Poster Tomorrow!

Hi all!

Well, it's winding down here at the STAR program at MCG. Tomorrow, we all have to present our projects during the poster session. I have my poster printed and my speech ready. So now I'm just practicing.

I cannot believe that I am done with the STAR program! Nine weeks have gone by so quickly! I also cannot believe the amount of research I was able to do while I was here!

It has definitely been a good experience. The research has been helpful for me in deciding what I would like to pursue as a career (I'm leaning towards medicine right now) and I have met some really awesome people.

My mentor has been fantastic and has made sure that I am ready for tomorrow. We have been working on my poster and what I was going to say for the past two weeks! Yesterday, he also sat me down and went over questions that I would be asked. I feel so much less stressed now. Whew!

Other than prepping for tomorrow, I also have been packing up my things and getting ready to go. I cannot believe that I shall be moving out on Friday! Then off to Florida to be with my parents for the rest of the summer. I'm excited to be able to relax before I head back to school in the fall and start at the Atlanta campus.

Well, back to work. Gotta practice for tomorrow!

Peace and love,
Lizzy

Oxford is Heating Up for Incoming Students!

Happy summer everyone! Oxford's campus is gorgeous right now with the sun shining through the trees and lighting up our quad. There are also some exciting changes taking place on campus and I can't wait til later this summer when I'll get to see the new and returning students' surprised faces. The library, Branham and East, and the JRC are all being renovated as I type. This includes new furniture, carpeting, new paint, and updated features. These new updates will really add to the campus and I can't wait to see the final products in each building. We are also having a lot more visitors on campus since life for rising seniors isn't busy just yet. So I thought I would share some tips for when you visit a college campus:
- Meet your admissions advisor! This is the person assigned to your particular state or school. They will be your contact throughout the application process so make sure you meet them.
- Come prepared with questions
- Eat a meal on campus
- Bring a camera- this will help you remember what each campus looks like
- Talk to as many students and faculty on campus- they are the ones that know the place best

Happy visiting!

From the Land of 10,000 Lakes

I have arrived and have been enjoying the Twin Cities for two weeks now. Minneapolis is a really cool city, and I am having a wonderful time. There are cute little restaurants and old buildings and the Mall of America, and the Mississippi River, and lakes, and museums. So many things to see and do! However, I have also found the city to be much more expensive.....

I have decided I would like to have a summer home here in Minnesota on one of the lakes. I absolutely loved Lake Itasca and didn't want to leave once my two week course was over. After being in the woods for two weeks coming to the big city was kind of shock. I had gotten used to watching the sunset from a canoe. Absolutely beautiful. But as I said, Minneapolis is a lot of fun.

My research is ok so far. I have learned so much about the immune system in just two weeks. I've made some presentations and (after FOUR attempts) finally succeeded in producing a satisfactory western blot. I have one more week until I start my very own project (I'm still just helping my mentor).

Anyway, here are some pics of the beautiful lake!

Summer in the City

Hey Y'all,

I did a post a while back, hinting at some places I'd be visiting in the coming weeks. Well, I'm happy to say that I am back at home—safe and sound. I'm also ready to reveal my mystery destinations.

Destination number one may have been the easiest to figure out. It was Atlanta! I’m from a very small town in the Deep South so it was nice to be in the city again. I spent two days in Atlanta, my home town and the location of Emory University, attending the Communities in Schools Summer Training Institute. This is actually a special conference for educators but I was asked to attend because I received a scholarship from the Wal-mart Foundation and Communities in Schools National as a high school senior. The trip was very brief but it gave me a chance to relax in a nice hotel and do some networking before moving on to my next city.



The following day, I woke up at 9 AM and drove to the airport. From there I passed through security and boarded my plane to Washington, D.C. This particular trip was sponsored completely by the Gates Millennium Scholars Program and really gave me the opportunity to do more networking, do some career exploration (my future is undetermined, as of now), and rediscover the city that I hadn't seen in years. About 30 other scholars and I were given the opportunity to attend the American Library Association's Conference and Exhibition that went on over our 5-day stay.



The conference gives students of Library and Information Sciences and Library/Information Science professionals the chance to experience the latest and greatest developments in their fields, meet famous authors, and attend sessions that encourage library improvement and advocacy. Over 23,000 people were in attendance and it was just about as amazing as it sounds. Thousands of sessions went on throughout the week and I wanted to attend every single one of them but I could only go to a few. When I wasn't in sessions I was seeing the city with other scholars! In addition to the great learning experience, I made a lot of new friends, and came back with tons of free swag from some of the sponsors at the conference. I had a great time!




I'll be updating more throughout the summer!

‘Til Next Time,
Imani