Lily Wyand ’20, Biology major and Public Health minor, recently spoke at the Cape Cod Luncheon. Read Lily’s speech below where she highlighted some of the exciting STEM research she's working on in the Regis Zebrafish facility. 

Hello everyone. Growing up in western Massachusetts, it’s exciting to be on the Cape today to share a few select parts of my Regis experience with you, as I have never had the chance to visit this beautiful part of my state before.

This coming fall I will be going into my last semester at Regis as I am graduating a semester early. It is somewhat bittersweet, but I am very excited to move on to whatever follows my time after Regis. When I graduate, I will receive a BA in Biology with a minor in public health. I will leave behind a total of five work study positions: 2 within the fine arts center, 2 in the STEM department, and 1 in the learning commons. I will also leave behind my position as a weekly volunteer at the Regis College Autism center and being a part of the Regis College Dance Company and Honors Program. While all of these things bring me a tinge of sadness, I am comforted by the fact that I know I am leaving prepared to enter the workforce and to further my education.

It has been through my various work study positions that I have gained confidence in my abilities apart from my academic achievements. Although I am extremely proud to have been inducted into three honors societies, and of the 4.0 gpa I have been able to maintain with the support of my professors, it is my supervisors of my work study positions on campus that have helped me broaden the skills that will carry me into my future. From being independent when creating laboratory solutions, to supporting others in their studies as a tutor, to furthering my interpersonal skills as a box office attendant, I feel, and have felt throughout my time at Regis prepared and supported by the Regis College faculty and staff.

After Regis I would like to further my education to become a genetic counselor. Since this is such a specific and uncommon profession, I found it hard to discover opportunities for an internship, as most are for graduate students. Still, I tried to take advantage of every resource Regis could offer me to help find one as an undergraduate. This is when I reached out to professors, such as Dr. Bishop, Dr. Litch-Gray, Dr. Willems, and Professor Benson, and advisors, such as Dr. Bilozur and Dr. Mandel, and our Director of Internships and Career Development, Susan Kennedy.

All of these individuals gave me suggestions and supported me in my search. They gave me ideas for alternatives and a fresh perspective. They reached out to contacts for me and showed me how to network. They helped me become my own advocate. I learned not to be as hesitant when reaching out for help or asking if there is a position available because if you don’t ask, the answer is already no.

After about a year and a half of searching for a position, I really took this mantra to heart, and utilized the National Society of Genetic Counselors website. Here there are genetic counselors listed by name and location. It also states if they are open to student contact. I sent out roughly thirty emails to genetic counselors asking if there were internship opportunities. About half responded, and only one said yes to the possibility of an internship. I am very proud to say that I am an intern at Boston Children’s Hospital as a Genetic Counseling and Research Assistant this summer. It took a lot of determination, and maybe a little luck, but I can confidently say this experience of finding and obtaining an internship would have been even more difficult without the support of the Regis staff and faculty, as this was a discouraging process at times.

This amazing internship opportunity would have been out of reach without the Flatley Scholars Program, which is a very generous program that provides funding for unpaid internships. Since my internship is one that does not come with any payment other than education, this program was essential for me to be able to take this position and support myself during the summer and then pay for college this coming semester. For this, I am very thankful for Regis’ support as well as Susan Kennedy, as she informed me of this fairly new program that allowed me to confidently accept an unpaid, dream internship that I probably wouldn’t have been able to take without this financial support.

I am so glad that I did not have to pass on this amazing opportunity that I found due my financial circumstances. So far, I have met wonderful people who help others in identifying, understanding, and coping with their genetic diagnoses. These connections are ones that I am sure will continue well into my career and I feel very lucky to have them. I have been able to observe provider-patient interactions and learn about the various roles genetic counselors can take on. I have helped with various patient care duties such as requesting patient medical records, assisting with the tracking of genetic test results, and collecting family histories. I have also input data regarding various research studies and within lab testing portals, for example, which help me understand various mitochondrial disorders, epilepsies, and muscular dystrophies. I have also learned and am still learning how to read various genetic tests, and just recently presented at a journal club. I am learning where my interests lie within this field as there are so many options and every day is different. My projects vary from day to day, and I am constantly gaining new knowledge, connections, and job duties. Overall, it is a fast pace and riveting summer internship preparing me for my future.

On top of this amazing and quite busy summer opportunity, I have also started working within the Regis Zebrafish Facility on campus. Zebrafish are fresh-water fish that are widely used model organisms; meaning, they are used to study biological processes to understand them more thoroughly. For example, they are utilized to better understand certain diseases which could help humans as about 70% of human genes are found within these fish.

This summer I have been able to learn how to properly take care of the zebrafish on campus through feeding, doing routine cleaning and water testing, and ensuring living conditions are up to the appropriate lab standards. I have enjoyed learning about the zebrafish and their care as this fall I will be going into an independent study with them. At the current time, I plan to help design a new experiment for the genetics class at Regis with these fish so more of our campus can utilize these animals that are obviously an amazing research tool. I am very excited to dive into this project with the support of Dr. Gray, who just spoke, and Dr. Willems, our professor who teaches the genetics course. With their support, I am sure the experiment will be a success and I will finish off my last semester at Regis strong; prepared for whatever lies next.

Thank you.