Self-reflection and career development in BIOC 301

At a time when life-beyond-university decisions begin to loom, many upper-year undergraduate students struggle to relate their course-based skills to potential career paths. Time spent in the classroom often builds important skills, but students are not guided through activities or discussions in class that encourage them to make connections between these skills and their future careers. With this in mind, a Biochemistry Instructor and a Career Educator set out to build a reflective exercise into a third-year required laboratory course that, typically, would not have included an applied career focus. Come to this session and experience a small sample of the activities we conduct with our students and a discussion about how we embedded self-reflection and personal development into a course focused on laboratory procedures. No white coats, goggles, or pipetting needed.