Caught in Between

Public Health Student Forum

A couple of weeks ago the students of Student Admissions Advisory Board, including yours truly, were asked to brainstorm ways to improve Hopkins Interactive. We're always looking for ways to improve and expand. Last year, we had the same brainstorm and I suggested the idea of the Academics Blog (http://hopkins.typepad.com/academics/), a blog with the goal of featuring a blog on every major and minor at Hopkins. This year, I un-creatively thought of following the same idea, but in a Student Activities blog instead--a blog with a collection of blogs written by the presidents of student groups aimed towards prospective students.

 I'm constantly asked during prospective student interviews and during open houses if the campus is involved. And I will admit that it's sometimes hard at 9 am at a weekend open house to say, "YEAH! Hopkins students are incredibly involved!", especially because the entire campus looks abandoned and so instead I have to describe that the campus is actually lively during the week days and during hours when the majority of college students are actually awake. I do not lie, Hopkins students are involved and I hope that the creation of the Student Activities blog not only shows the tremendous extra-curricular involvement at Hopkins, but the diversity of these activities as well. 

So, because I've now burdened my fellow Student Admissions Advisory Board with the task of getting in contact with the presidents of groups at Hopkins next Spring (when I'm conveniently abroad in Geneva), I've decided to help them by writing one of those student activities blog one group that I'm currently co-president of...Public Health Student Forum...so here goes...

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Group: Public Health Student Forum

Category of Group: Special Interest

Year Founded: 2000

Name: Jessica K.

Position: Co-President

For more information: http://jhu.mystudentgroups.com/groups/194

About the group: Public Health Student Forum was originally founded before the public health major debuted as a major at Johns Hopkins. The original purpose was to show interest for a public health major at Hopkins. Did it do it's job? Yes, as a major, public health has grown every year since and, rumor has it, is now the biggest major at Johns Hopkins. The current mission of Public Health Student Forum is to unite students with an interest in public health and to share this interest with others through the planning of events. The group is made up of a general board and an executive board. The executive board meets weekly and general assemblies are held for the general members bi-weekly.

Events: During the year our main events are Public Health Awareness Week and the Public Health Undergraduate Conference. Along with these two main events, we hold general assemblies that have information sessions on research opportunities, study abroad, and courses. We also hold a few speaker events throughout the year. 

This year we just finished our third Public Health Awareness Week. Public Health Awareness Week is a week on campus that is meant to teach the Homewood student body what public health is and that it really affects us all. This week we designated our week to Personal Health Day, Health Policy Day, Urban Health and Infectious Diseases Day, International Health Day, and Environmental Health Day. We had a major evening event on each night from an International Health Fair and Potluck Dinner that featured nine groups including many multicultural groups and speaker events on Baltimore, obesity, and healthcare. We also held a power plant tour.  Our events during the day include trivia events, free drop-in workout classes, and information on volunteering.

This year we will be having our first ever (and perhaps the nation's first) undergraduate conference in public health. We have been working closely with the undergraduate program to hold a conference in Charles Commons on April 16th. The planning for one day is a bit overwhelming at times, which includes applying for grant money, receiving and selecting students from a call for abstracts, recruiting faculty and those involved in career services to attend our event, and much much more. The goal of this is to hopefully have not only a successful conference, but one that can grow and be continued for years to come.

Why I got involved?: I'll admit that I didn't know what I was getting myself into freshman year. On top of that, the group has really grown and changed its mission. Joining the group has given me the chance to meet some of my closest friends. Although we all have one common interest, our executive board is diverse in terms of natural sciences and social sciences and grades. Many of the people I wouldn't be able to have met otherwise. On top of this, it's given me a relationship with the public health advisors. The general assemblies, which often are used as time to hear about the opportunities that other students have had in public health, have taught me about the opportunities that are out there.

Can freshmen join?: Yes, yes, yes! Freshmen are invited to become general board members and attend general assemblies. However, for those committed to public health, we typically choose two freshmen in September to join our executive board as freshmen representatives based on an application. The point of freshmen representatives is to expose them to how the executive board works so that they can continue their leadership in the group later on. Freshmen representatives are responsible for general executive board tasks like assisting with public health awareness week, spreading the word about the group to other freshmen, giving the rest of the board any advice, and whatever odds and ends come our way.

