September Service Hours: 0
Cumulative Fall Semester Hours: 0

Greetings! 

A month in to the program and I can tell you it has been flying by. Having been in California for the past year, it came as an initial adjustment to transition back to my native area. But, this program has given me so much to think about and do it has made the transition extremely smooth. I was initially very nervous since I have been out of school for a while, and I am passionate about attending medical school. However, the amazing teachers have not only presented the material content in an applicable and exciting manner, but they have also made it abundantly clear that they are here for us. In fact, this is the first time I've been involved in a program where I truly felt that all of the teachers and the school itself cared about us deeply and would do anything to help us to succeed. It has been eye opening to listen to seminars focusing on the different grounds being broken in medicine and research. I particularly enjoyed the talks on CAR-T cells, stem cell research (especially induced pluripotent stem cells), and environmental signaling. Who knew that Louisiana has some of the worst levels of lead toxicity in the country, and that there are simple measures we can take to reduce the harmful effects. I was able to keep up well with the material in the first block, but I have definitely been working on finding slightly more balance in my study habits and regular healthy living habits. 

Another component of the program I'd like to address is the class. I feel very lucky to have such a good group of people who are all in the same boat. I think the small class size, the rigors of the program, and the overall shared experience inevitably induces a strong bond formation between peers (probably covalent). The people in this class have helped me cope with my anxiety about the program and have shared their knowledge and care. 

Unfortunately I have the least to report on service this month, but it is definitely in the works. I will be starting to volunteer at Children's Hospital through the "Songs for Kids" program hopefully this week. The application and vetting process has been thorough and includes shadowing time before beginning to work independently. This has contributed to the delay in beginning, however, I haven't been more excited about a service opportunity. As someone who loves kids and loves music, I can't wait to combine the two. In this program my job will be to go around the hospital with my rolling keyboard setup and try to brighten the days of the kids there. More to come on this later. Have a great day!

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