My First Job

>"My first job was as a student assistant for the math, physics and engineering department at Palm Beach Junior College, now Palm Beach Community College. I worked in the physics and engineering labs helping set up experiments. I also assisted the faculty members in tracking the results of their work in the classroom. Being in the lab and sort of being the sous chef for the professors was an interesting experience. I learned about the process of experimentation and what a working lab is like. It certainly taught me that things don't often work the first time you try them.

"I made pretty close to nothing. I was a student at the same time, so it supplemented what I needed to go to school. It was a really tough time. My dad was sick and I had intended to go north for my education. Instead I stayed at home, went to school and found this job.

"It showed me that you can hit your goals; you just have to look at opportunities a little bit differently.

"I also learned that I didn't just want to be in a laboratory or behind a desk; I wanted to be out with people. That's when the world of museums opened up to me. Math and engineering are all around me on this job, not only in the historical sense, with Thomas Edison's labs, but in the real sense-expanding the infrastructure and programs at the estates. We just finished a major restoration of the homes and now we're on to the next phase, restoring the research labs and enlarging the museums.

"If you love something, there are lots of ways to involve it in your life. This is a great cultural attraction, and people get to learn a little science in the bargain."

-Lauren Bernaldo