Got to be there

Posted by: Dominique D.

Last weekend, I went on my 2nd retreat with my Christian Fellowship. I think it's important to get away from campus several times throughout the year, because we all need some rest and brain relaxation--hence the "Got to be There" title. Each year we have a new speaker, and while I didn't enjoy this  year's as much as I did last year's, I was happy I had a chance to leave and meet new people from other MD colleges. Here's a cool group picture we all took before leaving. 

We got to do silly things like play Mafia (if you have never played that game before--stop what you're doing, grab about 10 people and learn!) and eat legit camp food. And since the trees here aren't turning as much as I would like, I enjoyed the beautiful colors of the trees at the campsite.

Funny thing is, we all brought homework. All of the other MD colleges there (McDaniel College, University of MD, Towson University, Hood College) thought we were true stereotypical nerds because we had a late night study session--don't blame us--orgo and differential equations are no joke!

Anywho (sorry about the random underline, the blog won't delete it...), I'd like to use this opportunity to say that I think it's so important to have a core group of close friends to keep you grounded and satisfied. In my opinion, having that definitely improves your experience in college. Wherever you go, get involved on something about which you are extremely passionate--it really will enrich your college experience!

So when we returned, it was back to school time. Yesterday was Halloween, and I went over to a friends apartment for a "Hallowhat?" party, as she so eloquently named it. Part of that involved me dressing up in foil in order to get a free burrito from Chipotle. College kids+ the ability to look goofy+free food=win! Unfortunately, I just made a bracelet of foil due to my lack of creativity, but it worked and I have a nice steak burrito in my stomach.

Well, back to work--it's 1:15 am, but in 45 minutes Daylight Savings time will end and I will have an extra hour to sleep...ok fine, study. Late night/early morning study sessions are always more fun with your friends. Mine were just running around the library giving candy out to the hard workers here on a Saturday night. What can I say--this is a funny place!

Until next time,
Dominique

Looks Like We Made It!

Posted by Lauren B.

A picture from the summer, at the summit during a hiking trip with my Dad in the North of England.

 So this week was a bit much, all round--hence the thumbs up for simply surviving. I've always been a firm believer in leaving things to the last minute, and to be honest, my methods really had yet to fail me. Which is why this week blew my mind when I actually (for once) planned ahead and still felt like I'd been mowed down.

So many to do lists (and a celebration of my roommate's bday!)

Luckily, the work, meetings, homework, exams, impending doom etc are now done and I feel great. I haven't had a lot of free time but when my exams finished I went out and bought magazines, relaxed, had a nice dinner, caught up on gossip girl, and basically did everything I've been missing out on over the past week. And now it's almost the weekend!

I've  never been a huge fan of Halloween, but this year it's turning into quite the celebration. My roommates and I have thought up some of the weirdest and best costumes...
1. Thomas the tank engine and a conductor
2. Lumberjacks (it's looking like a cold weekend)
3. Peter Pan and Tinkerbell and Captain Hook (but who gets to be Tinkerbell?)

                                                    Halloween, last year!

Why have we thought up so many costumes, you ask? because Halloween is a week-long event! There's pre-Halloween, Halloween day, Halloween night, Halloween date parties... etc etc etc. I'm fairly excited because though I may not like Halloween itself, there's really nothing better than dressing up in a goofy costume. I'll admit my costume last year was a tad lazy--it's a real live dress my mom wore in the 80s and it's amazing but it didn't involve too much effort on my behalf. But this year will be interesting, and I'm sure I'll have some funny pictures to share when I next blog.    

Another shot of last year in Fell's Point.

I'll be doing some serious Goodwill shopping tomorrow--there's a store a few blocks away, conveniently right next to the grocery store where there I will be making some last minute Halloween food purchases. We're having a Halloween dinner shindig and are trying to serve orange and black foods.

