Technician Internship at the UNH Plant Diagnostics Lab
Lillian Walsh '26, from North Andover, MA, is a genetics major with a German minor at UNH. Thanks to COLSA’s SOAR Fund, she was able to accept a summer internship with the UNH Plant Diagnostics Lab (PDL), which helped her gain valuable skills in plant pathology.
The SOAR Fund supports undergraduate students by providing stipends that can be used to supplement unpaid internships or pay for transportation to interviews and career events. The SOAR Fund accepts applications year-round. While all COLSA students are invited to apply, applicants with financial need are strongly encouraged.
What did the day-to-day at your internship look like?
Lillian Walsh: Day-to-day work involves logging new samples received from local clients and examining them under a dissecting microscope to identify signs of fungal fruiting bodies or nematodes. These are then transferred to microscope slides for further analysis (for viruses, we use a different method called immunostrips). The fruiting bodies or nematodes are observed under a compound microscope to help determine their species. When necessary, pathogens are cultured on PDA (Potato Dextrose Agar) or in a moist chamber until visible symptoms reappear, at which point they are subcultured for further study.
What were your favorite parts of your internship? Any memorable moments?
Lillian: The most memorable moment during my time at the PDL lab has been receiving a small strawberry bush (with strawberries still growing from it!) and running different tests on it!
What was the most valuable thing you learned?
Lillian: The most valuable thing I've learned is having patience when it comes to letting bacteria or fungi growing in the media room or waiting for a positive or negative from a viral test.
What are your future goals? Do you think the internship brought you closer to them?
Lillian: My future goals are graduating UNH in the spring and heading to grad school to study plant pathology!
Any advice for students looking for an internship?
Lillian: My advice for students seeking an internship is to connect with your current or former professors — they’re often aware of great opportunities. There’s something out there for everyone, and every internship offers a chance to gain valuable new experience!
Tell us something you love about UNH.
Lillian: Something I love about UNH is how professors and advisors are genuinely invested in helping students find opportunities that align with their interests, and there are so many hands-on experiences that make it easy to apply what you’ve learned in class to real-world situations.
Learn More
SHARE
