Well, this is it, the final blog post! April has sure flown by. We just had our final event with the pharmacology program this afternoon, which was our final seminar. This was a special lecture, given at the end of each year called the Schüeler Distinguished Lectureship in Pharmacology. It was given by Dr. Eric Olson of UT - Southwestern in Dallas, TX and it focused on correcting diseases through genome editing. Aside from that, I picked up my volunteering again this month after not doing much through the business of March. This month I first spent three hours volunteering at "Wednesday's at the Square." This is a weekly event put on by the Young Leadership Council of New Orleans with live music and food from local restaurants. I worked the ticket booth and helped people purchase tickets in order to participate in various activities at the event. My next volunteering opportunity came from two hours of soil collection. This was part of our class' efforts in detecting lead levels in the soil around New Orleans. It involved driving around the city and spending time exploring various locations where young children may frequent and digging up and cataloging the soil. We were required to make note of the location, the address, and the GPS coordinates. In addition to these two volunteering efforts, I spent seven hours doing park clean up in Audobon Park. This is a completely community driven effort taking place several times a month that involves members of the local Uptown community spending some time beautifying the park and keeping it clean for all members of the community to enjoy.

I have thoroughly enjoyed my time in this program this year and 100% endorse it to any one reading this and considering attending next year, or any time in the future. I feel more prepared for a possible career as a physician and this program has given me all the tools and experience to excel. I cannot speak enough about the relationships you will develop and the sincere way your professors will care about your success. Not to mention, living in one of the most incredible cities on earth is a major bonus, as well!

Signing off one final time,

Sami Khan

Volunteering Hours for April:
12 hrs

Volunteering Hours for Second Semester:
30 hrs

Cumulative Volunteering Hours for the Year:
61 hrs