Two things I've realized from this little endeavor--one, the only black foods are candy or foods that have been burnt, and two, making dinner in a dorm room is rough (the only things in our fridge were yogurt and apples). But it'll be so nice to be able to see all of my friends in their costumes and get everyone together for dinner--it's midterm season here at Hopkins and it's been raining quite a bit, two things that make people hibernate. This weekend is sure to be fun though--and allegedly it won't be raining.

Upcoming exciting Hopkins things include my all time favorite, Parent's Weekend (next weekend). It'll be nice to see everyone's parents again, particularly because we all know each other a bit better than we did this time last year. Fall rush is getting under way which is fun, and I'm desperately trying to schedule a trip to DC in these last few weeks before Thanksgiving break. I can't believe the semester has gone so quickly! It's unreal.

Hope everyone has a happy Halloween!

-Lauren

Whatever Happens

Posted by: Dominique D.

Yep, still going with the Michael Jackson songs for my blog titles...it's from his last studio album, "Invincible." Which I totally wasn't feeling this morning. And "whatever happens" correctly describes how I was feeling then.

See, I was in the library last night, being a good student and working last minute on a paper (sarcasm) that is supposed to be due in 2 hours. I ended up leaving hours before I originally planned (I dare not say what time I planned to leave) because I was having weird abdominal cramps. I didn't really think twice about them because I figured they'd go away in a few hours, even though I felt like this :

Anywho, I go back to my room and then realize there may be a problem when the pains are still there 5 hours later. As a good Hopkins student, of course the first thing that comes to my mind is "Oh my gosh I won't be able to finish my paper in time!" instead of "what is wrong with me???"

At 4 am I decided to call my mother and tell her I was going to the ER at the hospital right behind Hopkins--Union Memorial--because of persistent abdominal pains.

Like a good mother she ran out of bed and drove over here to make sure I wasn't dying. In the meantime, I had my friend walk me over there and wait with me until my mother came, which was awesome.

So to spare you all the gross details of the tests I had to go through, it turns out that I probably had some freakish adverse reaction to a medication that I was taking, so all is well for now, even though my friends and family wanted me to sleep in all day since I didn't leave the ER until almost 7am, and I had a 9 am class. And my professor was really understanding when I asked for an extension on the paper I was working on--she gave me a day more than I was planning to ask for.

At Hopkins, yes, only the strong survive...but when you don't feel that way, just think, "whatever happens!"

--Dominique

Everything's FALLing into place

Posted by Lauren B.

Last I saw all of you lovely readers I was telling you about my last minute half-marathon prep and overall Hopkins madness. It's been a nice few weeks here, and I'll tell you all about it now! First off, I hope you enjoyed my punny title--I really, really love the fall here at Hopkins and it looks like it's finally getting under way with the weather this week!

So most importantly, the half marathon. It was a nice, but trying experience. I definitely should have trained more for it but I managed to get through it without stopping or losing a limb. My dad and my roommate Laura ran the marathon, and the half-marathon respectively. It was great to be there with them, and I don't think I could have mentally done it without knowing they were running along there with me--I didn't actually see either of them too much during the race, they're both speed demons. Despite the threat of a boiling day in the 80s, it cooled down for perfect running weather and it was great to be out in Baltimore. A shocking number of people decided to run 26 miles that morning--what a mystery. The 9th and 10th miles looped around the Homewood campus and I got to see some friends out cheering--such a boost of energy when my legs felt like lead. 

My dad, me and my roommate after the race.
Those weird foil blankets are actually amazingly helpful!

After running the half marathon I went home (again?). I was all but crippled, and it seemed much better to convalesce back in NJ than try to stick it out in the my room. Despite all this complaining, I've actually decided to run another half marathon in the spring--really one of those activities that seems better in retrospect. Mentally, it's awesome to be able to say I've run 13.1 miles! It was great to be home though, to see my family again and hang out with my sister. I was able to run a million errands, bring back some winter clothes for the fall weather that's arrived recently, and I even had time to hit the most amazing mall in the world (Short Hills!) while I was at it. 

