On August 7, about 120 people attended a poster session to learn about the research of the interns of the 2013 E³S REU and Transfer-to-Excellence REU programs. Attendees included faculty, students, postdocs, student advisors from UC Berkeley, the host institution. In addition, faculty, administration, and MESA program directors from several community colleges in the San Francisco Bay Area and Sacramento also attended.

The poster session was followed by closing ceremonies on August 9, where the Center bid farewell to the participants of the E³S REU, Transfer-to-Excellence, Summer Research Workshop and the Teacher Fellows programs. At the closing ceremony, the interns shared their views about their summer experience. We learned that the internships enabled the participants to develop “a better understanding of research”, be “motivated to go to graduate school”, and appreciate a “multi-disciplinary experience”. Some interns acknowledged the new friends they made, while others pointed out that they learned from each other, including learning “to ask questions” and in one case, “to do laundry”. A few interns said that the internship was a “life-changing experience.”

Four recent veterans were among the 2013 interns, and the Center worked with UC Berkeley’s Transfer, Re-entry, and Student Parent (TRSP) Center to provide special advising for the veterans. At the closing ceremony, one veteran shared that the research experience had “expanded [his] horizons and made [him] want to achieve more.”