Ambition
Well well well...as you can see I could be a much better blogger, especially concerning my consistency. Whatsoever, I have a lot to talk about in a very short amount of time since as you know, we are reaching the end of the academic semester and I am getting busier and busier.
First, my academics have been going quite well. Classes are going very well, especially my EMT class which has been a lot of “fun”. What I find enjoyable about this EMT training course is this moment where you are reaching the end of the semester and you realise the knowledge and skills you have mastered throughout the semester. A few months ago, I was unable to make a proper patient assessment. Today, I am trained to provide basic life support to trauma patients, from a simple sprained ankle to securing a patient with major bleeding from a gunshot wound. Exciting, isn’t it? I still have to take the national exam at the end of the semester but if I start studying early, then everything will go well. Hopefully I will be able to volunteer at Penn State as an EMT next fall which would be quite the experience, otherwise there are Emergency Medical Services outside of campus for whom I could volunteer.
Research wise, things have been going good as well. I am currently seeking independence in my lab at University Park which can be tricky since I am only an undergraduate student but hopefully my PI will let me work on my thesis project soon. I still have two years to work on that so I am not too worried, yet. On another note, I was also given the opportunity to present my cancer research at the New England Science Symposium held at Harvard Medical School this past weekend. It was very interesting to go back to Boston after two years and thinking about how much I have accomplished so far in my college career. To me, this is only the beginning of a great adventure. Hence, after a great weekend in Boston, spent meeting incredible scientists, I am back to Penn State, in the middle of nowhere, working in the hope of something bigger. Ambition in life is key.
As a final note, I believe I had mentioned in previous posts the existence of Schreyer’s Integrated Undergraduate/Graduate (IUG) program in Neuroscience. My plan was to apply to this program in order to get a master’s in Neuroscience. Although many professors were supporting my decision of pursuing the master’s program, I have decided to seek balance instead of expertise. Therefore, I have recently declared a second major in Philosophy with a concentration on Bioethics, a degree of great use for some who seeks to become a physician-scientist.
See ya everyone!