Megan Chase

Meet Megan

As a part-time student who is transitioning into a new healthcare-based career after 15 years of working, Megan needed to be able to take her courses online. As a prerequisite for her new career, the microbiology lab offered by the UCSD Extension program was a better fit for her needs.

“I’m a career changer, over 40 with 2 kids (13 and 11). They’re still young enough where I need to be around a lot, so I specifically chose UCSD because of their fully online program. I wanted that because it gave me the flexibility to finish my pre-req courses while still working full time. I would log in at 4 am or after 10 pm. A traditional schedule wouldn’t allow that level of flexibility, and UCSD was the most flexible of all the options I looked at.”

As an undergraduate student more than 25 years ago, Megan was nervous about going back to school. Though she has her PhD in statistics, taking labs online would be different.

“I was nervous about using a lab platform—that was new to me. I also had questions about how much I would learn and what the materials would be like”

When Megan received her hands-on kit, she felt more at ease.

“Everything was very organized and clearly labeled, especially important for microbiology. I appreciated the QR code on the box. That was super helpful to quickly cross check everything. And when I started navigating the lab platform, I found it pretty user friendly. The Getting-Started lab in anatomy was helpful because it walked me through each section along with expectations.”

💡Light Bulb Moment💡

“I’m a self-directed learner. I need to be able to start my studies when I can to be able to do my best, and I was able to do that in the lab management platform—stop and start as needed. I feel that through the lab platform I learned a tremendous amount. Whether the labs end up being directly applicable to the field I ended up going into, they did help build a strong foundation so that I can be successful in what I’m doing.”

My Most Memorable Lab:  Dissection

“All of the dissection labs were memorable. It’s not every day I’m dissecting something in my house. I’ve two fetal pigs, a sheep’s brain, and a heart. The whole idea of learning by doing is real. It’s helpful to have the set up of content and knowledge first, and then be able to apply it in the experiment.”

Drawing Conclusions

Like any good experiment, you work your way through the scientific method to analyze the results, reflect on your findings, and draw your conclusions so you can move forward with new knowledge and ideas.

So now that you’re at the end of your online lab course, tell us: what did you learn and what advice might you give after your experience?

“For any students taking an online lab course, it’s important to realize that while you can’t ask your instructor about things right in the moment, that’s okay. Getting the right answer isn’t always necessary; it doesn’t take away from your learning. Don’t get stuck on perfection. Just go through the lab and do the best that you can.”

Is It Worth It?

“I looked at a lot of options for my education. Cost was a big factor in my decision. Going to campus, driving/parking, all of that is a time suck.To me, the cost of my kit was not an issue because of how much I would save on commuting. I can spend a few hundred dollars for the whole course or drive to a campus somewhere just to spend 6 hrs in the lab! Obviously, there’s going to be a cost either way, but with this option, I got the flexibility too.”