RACHEL HOLMES, Undergraduate
JS: Okay, let’s warm up with something easy. Coffee or a cold apple: which keeps you going?
RH: Not even a question – Coffee. The first sip of coffee of the day is in itself a life-changing experience.
JS: Good answer – you’re hired! And how do you like Vancouver? Where did you live before coming to Vancouver? Vancouver’s better, right? KIDDING! There are no wrong answers here! Please, go ahead.
RH: Originally hailing from a few spots around Ontario, Vancouver has definitely become home.
JS: Standard interview question, sorry: What’s your worst feature and how can you spin it to make you sound amazing?
RH: I have a predilection for shellfish and the softer-sciences. However, I think that allows me to offer a different perspective that is often lacking in the science community.
JS: Tell me about your first experiment. Not from your first lab experience, school etc, but your REAL FIRST experiment.
RH: When I was a kid I wanted to see if I could become a chicken so I sat on an egg on a pillow. It broke and ruined the luscious green velvet pillow, thus I had to accept the null hypothesis that I could not become a chicken. The following experiment involved the classic baking soda and vinegar which my Mom was also pretty stoked on.
JS: Maybe you could have helped the egg become a chicken, if not yourself (if you hadn’t killed it of course). Anyway, where do you see yourself in 10 years? How about 50 years? 400 years? I’m talking at a basic level about where do you think you’ll be at but, also, what do you hope to have contributed to planet earth?
RH: Doing research, if all goes as planned! I would like to do a Masters at UBC, then I’m open to moving around a bit. Overall I would like to study degenerative neurological diseases such as Alzheimer’s or Parkinson’s and edge toward human research.
JS: What are you up to when you’re not in the lab? WHAT? YOU’RE NOT ALWAYS IN THE LAB? Just kidding, do tell!
RH: Being a gangsta. Just kidding (am I?), outside of being a full-time student and working in the lab, I’m usually found trying to persuade friends to make me french toast.
JS: Standard interview question #2, really sorry: Tell me about a challenge you faced (and totally overcame).
RH: When I was in the middle of high school I thought it would be a good idea to take some time off and move to Grand Cayman. Turns out I had no idea what I was doing but certainly pulled a lesson or two from the year long adventure.
JS: If you were to come into the lab one morning (it’s ok to leave the lab to sleep at night, sometimes) and find that someone had brought in your favourite edible treat to share with the lab, what would that favourite edible treat be?
RH: Prime rib. Seriously.
JS: Hmm, just maybe in return for your efforts we can make this happen….