April

Well, it is April, and the pharmacology program is finally coming to a close. I am ecstatic to be finished and looking forward to the next chapter. This month was extremely busy as I took my MCAT, and am writing my masters thesis. This was my first time taking the MCAT and oh boy, was it everything everyone talks about. I'm hoping my score will reflect the time and effort I put into studying with my peers. My thesis, on the other hand, is coming along slowly but surely. I'm looking forward to graduation in a few weeks to spend it with some family that is coming down and to finally relax for a week. I am happy to say I got a job as an EPIC Analyst for Ochsner so I will be staying here to work for my gap year! When I first come to New Orleans I cant say I was the biggest fan of the city, however as time has went on, friendships were built, and hole in the wall food places were found. It has grown on me this past year and I am beyond thankful for the experience this program has given me to enjoy everything this city has to offer! Tulane has grown upon me to the point of where it is my top choice for medical school, so hopefully after the program they will see all the time and enjoyment this city has brought me over the last year.

Thanks,
Pierce Spencer

April hours: 0
Semester hours: 30
Total hours for program: 60

March

March has finally come and gone, and it was definitely one to remember. The cold weather has finally been subsiding, get-togethers are becoming more common, and the sweet smell of BBQ's are in the air. Through this month we had our cumulative shelf exam which we've been working towards since the day we got here in July. Now that it is over I can shift my full attention to my MCAT that is in 21 days. However, I also was able to finish up my volunteering this month as well!

This month I decided to volunteer for the tough mudder. This race is something that hits home for me in a few ways. First, its very focused on military values and is a partner with Team Rubicon. Coming from a military family It is nice to know I'm helping out a company that supports putting our values veterans back into the workforce. Over the course of a few days, we put up the obstacles, made banana pops, and set up the big vendor booths. During the actual mudder, we helped out the mudders get through obstacles, food/water, and encouraged them throughout the race.

To close this out I'll be continuing to search for a job and starting to work on my medical school application in the coming months.

See you in April,

Thanks,
Pierce Spencer

March Hours: 16
Total Hours: 30

February

Time is coming to an end. We have two months left in our program, and I can not believe the time has gone by this quickly. During the month of February, I did not have the time to volunteer nor did I get to experience mardi gras. Unfortunately, I was bedridden with strep, and a virus during mardi gras week. Fortunately, I'm staying in NOLA for my gap year, so I always have next year. I have also been busy studying for my MCAT that is coming up in April, the shelf exam that is next week and writing my thesis. On top of applying for jobs in my gap year. To say the least, it has been a stressful month. Thankfully Dr. Lindsey's class is all about stress. It is pretty interesting to know physiologically whats occurring to my body in times of stress thanks to that class. On another note, we started intramurals again which is always fun. We decided on 3 new sports this semester. We are doing football, dodgeball, and soccer. It is very interesting seeing the range of athletes in our class, and it is always a good bonding experience. I am looking forward to March because the weather is getting warmer, the shelf will be over, and St. Patty's day festivities can begin.

February hours: 0
Total Hours: 14

See you next month,
Pierce Spencer

January

Well after a much-needed break, and an interestingly cold January it is time to continue documenting my time here in NOLA. My first volunteer gig of the month was volunteering for the Saints vs Panthers playoff game for 8 hours. Classmates and I worked with the 50/50 raffle crew where their mission is to raise money for college scholarships for those in need. We were all assigned a certain section of the stadium to work, and we sold raffle tickets off to the fans. Interestingly enough their goal was to raise over 115,000 dollars. We ended up selling so many raffle tickets the system shut down, and we ended up at around 140,000 dollars. It was absolutely insane because we had lines going around the entire stadium for fans wanting to buy tickets. I think we could have easily hit 175,000 had we not had the technical difficulty. However, this experience was really great. We got to interact with all types of people ranging from Panthers fans (unfortunately) to new saints fans, to die hards that were dressed up in some crazy costumes. The best part about it though was knowing we raised 70,000 dollars in scholarships for those in need. My next escapade was tree planting with soul NOLA for 6 hours. This was actually a really unique and fun experience because when I moved down here the trees that arch over the roads fascinated me. I think that that is one of my favorite parts of NOLA. These trees we planted will one day be like those we see on the streets like Saint Charles or Fountainbleu where they overarch the roads and make beautiful scenery. It was nice working alongside classmates, and meeting new people all while coming together for a common goal.

Thanks and see you in February,
Pierce Spencer

December

Finally, things are coming to a close, and with that so have my volunteer hours for the semester. I spent 1 hour doing the edible schoolyard orientation where we sat in on a cooking class and helped the kids learn about kitchen utensils and different types of food. I then spent 4 hours in an open garden day where we helped do things that the kids could not. Such as shovel compost, and help plant some new veggies, and plants.

See you in January!

Total hours: 30
December hours 5

November is finally coming to a close. As I look back and reflect it has been a pretty productive and successful month. I spent this month focusing on volunteering, studying for class, and buckling down for the MCAT. This month I had the opportunity to help out the edible schoolyard of NOLA once again, and this time was able to participate in two projects. First, classmates and I helped out with a weekend garden day where we moved mulch, planted some veggies, and did some painting. We came together to clean and enhance the local schoolyards garden. My second event for edible schoolyard was the iron chef event. This was my favorite volunteer experience thus far. There were 8 chefs who paired up with volunteers and a group of kids where we made a signature dish for a group judges which had to incorporate the secret ingredient (papaya). My group came up with the idea of a papaya salad, and to be honest I was skeptical at first. However, our chef turned it into a great salad that everyone was happy with. My last volunteer escapade of the month was the day before Thanksgiving where my aunt and I went to the local food shelter in Ohio to serve the homeless a nice Thanksgiving dinner. This was a first for me as I have never volunteered at a food shelter before. Being able to see how thankful and gracious the homeless were for a nice warm Thanksgiving meal was pretty mind-boggling, and I have to look back and realize how thankful I am to grow up with a roof over my head, food, and a place to sleep every night.

See you in January!

November hours: 12
Total: 25

This October has been an interesting month thus far in my New Orleans journey. I have begun to work in a research lab, volunteered a little bit, and did some shadowing this month. I'm definitely excited to get back into a lab and to start doing research again. I have definitely missed being apart of a lab group, and am looking forward to learning new techniques! As for volunteering this month a few classmates and I decided to volunteer for the sweet potato fest at a a local school. To be honest, this volunteer experience was probably the most fun I have had since I moved up here in June. We got to interact, and play with community students, as we worked at a smoothie station. This was pretty unique in my opinion because the students actually biked to produce their smoothie. The school had a bike rigged up to a blender so if you input energy then you'd get a well blended smoothie. It was really entertaining to watch kids drink a sweet potato smoother... I was thoroughly impressed at how many of the kids actually somewhat enjoyed the somewhat blended concoction. During my break I was able to experience some of the festival by trying all different types of sweet potato dishes that ranged from sweet potato salsa all the way to pizza.

My last unique experience this October was being able to shadow a general surgeon. I've always knew that I have been most interested in a surgical field as I love to work with my hands, and put together puzzles. It was extremely satisfying and reaffirming finally being able to watch a procedure in real time, and see the teamwork that is associated in such a miraculous task.

See you in November,

Pierce Spencer

October hours 4.5
Total hours 13