It is December which means it's time for Christmas preparations, the celebration of Jesus' birth, colder weather, gift-giving, baking, decorating, yummy smells annnnnnd GRADUATION!!! :)
It's so weird to think that after 20 whole years of going to school, I will no longer be a student in 3 days. No more homework, papers, assignments, projects, or exams! No more weekday-evening-reading or being studious while Robert's enjoying his responsibility-free weeknights. No more weekends filled with the mental battle of choosing between fun or homework! Guilt-free weekends are SO very exciting to think about! :)
I'm excited...and I know Robert's also excited about all what our time will hold now that...well, I'll have WAY more time for life! :) I'm looking forward to more interesting, well-planned dinners, and more free time on the weekends for SLEEPING IN, running, traveling, living, and just having a REAL weekend! I'm not sure if you can tell or not, but I'm SO excited.
I'm so thankful for all of the support and guidance from so many mentors, professors, friends and colleagues at Old Dominion and I've been extremely blessed by all of the prayers, encouragement, kind words, and the solid foundation my friends and family have provided during my graduate school journey. Thank you!
More news to come about my FUTURE this week...just waiting on official stuff. ;) This time next week...you can call me MASTER!
Showing posts with label biology. Show all posts
Showing posts with label biology. Show all posts
Saturday, December 11, 2010
Wednesday, September 22, 2010
4 months and 1 MS comprehensive exam later...
As you know, it's been a WHILE since I've posted. Lots of things have passed in these past 4 months and summer has come and, officially (as of today), gone. It's quite unbelievable...and so very sad. I love the summer so much for so many reasons...sunshine, beach, blue skies, warmth, beach, cookouts, long days, vacations, beach...
This summer, however, was sort of a different story; not quite the sun-shiney, happy summer season. My Master's Comprehensive Exam was scheduled for the end of August this summer. My BIG test on pretty much anything I've learned in the classes that I've taken during the past 2 years of studying at ODU. Yes, scary. Very. Scary. Studying was certainly not the most fun thing to do during the summer... I had a very hard time focusing early in the summer with the small amount of time I had while I was teaching in the Anatomy & Physiology exam in May & June. July was then filled with our annual beach trip, out of town visitors, having a little fun, and attempting to re-focus my efforts in studying. July flew by and I instantly and majorly felt the pressure for effective, quality studying to prepare at the beginning of August.
August was filled with library and coffee shop visits, freaking out, hours and hours of reading, thinking of the possible outcomes of my exam, reviewing potential exam material, more studying, becoming overwhelmed, and reading the Bible and praying fervently to the God who created all of the intricacies of the human body that I was studying. (Do you know how amazing kidney and cardiac physiology are? I know that are so very amazing and that only a Divine Creator could ever dream of and form such functional and purposeful, complex cells, tissues, organs, organ systems along with their the perfect coordination to allow us to function as we do. Amazing, I tell you.) :) Not only is he Creator, but He is my Comforter and my Friend, too. Reminding myself and being reminded that He cares for us always and in everything is a truth that carried me through my anxious thoughts and through my exam.
This was certainly one of the most challenging obstacles of my life emotionally, physically, academically, spiritually. I cried (...and cried and cried), I became tired of and from crying and mentally focusing for such long periods of time, I prayed, cried some more, read and prayed again. For some reason, I'm not super (*understatement) at coping with stress or with overwhelming situations and as a result...I cry. I think this very undesired emotional response was amplified exponentially by my anxiety: the unexpected and infinite possibilities questions my professors could ask me, the uncertainty of my focusing/studying the right material, longing for the test to be over, on top of the magnitude my performance had on the entire exam and therefore finishing the MS degree I had started all played into my thoughts. It seemed there wasn't a single moment that passed where I wasn't worrying, studying, or praying in August.
All I can really say is how thankful I am for my God and His placing such encouraging people, mentors, friends, and family during this entire process. I've never read and prayed his Word more specifically or as often as I had during this month and have come to realize how important this way of praying is. I am so very thankful to our Creator for providing exactly what I needed throughout my studying, in my growth and dependence on Him, and especially for His provision during my exam.
I praise God that this part of my life is over with and that my professors were gracious enough to grant me passing grades on all of the sections of my comprehensive exam! With the successful completion of this exam, hopefully I will be finishing my degree either this December or in May; I'm just waiting on credits and paper work to be approved by the University.
