Bernadeth St. Marie

Meet Bernadeth

When Bernadeth’s school didn’t offer the microbiology lab she needed in a face-to-face setting, Bernadeth, who lives in Louisiana, decided to give UCSD’s online option a try—her first online lab course ever!

A requirement for her veterinary school applications, the lab course turned out to be an experience just as enriching as the on-campus experience.

“I would have taken it in person if it was offered because I’ve never taken an online lab before. I was nervous at first and thought I’d have to do this all on my own. My expectations started to shift as soon as I opened my hands-on kit.”

Seeing the materials checklist, how the kit was organized, guidance on how long each lab would take, and the extra materials soon put Bernadeth at ease.

“As I unpacked the kit, I realized I wasn’t on my own. Everything was so clear, and my instructor helped us schedule out the labs. The asynchronous component of my course helped me a lot. I could review the pre-experiment explorations and questions on my own time and refer back to them so I could understand the general concepts and content, even though I didn’t know the procedure yet.”

“In the end, this experience was effective for my learning, and I attribute that to the hands-on labs. I felt like I had all the things I would normally have in an in-person lab from the equipment and materials to the guidance and resources of my instructor.”

💡Light Bulb Moment💡

While this was Bernadeth’s first online lab course, she realized it would be a quality learning experience, not unlike the in-person experience.

“While some of the labs don’t directly apply to my job, they were interesting—while others I’ll use every single day! I also had the guidance and support of my instructor. I emailed my professor multiple times when I was worried about something, and they were really helpful. They also had a discussion board where we could ask questions to the group, and most of the time it was questions others had anyways so that was really helpful.”

My Most Memorable Lab: Staining Techniques

“I work at a veterinary hospital, and the staining technique is something we do. I just never really understood the science behind it. Now when I go to work, I can say, “Oh, this is gram positive or gram negative,” and I understand what that means and how to identify those stains. Having something so applicable to me really made it interesting.”

Drawing Conclusions

Like any good experiment, you work your way through the scientific method to analyze the results, reflect on your findings, and draw your conclusions so you can move forward with new knowledge and ideas.

So now that you’re at the end of your online lab course, tell us: what did you learn and what advice might you give after your experience?

For any students taking an online lab course for the first time, I would tell them not to get too nervous about it. Separate out time for it, and don’t try to squeeze your labs in whenever you can. Do it like you would an in-person lab, and you’ll find it really fun and interesting. 

Is It Worth It?

This is definitely worth it! I would’ve paid a fee to take it in-person anyway, and I feel like it would have been comparable. It was affordable and definitely worth having the flexibility.