How did you decide to apply for the summer student programme?

My dad is a nuclear physicist collaborating with a group in CERN from the time I remember. Hence I was hearing a lot about CERN, Geneva, the lake and the beautiful mountains around from my childhood. But it never came to my mind that I would actually once have the chance to participate in a project here. And then suddenly I'm here, working in a group that had 3 papers recently published in Nature, attending lectures given by the most significant world scientists, sitting in the auditorium where the Higgs discovery was announced, surrounded by amazing new friends and enjoying summer to the fullest. Oh and of course the daily delights of Swiss and French cheeses and chocolate. One of the best experiences in my life so far. :o)

What is your previous background? 

I am studying Biochemistry, which makes me a real wierdo over here. Therefore most of the lectures seem a bit like Chinese to me. Nevertheless seeing the lecturers being so passionate and enthusiastic about their field makes me thinking that whatever it is they are doing, it is worth learning more about it. All of the lecturers have the rare gift of both being supersmart and being able to transmit the knowledge and their motivation to the audience. Even though I usually do not understand what they are explaining (thanks to my missing background, not to the lecturers), it is always a great experience listening to them. I am really glad we have the chance to attend the lectures and get a glimpse of many features studied and performed here at CERN, because in my opinion that is what moves science forward - sharing ideas from different areas and maybe getting inspiration one from another. And especially for me it is a rare possibility to explore into greater depths physics, computing and other fields closely related to biochemistry, but somehow omitted in my university studies. 

Tell us a few words about your project.

I was very lucky to find a project at ISOLDE related to biochemistry. My supervisors are very nice and friendly, encouraging me to learn as much as I can during my stay here, including all possible visits and workshops. The project me and other few summies are working on is a completely new project, and it is really interesting to take part in it and actually see the progress happening in real time. 

Is your experience so far close to what you were expecting?

Well even the opportunity to be here at CERN is much more than what I ever expected and hoped for. The chance to spend the summer here, being influenced by some of the "biggest brains" and most successful scientists in the world is something I could not imagine before.
But what impressed me the most was probably the friendly atmosphere, the attitude towards us summer students - all the possibilities of visits, workshops, leisure time activities, friendliness of all the staff and people around. I actually expected CERN to be really "geeky" (well of course it is a bit at some point), but in fact it is a really nice place to be. 

Did you have time to travel around CERN? 

CERN is a unique place having all you can think of at one spot. Of course we went to Geneva, explored the beautiful town, swam in the lake, went biking in the countryside, hiking in the Alps, exploring the tunnels (sorry, it's a summer student issue, right..) and much more than I can think of. 

From my time as a summer student at CERN I will certainly remember...

Probably not the SM Lagrangian... but definitely the people I met here and the hope for coming back. Oh and the mouse farm!