November

November was a really interesting month in terms of the Pharmacology program. I learned a great deal in the Cardiovascular module as well as the Renal/Pulmonary module. The team based learning exercise for the cardiovascular chapter was one of the coolest things I had the chance to participate in and it really put into perspective what we were learning in class. This month has also been interesting in the laboratory. I am working with a post-doctoral graduate and other students on a Lipidema project which has been giving me chances to practice my in-vitro techniques that I learned about in class. I ran my first Real Time PCR a few days ago and will doing more cell culture work in the future. However, my experience in the past has been predominantly in-vivo, so I am excited to be working with animals again next semester.

On the volunteering front, I got more involved with Louisiana HOSA: Future Health Professionals this month. I talked to a few of the state offices as well as past state officers on what areas they believe we should work on to enhance the program this year. I will be helping prepare for the state leadership conference in March by going over parliamentary procedure skills, public speaking skills and the basics of marketing HOSA as an organization. In addition, I will be getting in contact with a LA Department of Public Health Official this week to see how I can help kick off a program that is being run in partnership with HOSA and get Tulane Undergraduate Students involved.

On a personal front, it has been a great month for running. I ran my first half- marathon and have been slowly ramping up my exercise intensity. I finished the month with 105 miles run. I will be shooting for 110 in the month of December. I have also been listening to a great deal of country music while running, and it really has been growing on me.

Total Community Service Hours Complete: 8

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