February is barely halfway over, but its been action packed thus far!
We started this month with the second round of exams for the winter semester, focusing on both neurology and cell control mechanisms. I enjoyed learning during the neurology block because we covered disease that are very personal to me, including Alzheimer's Disease.
My grandmother passed from complications of Alzheimer's Disease in 2016 and I was her caretaker for several years. During this time, I also worked as a research coordinator at the Alzheimer's Disease Center at KU. Through this combination of personal and professional experience with the disease, I've come to learn a lot about its pathology and physical presentation, as well as the clinical trials with drugs promising to treat disease. It was very cool to have both a refresher and feel connected to the material that we've been covering over the past few weeks.
With the latest round of testing complete, I then focused my efforts on completing my volunteer hours for the semester. I started my community service at the Second Harvesters Food Bank, with an afternoon of sorting and packing after-school snacks. Then, I volunteered as both a safety inspector and category judge at the Greater New Orleans Science and Engineering Fair. This fair was huge deal -- it took place on the Uptown campus and hosted junior and high-school students from across the city. I'd personally never participated in a science fair, so much of this was new and exciting to me. I toured the rows of science projects with both interest and amazement at the creativity and scientific understanding of the students. As a judge, I also had the opportunity to interview the students in my category, Plant Sciences, to further understand their application of the scientific method and next steps for their projects. I have to say that this two-day experience was one of my favorite volunteer experiences I've ever done. If I'm around New Orleans this time next year, I hope to participate as a judge again.
With my volunteer hours for the semester complete, I am now left with a few big hurdles: studying for the NBME exam in March, and of course, Mardi Gras. I'm looking forward to experiencing the parades and revelry for the first time, while also getting in some good studying...and maybe a little sleep, too :)
Community Service Hours: 13
We started this month with the second round of exams for the winter semester, focusing on both neurology and cell control mechanisms. I enjoyed learning during the neurology block because we covered disease that are very personal to me, including Alzheimer's Disease.
My grandmother passed from complications of Alzheimer's Disease in 2016 and I was her caretaker for several years. During this time, I also worked as a research coordinator at the Alzheimer's Disease Center at KU. Through this combination of personal and professional experience with the disease, I've come to learn a lot about its pathology and physical presentation, as well as the clinical trials with drugs promising to treat disease. It was very cool to have both a refresher and feel connected to the material that we've been covering over the past few weeks.
With the latest round of testing complete, I then focused my efforts on completing my volunteer hours for the semester. I started my community service at the Second Harvesters Food Bank, with an afternoon of sorting and packing after-school snacks. Then, I volunteered as both a safety inspector and category judge at the Greater New Orleans Science and Engineering Fair. This fair was huge deal -- it took place on the Uptown campus and hosted junior and high-school students from across the city. I'd personally never participated in a science fair, so much of this was new and exciting to me. I toured the rows of science projects with both interest and amazement at the creativity and scientific understanding of the students. As a judge, I also had the opportunity to interview the students in my category, Plant Sciences, to further understand their application of the scientific method and next steps for their projects. I have to say that this two-day experience was one of my favorite volunteer experiences I've ever done. If I'm around New Orleans this time next year, I hope to participate as a judge again.
With my volunteer hours for the semester complete, I am now left with a few big hurdles: studying for the NBME exam in March, and of course, Mardi Gras. I'm looking forward to experiencing the parades and revelry for the first time, while also getting in some good studying...and maybe a little sleep, too :)
Community Service Hours: 13
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