Hi! My name is Gabrielle Cantor, and I’m thrilled to have the opportunity to spend the summer researching as a part of the ProHealth REU! I hail from Denver, Colorado but have called IU my home for the past year. I am a rising sophomore studying Intelligent Systems Engineering, and I’m excited to be back in Bloomington for the summer!

After gathering at the Indianapolis International Airport of Friday, our Summer 2017 REU/SROC adventure started off with a weekend of team building and mosquito bites in Bradford Woods. Bradford Woods is a camp that hosts a wide variety of adventure and outdoor education programs. Friday evening was spent getting to know everyone and becoming accustomed to the Indiana rain.  Saturday morning was spent indoors (hiding from the rain and the mosquitoes) participating in trust activities. The weather cleared in the afternoon, and we were able to venture outside to climb the Alpine Tower and canoe in the lake.

Sunday morning we packed up and headed to Indiana University to move into our dorms and get settled in. After several trips up and down the stairs, we managed to get everyone into their apartments. We then headed out to Walmart and Kroger to get necessary supplies, and ended the night with a pizza social where we got to meet several of the ProHealth faculty and graduate mentors. The summer is off to a great start so far, and I can’t wait to see what comes next!