Another great thing about living close to home--my lovely sister Suzi can visit all the time! She's already been here once this year and I'm looking forward to seeing her again over Parent's Weekend.

As much as I do love Hopkins' proximity to home, I'm making it my goal to not go home again until Thanksgiving. I've had such a busy semester thus far that it really does feel like I'm missing out when I miss the weekends--it's my only time to relax. Though I am a little pressed for time, I'm having a lot of fun nonetheless. As promised, my class schedule for this semester is....

Biology (meh). The bio program here is actually great, but science and I have a bit of a fraught relationship. I muddle through with lots of reading and note-taking, and while everyone else really enjoys the details of genetics I'm struggling a bit more, but it's interesting nonetheless. Bio and Bio Lab are both requirements for Public Health, so those will be a feature in my spring schedule as well.

Harlem Renaissance is my exciting elective class this semester! It's a really interesting class in the English department that meets once a week in a small seminar-style class of about 15 people. We've read a huge range of literature so far, and this week we're reading Passing (by Nella Larsen) which I've really enjoyed. I'm toying with the idea of an English minor--now that I've declared Public Health, I'm looking for something else to add to the schedule!--and I'm really enjoying my coursework in the English department thus far.

The Environment and Your Health. Another Public Health requirement--I'm finally getting started on my major, yay--but I'm really enjoying it. I'm already a bit of an environment freak, so it's a bit unnerving to learn about yet more things I should be worrying about in terms of pollutants, garbage, and every chemical acronym in the book that's floating around your water, or your water bottle, or your blood. Scary! But good to know.

Global Public Health Since WWII. Still more Public Health, but I chose this one on my own--clearly I picked the right major, because this class is really interesting! I really like the professor, he's such a good lecturer and he makes even unpleasant things like polio vaccines and smallpox outbreaks  enjoyable to learn about. Through some amazing feat of scheduling, my first class (this one!) starts at 11 am, which makes it even better.

Economics of Health. So many of my classes this semester are related, which is interesting, and as it turns out, really convenient when it comes to studying (unanticipated benefit!). I like being able to link the pure economics I learned last year to the real world and to health-care, both two things I find quite interesting. And obviously so relevant to politics!

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For my first weekend back at Hopkins in a while I had a great time! It was so busy though! It was an Open House for Natural Science and Engineering students, so I worked there during the day and got to speak on a panel for Student Life as well. My roommate's high school friend visited and we went downtown and all around Baltimore to show her around, stopping by Mezze for a delicious dinner. It poured rain the whole weekend, which put a bit of a damper on things, but it was fun nonetheless. I went to a crazy 80's party on Friday in enough spandex to open an American Apparel store, and on Saturday night I ran into fellow SAABer! (see below)

 

It was great to run into one of the fabulous new SAAB freshmen!

Ps thanks for the picture Becca, I totally stole it from your Facebook.

I'm having a great time so far this semester, and I will be sure to update soon with more of the goings on at Hopkins! 

Have a great Fall!

-Lauren B

Working at Hopkins

So for the past week I have been telling myself that I need to blog, but when I asked myself what I should blog about, I couldn't come up with an answer. I was told in middle school English class that writer's block doesn't exist, to just write down your thoughts and that you'll get somewhere. I don't know if I truly believe this..

...but luckily I finally decided (yes, at midnight on a Monday night, even though I promised myself a full night's sleep) to write about working at Hopkins. It wasn't until thisyear that I realized how much of an impact being able to work at Hopkins has done for me. You're always told to seize activities in college, but you are never told to work in college. I don't think most prospective students when they envision college envision being a part-time worker. However, maybe they should. So, yes, this won't be the most exciting blog, but I hope that it persuades any prospective student who may be reading this to at least consider working in college.

For anyone who doesn't know, I currently work as a research assistant at the Center for a Livable Future at the School of Public Health. My freshman year I started working at the AMRII Housing Office. Then over intersession I started working full days at the Office of Undergraduate Admissions, where I continued working for the rest of the Spring semester. I started working at the Center for a Livable Future in the fall of my sophomore year where I work ten hours a week.

