Pharmacology Program All Wrapped Up!

Monthly Community Service Hours Completed: February: 0 hours

Cumulative Spring Semester Service Hours Completed: 25 hours

So with the month of April, I had some volunteer opportunities that I wanted to include, but was unable to because I was just so busy in reconnecting with old friends, making new ones, attempting new feats, and developing some fine motor skills! I swear I have the pictures to prove it! Hahaha. I'm glad I had the foresight to knock out my community service hours early on in the semester. 

     My first time running the Crescent City Classic 10K!

 Me feeding Maverick the Giraffe at the Audubon Zoo!

 Dinner with some old friends from my time in the military at Commander's Palace!

Same friend group, but this time in Baton Rouge!

Me cannulating a mouse inguinal axillary lymphatic vessel!


As the Tulane University School of Medicine Pharmacology Program comes to a closed, I have had one major realization: I thoroughly enjoy watching medication commercials now and recalling what the various drugs can treat disease via their respective mechanisms of action. I never thought I would feel that way about medication infomercials. But here we are and it is all thanks to my time in the program. I am quite relieved as the school year comes to a close and am looking forward to future endeavors. I wish my colleagues the best of luck! Also, a very big thank you to the staff and faculty that supported me throughout the program! Sorry for the excessive use of exclamation points, but as you can imagine, I am very excited to be graduating!

The New Orleans Book Festival at Tulane Universty

Monthly Community Service Hours Completed: February: 6 hours

Cumulative Spring Semester Service Hours Completed: 25 hours

Yesterday I had the opportunity to volunteer at the New Orleans Book Festival hosted by Tulane University at the uptown campus. I worked at an Usher in the ROTC building where various talks took place. It was also my responsibility to greet guests and count total guest attendance for various forecasting purposes. One of the talks I got to attend included "Mystery, Magic, Myth and the Power of Imagination" which was the special kick-off event for the Family Day Session. It was a rotating panel of speakers which included young adult content authors such as Mia Arauho, Marti Dumas, M. R. Fournet, Adam Karlin, and Rachel Marsh and was moderated by Tulane's own Lindsay Cronk. Another talk I got to attend was entitled "Whodunnit: True Crime and Crime Fiction" which also featured a panel of true crime authors including Danielle Arceneaux, Rick Cohen, and Gary Phillips and was moderated by Ethan Brown.

By far the most profound I had the pleasure of attending was the one featuring former two-time United States Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy on the topic of his book entitled "Together: The Power of Human Connection" and was moderated by Tulane's own President, Michael A. Fitts. I took so many great quotes from Dr. Murthy that day and even ended up picking up a copy of his book. His philosophy on how powerful human connection is changed my perspective on how healing it can be for us as humans. My favorite quote from him was this:

    "If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together."

 I hope to emulate him and his philosophies on connection of the human spirit. Tulane University treated its volunteers quite well! I got a free book festival t-shirt out of the experience and was able to finally visit the bookstore where I picked up a graduation sign for the front yard. I would definitely volunteer at this event in the future!

    The Pharmacology program is so close to being done! My focus is to crush the Medical Pharmacology final and spend as much time as I can in the lab. On Friday, I was able to cannulate two vessels for the first time and with it being my first time trying! It was gratifying to accomplish this! Sorry for all of the exclamation points, but there are just so many exciting things happening. I am looking forward to graduation!

Mardi Gras Mambo 10K/15K

Monthly Community Service Hours Completed: February: 6 hours

Cumulative Spring Semester Service Hours Completed: 19 hours

Last Saturday, I had the opportunity to volunteer with the Mardi Gras Mambo 10K and 15K that took place in Baton Rouge, Louisiana! It was such an exciting event seeing so many people dressed up in their Mardi Gras gear while running such a demanding event! There were over 1,500 hundred runners that consisted of types of people - including children! I had the pleasure of working in the Gear Check tent in which runners could drop off their belongings and then pick them back up at the end of the race. We had a pretty simple system of just marking their belongings with paper tape that had their bib numbers written on them. It felt good to be trusted enough with the runners' belongings so that they could focus on their individual events!

Early start at 6 am

Some beads I got from the Raising Cane's tent

Mr. B helping a runner at our Gear Check tent

The runners lined up just before the start whistle

 I got to meet an avid runner named Mr. B who was a fellow volunteer with me at the Gear Check tent. Both him and his wife are runners and have ran in more marathons, half marathons, and Iron Man events that I could count. I ask Mr. B what his three favorite things about running are. He told me that it's these three things:

1) the health benefits
2) the running community
3) the victory and success you feel is all you and yours alone

He really opened my eyes to the appeal behind running as we were talking, and he may have even inspired me to sign up for the Crescent City Classic which will take place here in New Orleans on April 19, 2025. Big maybe on that one. Overall, it was a very fun event and I had the opportunity to explore a new city that I hadn't been to before.