Thank you to all of you who encouraged, listened, and prayed to help me through this. <3
This summer, however, was sort of a different story; not quite the sun-shiney, happy summer season. My Master's Comprehensive Exam was scheduled for the end of August this summer. My BIG test on pretty much anything I've learned in the classes that I've taken during the past 2 years of studying at ODU. Yes, scary. Very. Scary. Studying was certainly not the most fun thing to do during the summer... I had a very hard time focusing early in the summer with the small amount of time I had while I was teaching in the Anatomy & Physiology exam in May & June. July was then filled with our annual beach trip, out of town visitors, having a little fun, and attempting to re-focus my efforts in studying. July flew by and I instantly and majorly felt the pressure for effective, quality studying to prepare at the beginning of August.
August was filled with library and coffee shop visits, freaking out, hours and hours of reading, thinking of the possible outcomes of my exam, reviewing potential exam material, more studying, becoming overwhelmed, and reading the Bible and praying fervently to the God who created all of the intricacies of the human body that I was studying. (Do you know how amazing kidney and cardiac physiology are? I know that are so very amazing and that only a Divine Creator could ever dream of and form such functional and purposeful, complex cells, tissues, organs, organ systems along with their the perfect coordination to allow us to function as we do. Amazing, I tell you.) :) Not only is he Creator, but He is my Comforter and my Friend, too. Reminding myself and being reminded that He cares for us always and in everything is a truth that carried me through my anxious thoughts and through my exam.
This was certainly one of the most challenging obstacles of my life emotionally, physically, academically, spiritually. I cried (...and cried and cried), I became tired of and from crying and mentally focusing for such long periods of time, I prayed, cried some more, read and prayed again. For some reason, I'm not super (*understatement) at coping with stress or with overwhelming situations and as a result...I cry. I think this very undesired emotional response was amplified exponentially by my anxiety: the unexpected and infinite possibilities questions my professors could ask me, the uncertainty of my focusing/studying the right material, longing for the test to be over, on top of the magnitude my performance had on the entire exam and therefore finishing the MS degree I had started all played into my thoughts. It seemed there wasn't a single moment that passed where I wasn't worrying, studying, or praying in August.
All I can really say is how thankful I am for my God and His placing such encouraging people, mentors, friends, and family during this entire process. I've never read and prayed his Word more specifically or as often as I had during this month and have come to realize how important this way of praying is. I am so very thankful to our Creator for providing exactly what I needed throughout my studying, in my growth and dependence on Him, and especially for His provision during my exam.
I praise God that this part of my life is over with and that my professors were gracious enough to grant me passing grades on all of the sections of my comprehensive exam! With the successful completion of this exam, hopefully I will be finishing my degree either this December or in May; I'm just waiting on credits and paper work to be approved by the University.
Thank you to all of you who encouraged, listened, and prayed to help me through this. <3
Wednesday, April 21, 2010
Plasmodium falciparum
What you see here in these pictures are Malaria and mosquitoes on sugar cookies. Yes, I said MALARIA and, yes, I said SUGAR COOKIES. Malaria... as in the terrible, deadly disease one can contract after being bitten by a mosquito (Anopheles spp.) infected with the parasite Plasmodium falciparum...Last week, I made these cookies and brought them into my Molecular Genetics class last Wednesday for our lunch-buffet. My professor, Dr. Cooper, for this class was my Parasitology professor
last fall and just so happens to be a Malaria expert. Also, we had a guest speaker from Notre Dame, who's a friend/colleague of Dr. Cooper and, again, just so happens to be a Malaria expert. He's one of the leading researchers of Plasmodium falciparum, its genetics and specifically how its genetics affects its drug resistance (Dr. Mike Ferdig). Kind of a big deal being that the primary drug used for malaria decades ago has become resistant and there hasn't been a drug as cheap and effective. While these gentlemen are very familiar with malaria, mosquitoes, and the havoc they can wreak...they were certainly not prepared to see malaria, mosquites, and cookies and experience wreaking havoc on those cookies! It was a great surprise, a fun addition to our Malaria discussion, as well as a perfect way to start winding down the semester! I'm hoping that if my brain didn't cut it for a good grade this semester...that these cookies will help me out.
You'll notice my rendition of the Anopheles species mosquito and an assortment of parasite red blood cell stages: ring stages, both young and mature trophozoites, and schizonts.
As always, I most certainly had amazing assistance and am quite pleased with this project that has brought together my love for cookies and biology. <3
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