BIOS Ambassador: This is a position organized by the biology department to act as a student face for prospective student events. In the fall I would table for tour groups, and in the spring I would sit on panels for bobcat up close days. I gained a good amount of public speaking experience from this, as well as opportunites to talk with some of the faculty that would be doing the events with me.
Co-Curriculars
Camp Counselor/Lifeguard: This was probably one of my favorite experiences in the past four years. I worked at a summer camp as a counselor for kids anywhere between 7 and 15 years old. I would lead daily acitivites in th ewoods or down at the waterfront where I also had a position as a lifeguard. Many of the staff were internationals. and I some very good friends. This job gave me experince working on an international team while staying in the woods of rural Ohio
Edison Biotech Institute Research Assistant: Following some events in my personal life, I felt very moved to join a medical research project upon entering university. One of my friends who was tutroing me at the time was talking about his research with lung cancer at EBI. I reached out to the primary investigatro and worked there for over two years until he retired, and it gave me some hands-on experience with basic laboratory techniques and how to conduct ethical research. I even was able to head my own project in that last year designing a new protocol for cell coutning,
Organic Chemistry PLTL Leader: This was probably my most consistent leadership role while at OU. When I was going through organic chemistry which is the bane of many pre-med's academic careers, I did peer lead team lernign (PLTL) and had the benefit of an amazing leader who understood the concepts and filled in a lot of the gaps from lecture. He really improved my self confidence with the subject and I wanted todo the same. I ahve taught 2 sections fro the last 4 semesters, and really enjoyed it. This experience has really tested my grasp of organic chemistry, but also my skills as a teacher, and I have had to workshop and readress some of the strategies I had going into teaching these sessions.
Emergency Department Volunteer: The beginning of my third year I was thinking on my extracurriculars only to realize I was a pre-med student with very clinical exposure. I had heard some of the ERs in the area took volunteers and was interested. Four semesters later and I have used this experience as a spring board to becomming an EMT which I plan to do during the gap between graduating and getting into medical school. This opportunity was my first expereince dealing with patients, and it has confirmed that this is a setting I could see myself working in.
SEARCH Summer Scholars at Nationwide Children's Hospital: This was something I was able to do going into my fourth year. I was able to shadow different subspecialites in the pediatric cardiology department at Nationwide Children's while alos learning about public health in underserved populations. This experience gave me a new respect for what it is t be a healthcare professional, and defintiely added more fuel to my drive to become a part of this profession.