          Classes have been going well. I am very glad to have knocked out four of the six presentations I have this semester after only being back in classes for a month. I am also really glad that I have been able to knock out my mandatory community service hours early on - this means that I may have more time to volunteer at even more events! There are lots of good ones that will be coming up in the future like the French Quarter Festival and many, many more. I will be volunteering with the Tulane Nola Book Festival at the end of March and am very much looking forward to hearing prominent authors speak here at Tulane. I'll be sure to let you know how that even goes!

Winter Break Update

Monthly Community Service Hours Completed: January: 13 hours

Cumulative Spring Semester Service Hours Completed: 13 hours

It was quite a busy winter break for me. I feel I spent a good mix of relaxing, spending time with my family & friends, and getting a jump on my community service hours for the spring semester. I started out by conducting training for volunteering in the Superdome during the Superbowl. During the four hours of training, we learned about safe food-handling practices, how to properly serve alcoholic beverages to of-age patrons, what to do during emergency situations, and got to go on a tour of the facilities. We also learned about the different vendors and clients that the Superdome serves and the mission of Sodexo Live! in caring for its customers. I am definitely looking forward to the big game day!

The next community service project I engaged in was with the Celebration in the Oaks. It was so lovely seeing the park transform into a winter wonderland after volunteering in the same park during the spooky season of Ghost in the Oaks. I enjoyed this volunteer activity so much that I went two nights in a row for a total of six hours. I assisted patrons in taking photos with "Cajun Santa", which was a statue of a giant alligator dressed in a Santa outfit. There was also free hot chocolate, roasting of the marshmallows, and of course, unlimited rides for all of the guest. It was especially sweet because each volunteer member got a free voucher to do the walking tour also per volunteer shift. 

The last volunteer event I participated in was through United Way just before Christmas for three hours. We assisted in wrapping up gifts for boys and girls for people to come pick up for free at the community center. Each family was allowed to pick up five toys in total and the selection included a chemistry lab set, bead/jewelry making kit, a Jeopardy game, Throw Throw Avocado, a tabletop hockey set, and a tabletop bowling set. We set up a drive thru service so that the families didn't even have to leave their vehicle and we could deliver the toys right to the trunk after they made their selections. We were also joined in our volunteer work by one of the New Orleans City Council members. It was a gorgeous day and we as volunteers even had the opportunity to take some toys home to our loved ones! I grabbed a couple chemisty sets for my nephews! 

I had a few other volunteer events lined up over the break, but unfortunately they had to be canceled due to inclement weather. Another event I am looking forward to is volunteering with the Mardi Gras Mambo which is a 10K being held on February 15. I'll be sure to keep you updated. Overall, I am ready to get back into the swing of things and finish up the Spring semester with a bang! I did quite well last semester and I am hoping to keep that same momemtum and energy into this next semester with the Medical Pharmacology final exam looming in the distance. I am super excited about techniques that I will hopefully be mastering in the lab in the upcoming months so wish me luck! Lastly, I'll leave you with a photo of me riding a hot-air balloon in Teotihuacan, Mexico overlooking ancient pyramids - it was easily the highlight of my winter break!

Big Lake Native Plant Trail Restoration Project

Monthly Community Service Hours Completed: November: 3 hours

Cumulative Fall Semester Service Hours Completed: 13.5 hours

Today I had the opportunity to volunteer at New Orleans City Park Conservancy Group by working on the Big Lake Native Plant Trail Restoration Project. The weather could not have been more beautiful and there did not seem to be a single cloud in the sky. I learned so much from the Volunteer Coordinators who had over 25+ years of collective experience in working with native plants. We worked in the small marshlands to remove some of the invasive species of plants that were hindering the native plants from growing healthily. Some of these invasive species included Peruvian Skullcap, Chamberbitters, nonlocal Dayweed, and a mysterious hybrid of some type of intrusive grass. This mysterious grass is also non-flowering which makes its identification even more difficult. With removing these invasive plants, it allows local plant such as the aquatic Milkweed and the Obedient plant to grow naturally. The Obedient plant is named as such because no matter which way you arrange the flowers of the plant, it will keep its flowers in the same exact spot you left them! Apparently this is the only plant in the world that will do this and it was fascinating to see in person. I also saw a lot of people setting up for the Beignet Fest that is scheduled to take place in City Park tomorrow, so I may have to go check that out since it is so close to my house.

