October Blog Post

Service Hours: 2

October started off with our return to in person classes. After September's hectic schedule, I was glad to be returning to some normalcy again. Since then, it has been back in full swing, and we have covered a variety of challenging and engaging information as a part of lecture. Topics such as infectious disease pharmacology and cardiovascular pharmacology have proved to be challenging, yet enlightening topics, and have given me a new perspective to some of the complex innerworkings of pharmacology. For example, during our cholinergic pharmacology simulation video, I was able to watch the effects of different drugs on an animal's in vivo blood pressure. Being able to directly see the short and long term effects of different receptor agonists. 

As New Orleans returned to some normalcy as well, it brought opportunities for more engagement with both the community, and my peers. After our first test when we got back, many members of the cohort decided to meet at the Fly in the evening for a little post exam destress. It was our first real opportunity to meet up outside of the classroom setting and get to know each other a bit more. This helped open up more doors to connecting outside of class in a variety of ways, one of which being a recent volunteer opportunity. Along with two friends, I volunteered at the Covenant House in downtown New Orleans, during which we sorted and folded donation clothes. This was my first time volunteering at a shelter like the Covenant House, who provides shelter for homeless youth, and I found it to be rewarding work. Thankfully it is just down the street from my apartment, so I plan to spend more time there volunteering in the coming months during my free time. I enjoy volunteering with a  group of my peers, and have found it to be a great opportunity to meet others through a shared interest/passion. It has been a valuable way of meeting people during my transition here to New Orleans, and has truly given me a better connection with the community. I am looking forward to the further cultivation of this connection, and hope to get a variety of different experiences during my time here. 

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