1. Internship Reflection
Presentation
By Mariah Leitl

2. The experience of securing your
internship
The Career Center was a huge help!
I discussed that I was interested in working in a lab setting and Sally
offered me a list of options to chose from.
I really enjoyed how ConTest was so close to campus, allowing me to
get my hours in either before or after class on most days.
I emailed Daren, one of the lab managers at ConTest and scheduled a
tour of the laboratory. Soon after, I was meeting with the lab
supervisor Bill, and setting up a schedule to work along side him in
the Extractions Laboratory.
ConTest is an environmental analytical laboratory, therefore, the
summer months are the busiest time of the year when the soil and
water are not frozen and available for collection. I started my
internship hours in the summer of 2015.

3. The orientation and/or training
provided at your internship site.
 Orientation started in the Human Resources
office reading Standardized Operation
Procedure manuals for the projects I would
be working on.
 I also had the opportunity to read safety
guides and attend a quality control meeting
to ensure I would be performing at the level
that ConTest expects all of it’s employees be
held to.
 In the lab, I was trained on the individual
test choices by a fellow employee to guide
me.

4. The work you performed
Weighing out and locating soil samples
Microwave extraction
Concentration
Setting up soxhlets
Cleaning/Solvent rinsing glassware
Learning how to navigate the computer system
(Element)

5. Weighing out the soil samples

6. Logging on the bench sheet for the
client’s order

7. Microwave extraction

8. Soxhlet extraction method

9. The process of setting your learning
goals
 The Laboratory Supervisor, William Lucchini,
wanted to show me a little bit of each portion
of what goes on at ConTest Analytical
Laboratories in the Extractions Lab. In
conjunction, he set me up each week with a
different employee to showcase various
aspects of the extraction methods performed
at ConTest.
 In doing this, I would learn how a laboratory
operates along with safety procedures and
the science behind the test choices that are
requested by individual clients.

10. The results you achieved in
accomplishing each of your learning
goals
 I have learned so much!
 I now feel comfortable working in laboratory environment.
I have learned that quality is better than quantity when
producing work for a client. If a mistake is made during a
procedure, it is better to let the analyst know rather than
try to cover up a mistake and produce faulty results to a
client.
 Our reputation with the client is of utmost
importance!

11. How the internship learning goals
relate to the learning outcomes of
your major field of study
 Although ConTest is not a Biology based laboratory, I have
taken away so much knowledge and experience throughout
my short time spent working at the laboratory.
 It is so exciting to be able to declare on my resume that I
have experience working in the science field!
 Regardless if a laboratory is chemistry or biology based,
they all have some common core principles that they wish
their employees to exude, including keeping safety and
quality of the results produced of most importance.

12. The knowledge, competencies and
skills you developed
 Hands-on experience with learning how a
laboratory operates
 Chain of custody methods with keeping
samples secure and uncontaminated
 Laboratory cleanliness and safety
procedures
 Procedures required for extracting
chemicals in order to analyze them for a
client

13. The classroom learning you used during your internship,
including specific courses that helped you, as well as specific
courses that may have helped you
 I was able to use lab techniques and
safety procedures learned in courses I
have taken at BayPath, most notably…
 Organic chemistry (1 & 2)
 Microbiology lab
 Genetics Lab

14. The internship learning you brought
into your classroom experiences
 One of the most notable connections made…
 Advanced Litigations course!
We had a discussion about a case that involved
an environmental law violation where a company
dumped waste into the soil of a town, which
resulted in people getting very sick. I was able to
insight the legal studies major students about
the processes it took to analyze this soil and how
much damage the company could have possibly
caused the town and the liability that they would
presume.

15. What you learned about this career path and how this
internship has impacted your career goals and next steps
 I have learned that working in a laboratory setting is definitely
what I want to do after graduating from BayPath. I like the
challenges of working on a new project everyday and using
my skills learned to play a part in helping the overall goal of
presenting scientific results to a client in which they can use
to make very important decisions, financially and
environmentally.
 I have also learned that chemistry isn’t as bad as I thought it
was ! Prior to getting hands on experience working in the lab,
some of the material learned in class was quite confusing but
spending time at an analytical lab has allowed these concepts
to come full circle.
 Lastly, I have become very interested in environmental
science and hope to apply what I have learned at ConTest to
future career opportunities in this same field.

16. Your learning about your own leadership style and the
leadership styles of others
 I have learned that I enjoy having a clear goal of
what needs to be accomplished for the day. I
enjoy keeping myself busy and having guidance
of what to do throughout my work day. I do not
enjoy wasting time and not contributing.
 I have learned that I work best when taking
notes and then following them up with hands on
experience. The more I perform a task, the more
comfortable I become.
 I excel when a colleague trusts me to complete a
task to their standards and praises me when I
have performed a job well done.

17. The professional contacts you have developed,
specifically with regard to mentoring and
networking
Lab supervisor of the Extractions
Laboratory at ConTest Analytical
Laboratory, William Lucchini
Access to Human Resources webpage
showcasing internal career postings and
availabilities at ConTest Analytical
Laboratory

18. Having fun at ConTest! 

19. The End