Enoch and Marissa Mills: Saying Goodbye to Microbiology

After teaching five sections of microbiology at BYU I have called it quits. It was very emotional having my last day, I think I am just a bit overwhelmed by the thought of change. Regardless, it was a great learning experience and I have been cultured in the world of microbiology to some extend. Some of my proudest achievements include being able to identify some organisms by smell, making 1,000 TSA plates (agar dishes) in one day, going to Yellowstone for $15 with the department, and keeping all but two organisms out of 100 alive for the year that I transferred them.

While working in the stockroom and as a teaching assistant for the microbiology 222 lab Brother Lee was my boss, and honestly one of the kindest people I have every met. He was constantly thanking me for what I did and was always interested in my life and what I was doing. Plus when he was really happy he would express himself by saying he, he (literally)

So now I can say I have taught a class at BYU I guess (with the trusty aid of pre-made PowerPoint slides.) I have learned effective ways to lecture, I have taught somewhere in the realm of 120 students how to find things under a microscope, light a bunson burner, preform a graham stain, and the list could go on.

It has been a wonderful journey from not understanding microbiology to understand the concepts and drawing real world application. So as my final remarks on the subject- microbes are everywhere, don't eat potato salad on picnics, wear sun sunscreen, wash your hands, a light microscope can differentiate up to .2 nm, and remember the four groups of chemical control (quats, halogens, alcohols, phenols)

So what do I do now, life without microbiology? My cousin Brianna hooked me up with a job in the electrical and computer engineering office as a student accountant, then I got a job as a dietary aid at Trinity Mission Health and Rehab as a dietary aid, and I may go back to Urologyland a day or so each week