During my SURF experience I was in a new environment, and I learned many new practices and knowledge while I was at the lab of Invertebrate Zoology at the Yale Peabody Museum. I enjoyed my time there, getting to learn from the senior collections manager, Eric Lazo-Wasem, and work alongside him. I learned how to properly maneuver their online database and catalogue samples into their system. I learned how to classify organisms to their lowest taxonomic level possible which gave me more knowledge about the organisms I am working with. Throughout the summer I collected literature about the organisms I identified, which will aid me in my senior research project. This experience allowed me to become familiar with working in a museum lab and how to carefully curate samples, which may be a path I might take in the future. Overall, I got a lot out of my SURF experience, and I’m glad I got the opportunity to continue my research this summer because now I have more knowledge for this topic, and I have connections for the future.