I had high hopes for the beginning of this year; I was planning on blogging about my science education here at Wofford since day one. Obviously, I haven't been keeping up, and even now as I’m trying to write this I'm looking through Pieces of Flair (Damn you, Facebook). But my resolution this year is to set aside each Sunday to devote time to this blog that I’ve been neglecting, along with "Friday Facts"-- little snippets of info each Friday, that are at least interesting enough for my roommate.
Anyway, I hail from Las Vegas, Nevada; and during my senior year I applied to at least 9 schools, most of which were tiny (having less than 2,500 students) and had a neuroscience program. Well thank you Dennison, Kenyon, Oberlin, William And Mary, Case Western, Grinnell, and Harvey Mudd for your wonderful rejection letters ( I know you really don’t care that you destroyed my self-esteem). The only college that had accepted me (besides my own State’s college of UNR, and if you were from Nevada you would never go there either) was a college in South Carolina that I’ve never even heard of and applied to on a whim. So I arrived in South Carolina, and I’ll admit, I was a little bit heartbroken that I hadn’t been accepted into my top choices, but I bargained with myself to make the most of it. I finagled with the Biology and Psychology Chairs to get out of the freshman starter classes like Zoology and Intro. Psyche, with my well earned AP credits (oh how those many, many sleepless nights have paid off), and got myself into Genetics and Abnormal Psychology.
Looking back on last semester, it was pretty amazing. Genetics and Abnormal Psychology were definitely the hardest classes I’ve taken but also my favorites. Genetics was a blur of lectures in the Olin teaching theatre, Dr. Moss’s rather fun stories, and Labs in Milliken Science Center where I learned to use a micropipette (It’s so awesome, but I'm really bad at it. Well, at least I think so) and denatured my own DNA. Dr. Moss is one of my favorite teachers and I would go to pretty much any lecture he held. Abnormal Psychology was another favorite. I have to admit, I did feel a little confused at the beginning of the year, just by the sheer volume of reading that needed to be done, but in retrospect, I think the class was an accurate representation of a typical college class and its workload. Ab. Psyche was a really interesting class taught by Dr. Nowatka (another one of my favorite teachers). Although we were required to complete Journals that related to the readings and it forced me to open up a little, which I really don’t like doing (I don’t like to reveal my dark and troubling past to anyone). But I guess it helped me relate the material in a way that was personal. I can’t wait to take Social Psyche with her next semester!
After a few short months here, Wofford is all that I hoped for and more as a college. Small student body size and a program in neuroscience were definitely the prerequisites for my college choices, but by coming to Wofford, I also found a beautiful campus and a state-of-the-art Science Center, an amazing staff of teachers, and most surprisingly, a home.
Anyway, Interim is on its way, and Medical Botany seems interesting enough. Everyone is saying what a silly idea picking an academic class is for interim, but I'm way too nerdy for my own good. I’ll be back with another week to update on Medical Botany with Dr. Rayner.
Anyway, I hail from Las Vegas, Nevada; and during my senior year I applied to at least 9 schools, most of which were tiny (having less than 2,500 students) and had a neuroscience program. Well thank you Dennison, Kenyon, Oberlin, William And Mary, Case Western, Grinnell, and Harvey Mudd for your wonderful rejection letters ( I know you really don’t care that you destroyed my self-esteem). The only college that had accepted me (besides my own State’s college of UNR, and if you were from Nevada you would never go there either) was a college in South Carolina that I’ve never even heard of and applied to on a whim. So I arrived in South Carolina, and I’ll admit, I was a little bit heartbroken that I hadn’t been accepted into my top choices, but I bargained with myself to make the most of it. I finagled with the Biology and Psychology Chairs to get out of the freshman starter classes like Zoology and Intro. Psyche, with my well earned AP credits (oh how those many, many sleepless nights have paid off), and got myself into Genetics and Abnormal Psychology.
Looking back on last semester, it was pretty amazing. Genetics and Abnormal Psychology were definitely the hardest classes I’ve taken but also my favorites. Genetics was a blur of lectures in the Olin teaching theatre, Dr. Moss’s rather fun stories, and Labs in Milliken Science Center where I learned to use a micropipette (It’s so awesome, but I'm really bad at it. Well, at least I think so) and denatured my own DNA. Dr. Moss is one of my favorite teachers and I would go to pretty much any lecture he held. Abnormal Psychology was another favorite. I have to admit, I did feel a little confused at the beginning of the year, just by the sheer volume of reading that needed to be done, but in retrospect, I think the class was an accurate representation of a typical college class and its workload. Ab. Psyche was a really interesting class taught by Dr. Nowatka (another one of my favorite teachers). Although we were required to complete Journals that related to the readings and it forced me to open up a little, which I really don’t like doing (I don’t like to reveal my dark and troubling past to anyone). But I guess it helped me relate the material in a way that was personal. I can’t wait to take Social Psyche with her next semester!
After a few short months here, Wofford is all that I hoped for and more as a college. Small student body size and a program in neuroscience were definitely the prerequisites for my college choices, but by coming to Wofford, I also found a beautiful campus and a state-of-the-art Science Center, an amazing staff of teachers, and most surprisingly, a home.
Anyway, Interim is on its way, and Medical Botany seems interesting enough. Everyone is saying what a silly idea picking an academic class is for interim, but I'm way too nerdy for my own good. I’ll be back with another week to update on Medical Botany with Dr. Rayner.
