Health Science Reviews

By Enya Steyn

What a journey it has been! 

My year started with a mix of fear and excitement. During undergrad, people often said that honours is something to be feared- and to some extent, they were right. But thankfully, it got better.

At first, I was overwhelmed with imposter syndrome. I kept thinking, “ Why am I here?” . As an introverted person, all the sudden changes were especially tough. I had moments where I felt so overwhelmed that I would go completely mute. It was scary. 

But slowly, that nervousness began to fade, and I started to settle into this new normal. The Division of Human Genetics along with my amazing fellow “Hum gen girlies” made everything so much more memorable and enjoyable.

My honours journey started with the General Techniques course which was super interesting. Some techniques were completely new to me, and I appreciated the chance to learn and grow. The lab techniques course flew by which was filled with laughs, some failed PCRs, and wild moments. It was hectic but so rewarding.

After that, we began the four Human Genetic modules. I thoroughly enjoyed the content – it reminded me exactly why I chose Human Genetics in the first place.

I am grateful to be here and to have started this incredible journey into research. I have found my passion, and I cannot wait to see where the future takes me. I am especially looking forward to working more on my research project and continuing this journey along the DNA strand. The strand does not end here—it is only just the beginning.