My name is Isha Shah, and I’m a third-year doctoral candidate at Rensselaer! I graduated in 2020 from Albright College with my B.S. in Biochemistry and started at RPI in the fall semester. I’ve ended up loving the collaborative nature of the Chemistry department and have taken many opportunities to both give and receive help from other labs to develop my research and professional skills. I appreciate the push that graduate researchers receive to develop mentoring skills through teaching assistantships and mentoring undergraduates in the research lab. I think there is also a push for a healthy work-life balance, which was one of the most important factors for me in deciding where I would pursue my career. When I’m not in the lab, I like to spend time outdoors with my dog, Venus, or volunteering with my organization Alpha Phi Omega to help at local schools, shelters, and humane societies. RPI has pushed me to be well-rounded both in and out of the lab and I can’t wait to see where my academic work takes me next!