Pharming in New Orleans

Time is just flying by! I can't believe next month is our final month and we'll be graduating so soon! In the beginning of March, we had our NBME shelf exam in med pharm. It was a 113 question long exam (and more difficult than our typical med pharm exams), but I'm glad we got some exposure to cumulative exams since I'll be doing a few of those in the near future during and after PA school. In addition, we had our second to last cell control exam... just one exam separates us from a master's degree - woo! Now that med pharm is officially over, we have tons of free time and I'm excited to enjoy this weather but also prepare my application for PA school! This month, I continued volunteering with Edible Schoolyard - through weekly garden education classes and at their fundraiser "Edible Evening" at Langston Hughes Academy. This event is ESY's major source of funding for the entire year and it was such a fun volunteer experience! I was assisting t

...is fabulous! It's 81 and sunny, and has been this gorgeous for almost 2 weeks now. I keep forgetting it's February/winter in most parts of the US. We've already had Mardi Gras AND spring break so this program is quickly approaching its end. Mardi Gras was an interesting experience and a lot to take in. I'm glad we had the rest of the week for our spring break to recharge! This semester, we've had less lecture based courses and more presentation based classes which I love. This month, I volunteered at another family food night at Green charter school. The theme for this dinner was a Mardi Gras picnic - complete with yellow, green, and purple vegetables + fruits. I learned that Edible Schoolyard actually provides 70% of the students' meals during the week. In addition, after each family food night, ESY provides a swag bag of the ingredients needed to make the dishes at home. Because I love Edible Schoolyard so much, I also started volunteering as a weekly gar

Cheers to the new year! After a relaxing 2 weeks back home, we started this semester with a few new classes. In addition to med pharm, our schedules now include cellular control mechanisms, environmental signaling, endocrine pharmacology, and cardiobiology. This semester is different than the last semester since there are a lot more presentations and less exams! Yay! This month I volunteered with Hollygrove Market for the first time and continued to volunteer with Edible Schoolyard at their Family Food Night. For this past Family Food Night at Green Charter in Freret, we made some amazing tacos and hot chocolate cookies. We even made tortillas from scratch and got to teach the kids how to press their own tortillas. It was a great experience and after cooking up a storm, we all sat down to share dinner together. Hollygrove market is an urban farm, produce market, and community garden. The market exists to increase accessibility of fresh produce to surrounding under-served neighborhood

I never would have thought I would experience snow in New Orleans... yet, here we are on December 8th, 2017 as it snows outside.  Just three days ago, it was a lovely 80 degrees with the sun shining and the birds chirping. The past few days have been freezing cold (with temps in the 30s) and rainy. New Orleans weather is always surprising me. My last volunteer experience of the semester was at the Girls on the Run 5k at Audubon Park. This was an awesome event that the whole community was a part of - there were krewes, all sorts of organizations who participated in the run, and even dogs dressed in tutus running the 5k. I remember the first few weeks of practice, the girls would not want to run the entire time. However, each girl gave 100% effort at the 5k and it was such a wonderful thing to experience. Hopefully, I will be able to continue volunteering with Girls on the Run next semester. Our last exam of the semester is next week and then I'm off to NJ until the new year!

November has been full of fun volunteering experiences! Earlier this month, a few classmates and I volunteered with SOUL NOLA (Sustaining Our Urban Landscape) by planting 99 trees in Mid City. These trees were completely free for those who requested them, and not only do they look great, but they aid in flood prevention. A few months ago in August, there was flash flooding throughout Mid City, parts of the French Quarter, and the CBD. At the time, they blamed it on the pumps not working...but it's still unclear if the pumps are working 100% now. Anyways, I didn't know that there are many natural ways to aid in flood prevention, which includes planting more trees, incorporating permeable pavements, and having rain gardens. After planting a bounty of trees throughout Mid City, we celebrated with jambalaya and po-boys at Parkway Tavern! In addition to volunteering with SOUL, I volunteered at Edible Schoolyard's Family Food Night at Green Charter school in Freret. This was a

Finally, cooler weather has graced New Orleans! To be honest, it's been a little too chilly the past few days (with lows in the 50s and 40s). I guess I've acclimated to the heat and humidity? This month has flown by and we covered 2 blocks - we recently finished up the pulmonary block and are currently on the GI/neoplasia block. My favorite topic we have covered in this block was angiogenesis and how tumors utilize angiogenesis to become malignant and metastasize. Learning about angiogenesis inhibitors was also fascinating - how scientists and researchers are developing these new drugs that produce little to no side effects since they are not cytotoxic in nature. I'm excited to see where this will lead us in the treatment of cancer. I have continued to volunteer at Girls on the Run at Sacred Heart Academy this month. Volunteering with these girls has been a wonderful experience. Most girls don't want to run at the beginning of each practice, but end up exceeding the