April Blog

Spring Service Hours: 8.5

Fall Service Hours: 42

Total Service Hours: 50.5


As I write the final blog entry for this program, it is hard to believe this year flew by so quickly. It feels like just the other day that I moved down to New Orleans (and then disappeared for a month due to Ida). I did not know what to fully expect when I came down here, but this city failed to disappoint on every front. Throughout the past year I have learned so much about New Orleans as well as myself and have grown on multiple fronts. The next medical school application cycle opens up soon, and after completing this program, I am excited at the prospect that it will bring.

The past month has been relatively relaxed as far as academics. We mainly we getting through presentations for many of our classes, during which we learned about many interesting topics. As a part of my presentation for the neuropharmacology class, I learned and spoke about a novel pH-dependent opioid drug that is selective for peripheral inflamed tissues, mitigating any central nervous effect seen with conventional opioids. We also had our shelf exam which was a challenge and I am glad to be through it. We have one more test in a couple days and then will be done in entirety. 

With some more free time, I had the opportunity for more service hours this month. Working with Culture Aid NOLA again to package food for those in need, it felt good to be back with the organization that I started the year off with. Seeing familiar faces while helping out those in need made the entire experience rewarding. We also had another card making session with the pharmacology department which we donated to local kids in a home. It was nice to have a reuniting activity with the class before we see each other for the last time. 

Looking forward to the experiences I can find in May and gearing up for the medical school application cycle. Come June I plan to move back to NC to start a job as an associate scientist as a pharmaceutical lab where I get to use the knowledge I just learned and learn new lab skills to test analytes in drug compounds. 


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