I applied for the CERN summer student programme through George Mason University in Virginia, USA. The program is supported by an International Research Experiences for Students (IRES) grant from the National Science Foundation. I have never been to CERN before and I jumped at the opportunity that my university offered me. I am working on NA62, a collaboration located in North Area that uses the SPS to measure a rare kaon decay. Currently, the project is still under construction, and I am working to update the current logbook system to an electronic system. My experience at CERN is close to what I was expecting, but better.

One week before coming to CERN, there was a training workshop at George Mason University where we learned about each of our projects and what we may be expected to do. Even with that preparatory workshop, what took me by surprise what how much I really enjoy life at CERN and in Europe in general. I enjoyed my time in Switzerland very much. In addition to exploring around Geneva, I had the chance to visit Nice, France for a beach vacation, as well as Venice and Naples, Italy to see my family who is stationed at the United States Naval Base in Naples.

Katelyn Danielle Fariss and the Jet!

From my time as a summer student at CERN, I will of course remember my adventures traveling around Europe, but I will also remember learning more about physics and the time I spent on my research. I have been amazed about how many intelligent people are staying at CERN and how many great research projects are going on here. As of right now, I am not sure about my future research plans, but I would gladly welcome the opportunity to continue research at CERN.