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February 2026: Life in the Classroom

February Hrs: 0 Total Hrs: 66 This month, I was not able to get out in the community to complete more service. I was instead focused on my academic life, and trying to balance life with the academic rigors presented by both the program and the MCAT. Regarding my personal life, it was great to see Mardi Gras again, with all of the amazing floats and marching bands playing, especially since the last time I went to Mardi Gras was before the COVID-19 pandemic. Regarding the MCAT, I have been slowly doing flash cards to help me remember material that I may have forgotten after undergraduate, and have done some practice questions, though not many. Right now, my main goal is finishing the program strong. The endocrine module was a fun module to learn, and I did enjoy learning about the insulin mechanisms and the additional drugs that are used to treat diabetes, especially with how prevalent diabetes is within our society. The Cellular Control part of this module allowed me to go over some top...
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December 2025/January 2026: A Busy Winter Break

January Hrs: 66 Spring Total Hrs: 66 Over the winter break, the service that I did kept me busy. I returned to Manning Family Children's over the Christmas holidays. During my time in the hospital over the holiday, I was still getting to give a patients a somewhat normal experience while they’re in the hospital, whether I play board games with the patients, playing Minecraft in the playroom with a patient, or being a pretend patient, I never know what the day would bring for me.  In addition to the hospital, I went back to Salmen Scout Reservation for their annual Winter Camp as a volunteer staff member. While at camp, I primarily taught Scouts the Chemistry and Public Health merit badges, which I requested because I wanted to use my knowledge from my academic career to help the Scouts understand the concepts that were required for the merit badges, such as pH, the chemistry behind cooking, bacteria, viruses, the diseases that they transmit, and treatment. I enjoyed this experience...
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November 2025: Trust the Process

November Hrs: 6 Total Hours: 27 This month has been on the busier side in the classroom, as we have learned a lot of mechanisms. The past two modules, CV and Renal/Pulm Pharm, were dense modules, but I enjoyed the process of learning both of the modules, and I have also embraced the challenge. The most difficult parts of the modules for me were the many drugs used for the many forms of hypertension, antiarrhythmics, and heart failure, because of the many possible underlying conditions you have to account for, and which drugs are contraindicated because of certain mechanisms. While I do believe that my process still has to be fine-tuned, I’ve started to see better results with my approach.  Continuing at Manning Family Children’s, I worked two shifts: one in the playroom and one assisting with a bingo event and in the teen room. During my shift in the playroom, I continued being a great customer for the play diner in the playroom, which reinforced my commitment to patient interact...
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October: Return to Manning Family Children's

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October 2025 October Hrs: 12 Cumulative: 21 This month, I resumed volunteering with Manning Family Children’s in the 2 Center Playroom and Teen Lounge. I’ve done this for two summers, and now that I’m back in New Orleans, I can continue volunteering here during the school year. My duties included going into patient rooms and inviting eligible patients to the playroom/teen lounge and supervising them. During one shift in the teen room, I helped a patient who was about to get discharged write thank you cards to nurses and doctors, and play a round of Connect 4 with him (I lost). During a shift in the playroom, I had nine patients in the playroom, and was making sure all the patients were safe, and made sure they got all of the toys, board games, and arts and crafts, and even showed a patient a magic trick that I learned. One time in the playroom, I was a faithful customer in the play diner for a patient. On October 15th, Manning Family Children’s had a halloween party for the patients,...
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September 2025: First Month, Lifeguarding at Salmen Scout Reservation

September Hours: 9 Total Hours: 9 Coming from a rigorous undergrad program at Rhodes College, I’ve been pleasantly surprised by the Pharmacology master’s program, and I am enjoying my time in this program. I enjoy learning from my professors on topics such as pharmacokinetics and common inflammation medicines such as Benadryl and Tylenol, and the various drugs that are used to treat infectious diseases such as bacteria and viruses. What truly makes this program enjoyable is the passion for learning that my classmates and I share, which excites me and makes me excited to learn new material as the program continues, as well as the fantastic professors that teach the material.  This month, I volunteered as a lifeguard at the annual Shoot Swim Climb event that is hosted by the Southeast Louisiana Council of the Boy Scouts of America. Shoot Swim Climb is an event that happens at the council’s camp, Salmen Scout Reservation, where they open up the pool, rifle range, and climbing tower ...
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