The Pharmacology program has been challenging and we only have a few weeks before the semester ends. I will keep working hard and I hope that I can keep my grades up so that I can achieve the goal of getting a 4.0 this semester just like I set out to do at the beginning of the academic year! This winter break is much needed and I can't wait to get some time to spend with family. Wish me luck for these last few exams and see you next semester!

P.S. Dr. Clarkson, if you see this, Dr. Scott Davis who worked with Tulane SOM in the Department of Pediatrics for over 40 years says hi! He was a fellow volunteer that I had the pleasure of meeting today!

Ghost in the Oaks

Monthly Community Service Hours Completed: October : 9 hours

Cumulative Fall Semester Service Hours Completed: 10.5 hours

                    

    Ghost in the Oaks is a seasonal family-friendly fundraiser that takes place in the Carousel Gardens Amusement Park located within New Orleans City Park. The festivities include a pumpkin patch, decorate your own trick-or-treat bag, hot dog roasting station, and trick-or-treating all throughout the Storyland portion of the amusment parks. Patrons also have access to unlimited rides on all of the attractions. Some of the rides that most patrons seemed to enjoy were the Scrambler, Fun Slide, Coney Tower, and the Rockin' Tug. 

               

    My responsibilities included handing out the blank trick-or-treat bags to the children and helping them decorate their respective bags with the arts & crafts supplies. It was amusing getting to see all of the fun costumes that people dressed up in. One family was dressed as characters from Alice in Wonderland and the person dressed up as the Red Queen kept going around shouting "Off with his head!" It reminded me of the mnemonic we are using to remember the symptoms associated with anticholinergic poisoning:

Mad as a Hatter
Blind as a Bat
Dry as a Bone
Hot as Hell
Red as a Beet
Full as a Flask

    Overall, it was a very fun experience and a new way for me to enjoy New Orleans City Park.

    With respect to the Pharmacology program, all of my focus right now is continuing to learn more in the lab and preparing for the upcoming Principles of Pharmacology and Medical Pharmacology exams next week on the Autonomic Nervous System. Wish me luck!

Anesthesiology Residents Cooking Class

Monthly Community Service Hours Completed: October: 4 hours

Cumulative Fall Semester Service Hours Completed: 5.5 hours

                       

This time around, I got to volunteer with Tulane University School of Medicine Goldring Center for Culinary Medicine. The Goldring Center for Culinary Medicine offers cooking classes for the community to learn various recipes ideal for children, for patients who may be looking to lower their blood sugar level, and those easy on the wallet just to name a few.  The student population for this particular class was Tulane's own Anesthesiology Residents taught by Chef Heather Nace who is a Registered Dietician. 

The class began with a classroom portion that covered topics such as the nine-point scoring system and the Mediterranean diet. Next, Chef Heather covered how important incorporating fiber content into the diet is. She compared energy dense food versus nutrient dense foods, and how sometimes a food item can be both. One interesting point she made was that if you keep a well-stocked pantry, you can focus a shopping trip to simply the perimeter of the grocery store paying particular attention to the produce, proteins, and dairy sections. 

Black Bean Veggie Burgers, Hummus Sandwiches, 

and Salad with Red Wine Vinaigrette

Next, the students got to practice making an assortment of breakfast, lunch, dinner, and even some snack/dessert recipes to go along with it in various teams. My duties and responsibilities including assisting with the cooking, bringing items to the different cooking teams, bringing dirty dishes to the sink, washing dishes, and clean-up in general at the conclusion of the class. A nice perk to the volunteer work was that we all got to try some of the food produced by the different cooking teams. Some of my favorite items prepared by the students were the Black Bean Veggie Burgers, Balsamic Marinated Mushrooms, and the Pumpkin Spice Oatmeal Cookies. Everything I tried was pretty yummy and I look forward to the time I get to volunteer with the Goldring Center for Culinary Medicine next month!

Overall, the Pharmacology program has been going well. I got to perform microdissection of a murine lymph node and then image the tissue using immunofluorescence staining under confocal microscopy which was incredibly exciting! The lecture content can be a bit challenging at times, but I think that is because it is just the first time I am being exposed to it. For instance, I used to work in an Emergency Department at Advocate Trinity Hospital in Southside Chicago, Illinois, and I have seen a lot of EKGs before as it was my role to document the recordings. However, this is the first time I am learning about what the different leads, waves, and intervals mean. Nevertheless, I am enjoying learning about all of these new topics and will keep on working hard to reach my goals.