could view the presentation on the platform Forager One.

Overall, I felt coming into college that I was lacking the skills to present to a general audience and how to not overcomplicate the research to the audience. I believe that the skills that I learned first in BIOL 288 prepared me to excel in my future classes. The skills I learned in my previous classes has even helped me currently while I am doing my Senior Thesis Research. The ability to break down the science has allowed me to explain my research to family and friends who do not have a scientific background.