Time is ticking!

So I'm going to Africa! There was some doubt as to whether the trip was going to be on, and I had started planning to go to the next trip in Oxford instead. But they actually lined up enough people to go, so it's back on!
Problem is, I am supposed to pay another $1,000 by this Friday, and I don't quite have that much yet. So if anyone would like to donate, I would appreciate it very much! You can donate by clicking the button below and choosing the amount, and VOILA! I'm going to Tanzania! :) Thanks to everyone who gives, I really appreciate it!

*phew*

So Fall Semester 2012 is OVER. After much nail-biting and craziness, all the grades are posted, and it's mostly good news. I made A's in Ecology, Physics, Biosystematics, and Senior Research Proposal. I made a B in Physics Lab, and I don't want to talk about it. Thankfully, I'm still on the Dean's List for this semester. I learned a valuable lesson about making sure group assignments are turned in, and I won't be depending on anyone but ME to make sure that happens next semester. So I'm going to enjoy a nice break, the Christmas holidays, and a week-long trip to the beach in Florida with my lovely family. :) Have a nice break, everyone. We earned it. (most of us)

I blinked...

... and when I opened my eyes, FINALS was staring me in the face. This semester went so incredibly fast. I have had a seriously great time.  I am enjoying my classes and doing pretty good (except for YOU physics!). I have ten more class days before it's over, and then two days of finals after that. Then I will be (semi-) free until January. I'm taking physics 2 (or 1, depending on how things turn out this time around), organic chem 2, cell and molecular tech, and environmental toxicology. Oh, and I will be doing my senior research presentation too.
I've been working on my senior research project this semester with Dr. Motley. I have had a lot of fun learning how to carry out experiments with cells and viruses and tinctures. I'm researching the antiviral effects of licorice root on hsv1. So far it's been a big fat zero because we initially were using too low of a concentration of glycyrrhizic acid (that's the active antiviral component of licorice root), and it wasn't doing anything. Now, we've been fighting with contaminated cells for two weeks. I am hoping on Saturday when we repeat the experiment AGAIN, it will actually work this time.
I had mentioned in a previous post that I am planning to go to Tanzania on a study abroad trip next May. I did pick the priciest trip possible, I think, but it's with a couple of my favorite instructors, and it's AFRICA! So I have asked some family and friends to help me out with the trip expenses with the promise that I will bring them back a gorilla or maybe some flip-flops or something genuinely Africa-like (hopefully not some strange disease). So if any of my millions of readers would like to contribute to my Go to Tanzania fund, you can click this button:

Pretty nifty, huh? The trip costs $6,200, and I'm supposed to have a $2,000 deposit by December 4. I am applying for a grant, which will be $1,000, so that will bring the December deposit down to $1,000.  Then I will need to pay regular payments of $2,000 on January 18 and February 15. I am also applying for a scholarship, but that won't be given out until after all the payments have to be made. It can be between $500-1,000. This cost includes everything on the trip except for a couple of meals and spending money. So if donations add up to more than I need for the trip and any vaccinations and supplies and other miscellaneous trip-related stuff, I will donate the balance to the charity of my choice. :) Sound good?

If you'd like to find out more about the trip, you can go to Study Abroad page at Columbus State University and read all about it. Thanks so much!!

Ciao,

~Val

What blog?

We are past midterms and approaching advising week. After that is early registration and suddenly all this energy will be directed towards spring semester 2013. 2013?!?!?!  Good grief, I'm getting old. 2013 is the year I turn 40. 40!!!!!
I've decided to take the trip to Tanzania next Maymester if I can raise enough money. It's a $6200 trip, and I have NO idea how I'm going to pay for it. I am really excited about the opportunity. I know I can get some money from CIE from the grants and scholarships, so hopefully I won't have to raise quite that much on my own.
The biosystematics midterm went well, and so far I have an A average for the class. Hopefully I won't screw anything up in the second half. I think I may have bombed the Ecology midterm pretty bad. I don't know why, I understand the material, I just couldn't pull anything up during the test. Before that I was doing pretty good. Hopefully I didn't tank my average too badly.
So things are moving along, and I'm having a really good time being the old chick in college. Hopefully I can do better keeping up with the blog. Ciao!

