After attending Tulane as an undergraduate, the thought of leaving New Orleans made me distraught and unhappy. While I missed my home of San Francisco, CA, I couldn't have imagined living anywhere else besides New Orleans. Along came the Masters in Pharmacology program at Tulane and I couldn't have been happier when I made the decision to stay in New Orleans for another year! 

The past few months have been a whirlwind, filled with overwhelming emotions on my first day of graduate school (where did the time go?), stress in anticipation of many block exams, but more importantly excitement when I got the opportunity to meet the rest of my peers in the program! It's been quite a hectic three months already, but I'm having a great time and excited to see where this program takes me throughout the next year!

One fun aspect of the program is the community service component. This year, I've decided as part of my service portion, to volunteer in the Emergency Department of Children's Hospital New Orleans. I've just begun volunteering every Sunday morning, but already it's been a rewarding experience! 

Through volunteering, I've been fortunate enough to interact with nurses, EMTs, social workers, and even physicians, which has allowed me to learn more about the cohesiveness of an ER team. There's never a dull moment in the ED, which makes for an exciting volunteer shift for myself! Moreover, as a volunteer I am able to interact with patients as well. 

It's truly amazing thus far to see how great the Children's Hospital is, mostly because the doctors at Children's are able to help those who may not otherwise have access to medical care. I cannot wait to experience more over the coming months!

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