April Showers bring May Flowers

April was not supposed to come this quickly and yet here we are at the end of the program and I can’t help but wonder when the span of a year became such a fleeting amount of time, over in the blink of an eye almost as if it never really happened at all. But it did happen, this year was one filled with growth and with growing pains, accomplishments and minor setbacks. I really grew into myself this year, and of course much of this is due to the nurturing environment of the Tulane Pharmacology department and of the city of New Orleans. Now as this school year comes to a close, I feel an overwhelming amount of gratitude to the city and to the school and to the department that took me in as a fragile and insecure girl with little self-confidence and seemingly unattainable dreams of being a doctor and gave me a safe space to pick myself up and learn how to crawl, then walk, and finally how to run full steam ahead towards the dreams that suddenly don’t seem so unattainable. Perhaps most invaluable of all, I have regained my confidence and my trust in my ability to succeed, and for me that is the most precious gift of all. In short, Nola and Tulane’s Pharmacology department have both been exactly what I needed in a time when I needed them most, and I will forever be beyond thankful to have been taken in by such a nurturing and encouraging group of people. I hate goodbyes so instead I’ll say “until we meet again Nola”.

Hours this month: 8

Total Hours: 31

Pharmacology crew volunteering at Habitat for Humanity this month:

March Madness

This month has been a rather full one to say the least. Starting with taking the shelf exam on the 7th, then diving headfirst into research, and finally catching up on some much needed volunteering while also trying to keep up with class social excursions as the weather hits mid-70s perfection, March has been a mad dash to fit as many meaningful and productive activities as possible into four weeks.

One of the more meaningful and collaborative pursuits I was involved in was working with my classmates at a habitat for humanity site. Arriving for duty at 8am, we were put to work constructing the house’s foundation and floor support beams. Needless to say, for someone whose main form of physical activity involves carrying my backpack between classes, the library, and my apartment I faced a learning curve when it came to learning the correct way to hammer nails and the proper form for transporting wood planks between the storage trailer and the house site. However despite my initial struggles I quickly found myself enjoying the challenge of assembling the various separate pieces into a cohesive foundation and I was surprised by how rewarding it was to have a visible testament to the amount of work we accomplished with one day of labor. I am very grateful for the experience of working with my classmates in making a tangible contribution to building a house that someone will one day live in, and I am eager to continue working with habitat for humanity in April to aid with other construction projects in the New Orleans area. Until then I will continue to reflect fondly on the the time my classmates and I helped build a house.


Hours this month: 11
Total hours: 23

Is February already over?

            This month I experienced my first ever Mardi Gras Celebration and I can honestly say that I have never seen anything like it before in my life. Tourists began descending on the Crescent City around a week before festivities began and the influx only got worse with each passing day. By far my favorite parade of the entire festival was the Krewe of Muses parade despite the fact that I was unable to snag an embellished muses shoe but I suppose there is always next year.

            Now as February comes to an end and the Step exam looms ever nearer I can’t help but feel that this month has been an exceptionally short one. The only volunteering I was able to fit in occurred during our school’s spring break when I went home and volunteered at two competition events hosted by my old high school. The first such event on Wednesday evening was a Scholar Bowl tournament where I proctored five rounds of the junior varsity competition circuit. Then on Saturday I was a judge for the Fermi event at the regionals Science Olympiad competition which was similarly held at my old high school.

            In conclusion, February seems to have flown by rather more quickly than usual, probably due to the fact that Mardi Gras celebrations fell in the middle of the month this year.

Hours this month: 12

Total Hours: 12

New Year New Me? (Misadventures in NOLA part 2)

            As we draw nearer and nearer to Mardi Gras I can honestly say that my first January in New Orleans has brought with it a whole host of new and unexpected experiences. For starters, we had not one but two snow days earlier this month during which the entire city appeared to be a ghost town from some post-apocalyptic novel. It has been a strange experience for me to be confronted with just how unprepared for cold weather this city is, I guess icy roads and sub-freezing temperatures are such an uncommon occurrence down here that they do in fact merit a city-wide shutdown as was the case this year. But thankfully the weather has moved steadily towards the warmer end of the spectrum.

            The other hot topic of the month is of course the anticipation and excitement for Mardi Gras that can be felt in every corner of the city. It seems like each passing day brings with it more and more tourists, and I can only imagine how many people will have flooded the city by next weekend. Although I am excited for all the parades and to experience everything that is Mardi Gras in general, I can’t help but mourn the influx of so many out-of-towners. Although my expressing such a sentiment is ironic in itself considering the fact that I am technically an “out-of-towner”. Maybe this is a sign that New Orleans is slowly but surely becoming a place I could call home. I guess only time will tell, but I am optimistic for the rest of the semester and I look forward to all that 2018 will bring.