February 2017

Happy Mardi Gras! Carnival season is coming to a close in New Orleans, but it’s been a busy and exciting few weeks here. There have been endless parades, floats, and beads over the last month, as well as a couple tests to mix in. Our classes have finished with the endocrine and reproductive block, the final block of the year, and we are getting ready for the cumulative pharmacology shelf exam in only two weeks. The test will cover everything we have learned this year in the medical pharmacology course, so there will be plenty of preparations ahead.

Otherwise, I have continued to volunteer with Habitat and was able to work out an afternoon to tutor at SciHigh this month. It was great to get back to tutoring at SciHigh after a busy start to the semester. The pre-calculus students continue to be dedicated learners, as our group made great strides in their coursework. I’m looking forward to continuing the work and seeing them finish this school year strong. For Habitat, I spent a day working on a ladder as we installed soffit beneath the overhanging roof around the perimeter of a new house. It was exhausting and nerve-racking work, especially at the 30 foot tall sections of the home, but it felt great to finish a job originally expected to take at least a couple days. Further, the house was located in New Orleans East, a region of the city that was significantly affected by the floods of Katrina. After talking with some of the Habitat crew and other volunteers, I became more aware of the ongoing effort the organization is putting forth to repair the devastating damage that occurred a little over a decade ago. I could even see several houses along the street that had been constructed by Habitat since the flooding. It was a meaningful experience to learn more of, witness, and contribute to the steady progress they are making to repair the damages from the floods. Going forward, I anticipate continuing those relief efforts as well as those towards repairing the devastation from the most recent tornado.

- SciHigh: 1.5 hours

- Habitat for Humanity: 8 hours

- Total Spring Semester: 17.5 hours

January 2017

We have returned from the holiday break and are hitting the ground running. We wrapped up the first block of the semester covering neuropharmacology and are already close to finishing the psychopharmacology block.

Otherwise, I have continued to work on construction projects around the city with Habitat for Humanity. This month, I was sent to a project in the upper section of the Carrollton neighborhood, where I worked on caulking, painting, and insulating a new home for a newly single mother. We had a small group of individual volunteers working on the project, but we were able to make a lot of progress towards finishing the exterior of the home. While I was working, I had a chance to talk with one of the supervisors of the project more about the requirements of the individuals or families receiving the homes, how the organization obtains many of its supplies, and on some of the ongoing projects in the city. Most of the families who are apply for a home from Habitat do so because they are unable to obtain a new loan for a house; however, Habitat requires that those receiving a home must be stably employed and contribute to over three hundred hours of “sweat equity”. This requires the individuals to work on building other houses with Habitat as a means of financing their new home. Obviously, this can be very challenging for a person who also works a full-time job and can take some time to accomplish. However, it does help propagate the work of the organization as well as establish a close community in those who have benefited from its work. Coupling that with the ongoing personal and sponsored donations they receive, it was interesting to learn more about the great impact they have had on the communities and economy within New Orleans. Working with them has been a unique way to learn more about the city, and I look forward to continuing that as we move forward.

-Habitat for Humanity: 8 hours

-Total Spring Semester: 8 hours

Final Volunteer Hours for Fall

December 2016

-Habitat for Humanity: 4 hours
-SciHigh: 3 hours

Fall Semester Totals

-United Way: 4 hours
-Crescent City Cafe: 7 hours
-SciHigh: 9.5 hours
-Habitat for Humanity: 36 hours

-Total Fall Semester: 56.5 hours

November 2016

It’s the holiday season, and we are winding down our first semester. We just finished a short break for Thanksgiving and are beginning the final block covering the GI system. It has been a short five months since the beginning of the program, but the progress has been remarkable. The work has been hard, but I’ve been amazed at how much we’ve accomplished. So far, we’ve learned about countless drugs, numerous techniques in clinical and research medicine, and I’ve had the opportunity to volunteer with four different organizations in Louisiana. It’s been a learning experience settling into the curriculum as well as a new city, but the process has been incredibly rewarding.

This month, I have continued my work with Habitat, where I have worked on building the foundational structure for a new house in East New Orleans as well as finishing the flooring and interior portion of the house I first worked on just three months ago. I was amazed and excited to see how quickly the construction of a new house has come along; it appears the closing process is underway and residents will be able to move in very soon. It’s been a very productive experience to volunteer with Habitat and work on building and renovating homes for individuals or families in need. One of my primary community service goals for volunteering in New Orleans was to help the need for affordable housing within the city, and it’s been fulfilling work to be a part of that with this organization.

As we finish this semester and move into the next, I look forward to the new studies ahead and the continuing opportunities to volunteer within the city. Happy holidays from New Orleans.

Habitat for Humanity: 16 hours

Total Fall Semester: 49.5 hours

October 2016

It’s Halloween, and another month has passed. Our classes have shifted from cardiovascular to renal pharmacology, and we are steadily moving into the final blocks of the semester.

Outside of classes, I have continued my volunteer work within New Orleans, both with SciHigh and Habitat for Humanity. The pre-calculus classes I normally tutor have been busy with holidays and testing this month, but I was able to spend one afternoon judging group projects at a school-wide science fair. I primarily judged the projects from the environmental science classes, and it was exciting to see the enthusiasm and effort the students put into their projects. Mostly, I was very impressed by some of the unique and creative experiments they developed. Overall, it was a fun experience to see the students applying some of their classwork to practical situations and a great way to stay involved with the school.

I also spent another day working with Habitat for Humanity, where our team was working towards stripping paint and repainting, as well as performing minor repairs, on an older home in the Treme neighborhood of New Orleans. The weather was little cooler than the last time I volunteered with Habitat; however, due to the threat of lead exposure from the paint, our team had to be completely protected with full body suits, respirators, and goggles. It was warm, to say the least. But, we made significant progress on the house and even had a chance to meet and speak with some of the homeowner’s family. It was a great opportunity, and their expressed gratitude made the hard work well worth it.

-SciHigh: 2 hours

-Habitat for Humanity: 8 hours

-Total Fall Semester: 33.5 hours

September 2016

The month of September has seen a lot of building upon the foundations established in the first month and a half of the program. We have finished the neoplasia and hematology block and have transitioned into the autonomic nervous system and cardiovascular system. This block covers a lot of new physiology and drugs, but it’s been interesting to combine concepts from previous blocks to the new material. Outside of classes, I volunteered another day at the Crescent City Café, but I also added two volunteer commitments this month.

A few weeks ago I began working at the New Orleans Charter Science and Mathematics High School, or SciHigh, to help tutor students studying pre-calculus. Studying topics in math was always one of my favorite subjects as I grew up, and it’s been a rewarding experience to pass along any insights I might have to their studies. This month, their classes have been covering foundational topics such as designing single variable functions and proportional equations. Many of the students I’ve worked with thus far have been very enthusiastic about learning the material, and it’s been exciting to see their progress in only a short time. I’m looking forward to seeing their continued improvement as the semester and school year goes along.

Also, I had an opportunity to help build a new home with Habitat for Humanity one weekend this month. It was not easy work in the late summer heat, but, incredibly, our team was able to finish installing the external insulation, roofing, doors, and windows in only a day. I’ve signed up to volunteer several more weekends this year, and I hope to continue working on the same project to contribute to its progress.

-Crescent City Café: 3 hours

-SciHigh: 4.5 hours

-Habitat for Humanity: 8 hours

-Total Fall Semester: 23.5 hours