Fall is ON!

Somehow I've woken up in the middle of the fourth week of Fall semester. I have a biosystematics exam tomorrow, and I've been pretty good about studying along the way. The thing I've learned about upper level classes is that the content is so much more interesting. It's a lot easier to learn when you're actually interested in the subject. So I won't even address Physics in that context. I'm taking Biosystematics, Ecology, and Physics I this semester. I have long days on Monday and Wednesday, from 10am til 8:30pm on Monday and 10am til 7:45pm on Wednesday. Physics is the last class, and my brain is pretty much fried by then. Someone needs to make a nap lounge a reality on campus! The cool thing is I don't have classes on Tuesdays and Thursdays. So I do have time to study. I have to go on campus on Tuesdays because of AMSA and Tri-Beta, and every other Thursdays for Honors meetings. But honestly, I get a little itchy to get out of the house by then anyway. ;)
I remember looking forward to being a senior and thinking that I would feel so different when that happened. I guess the only thing that feels different is the panic I feel when I think of applying to med school. But I really don't have a lot of time to concentrate on all of that at this point. I'm just trying to keep the grades good and balance everything else. I believe I've found a pretty good groove.
I'm thinking of doing a study abroad trip next May again. Dr. Ballenger (my favorite professor from my first study abroad trip!) is taking a group to Tanzania. I was considering going to the Galapagos Islands, but I have all this nostalgia from my first trip, and I REALLY enjoy taking classes with Dr. B. And it's AFRICA! That part makes me a little nervous. AMSA is also taking a spring break trip to Nicaragua this year for a medical mission. If I can manage to afford both trips, I'm going to try it.
So I'll try to update more often, I do have a little more open time during the week. So if I'm not studying, I'll try to blog! CIAO!

Things are getting exciting!

I had a conversation recently with my faculty mentor for my senior research project. He asked me when I would be graduating, and what I had taken so far. I really didn't know the answer, I was thinking probably Fall 2013 for graduation. He looked at my file and said I might finish in Summer 2013. That would make a big difference in my applications process. I feel panicky all of a sudden! ACOM (in Dothan) should be finished by Fall 2013, but now Auburn University is making some noise about bringing a satellite VCOM campus to Auburn. I worry about all these med schools in Alabama and whether there will be seats for matching all these DOs when it comes time for residencies and internship and whatnot. But I don't have to worry about the hundreds of DO students, just me. I guess I'll have to figure out how to shine.
I just can't believe how quickly all this has flown by. The only time I really feel impatient is the week after finals before they post grades. I guess all pre-meds worry about GPAs and MCAT scores, and here I am already obsessing about matching and residency. I've got a LONG TIME before that is even a consideration.
This summer has been nice, I finished music appreciation on Friday, and next Monday starts bio of aging. I have to call the nursing home this week and go meet with them about coming in for four hours a week. This is the week that I am going to mark stuff off my list that I've been putting off. I feel like once the next class starts, it's a downhill slide into Fall semester. I'd better get some stuff DONE!
CIAO for now. :)

Remember me?

I think spring semester was the busiest ever. And I mean life did NOT make room for school this time around. My last final was on May 4, and I'm still trying to catch up on rest and stuff from studying. I ended up with a B in both Genetics and Cell Biology. I actually feel like that's what I deserved, I was just incredibly distracted this semester. I did make an A in Political Science. Summer classes started this past Monday, but the only thing I have going on is music appreciation for the first half. On June 11, I start biology of aging with Dr. Zuiderveen. It's mostly online, but I have to volunteer in the nursing home four hours a week and keep a journal. The final is on campus I believe. But summer looks to be a bit less stressful than spring was for sure! In the fall, I'm taking physics, biosystematics, and ecology. Dr. Newbrey has said she's a go for doing an honors contract in ecology. Boy is that a relief, I was beginning to think I wasn't going to get all my honors stuff finished. But hopefully it's going to work out now. Honors contracts are pretty much just some extra work that you do in a class in order to make it honors level. So I'll try to keep updating here, I'm just not all that interesting here lately. :)