Why would you want to work in college?

- There are obviously the financial reasons for working in college. I didn't realize it when I got here, but there is some spending that isn't covered by Hopkins tuition. Such as printing at the library, eating out, and traveling back home. It also is really nice being able to actually pay on your own for Christmas and birthday presents. In short: it's really nice to not have to ask your parents for spending money. Please don't think that the only people that work in college are people that "have" to, this is absolutely not true.

- There is also the time management component of it. Working really allows you to have more structured commitments in your schedule. As someone who was used to long practices after school and morning meetings (and as someone who decided last minute not to do track in college), work really helped me have a more regular schedule.

- Working at the SPH (and doing research for credit there) has really allowed me to take a break from the Homewood campus. I am able to surround myself with adults and get away from the bubble of students that make up Hopkins. I love having a group of adults (this includes professors) who are able to give me advice from people that have already been through the undergraduate years (and of course build connections).

- Work Study - According to Hopkins Financial Aid, approximately one-third of Hopkins students receive FWS funding. Federal Work Study is one way that students can work on or off campus. It's a form of financial aid for students who demonstrate need. The federal government allocates the funds to the university to pay a portion of a student's salary. Traditionally 70% percent is split as federal share and 3% as employer funds. The maxium award is $2,500. However, if you go over your employer can decide to continue paying you at 100%. Work study is a great for employers to be attracted to hiring students and although it's still easy to find an on or off-campus job that is non-work study, employers definitely like hearing that they only have to pay 30% to have a student work for them.

- It's great experience. Honestly, it's great being able to see your field of study at work in the real world and  be able to get "work experience." There are simply somethings that you can't learn in the classroom.

How do you get a job?
-Student Employment! Honestly, student employment is a great resource. They host a job fair in the fall open to all students that is open to on and off-campus employers. This is how I found my first job at the Housing Office. Throughout the year, Student Employment Services office also maintains a database of available jobs that is accessible on their website. Student Employment also maintains a temporary job e-mail server that will e-mail out any temporary jobs that they hear about (usually something for just a few hours during one week), so that if a student doesn't feel like committing to a year-long job, they are still able to earn some money during the semester if interested.

For more information on all things student employment, check out the student employment's Student Handbook: http://semps.ses.hsa.jhu.edu/stujob/student.cfm

Anyway, that's all for now. I know, not the most exciting blog, but I hope it was helpful for someone out there.
 

Enjoy Yourself

Posted by: Dominique D.

The dino theme of this blog is random, so  I will complement the randomness by using Michael Jackson/Jackson 5/The Jacksons song names to title my blog entries. There.

But they are relevant though. I chose this song because last weekend was my birthday weekend, and I realized how awesome my friends and family are.

For my 18th last year, I didn't really enjoy myself--I think it was the day after our first college Chem exam and everyone was depressed and talking about how much work they needed to do. So my sunny, warm, Saturday October birthday kind of felt like a waste because I had few people to share it with.

So last year I said that I would NOT deal with that again. On my birthday eve I had some friends come over and chill for a sec, with cake that my lovely sister (who visited for the weekend) and I made. I got a card and some stuff from American Eagle and a tub of ColdStone and an awesome book I need to get started on. My sister called this a "last day of being 18 celebration." I kinda liked that, so I may be doing that from now on! 

On my actual birthday, I was blessed with my 6th-in-a-row lovely sunny day, which always sets the tone for me, even if the actual day's events suck. I woke up to my dorm door being covered in streamers, forcing me to crawl under the door if I wanted to get in and out.  I found out that 3 of my friends came at 2:30 am and did that while I was sleeping.

It says "Happy Bday Domo," if you didn't catch that. Then my sister made me something to eat, because I told her she was SUCH a special guest that she could gladly make anything she wanted for herself, rather than me doing it. :P My mom came shortly after and we went to a movie--"I Can Do Bad All Bad by Myself." It's a movie adaptation by one of my favorite people in entertainment, Tyler Perry. 

 

Sooooooooo then we went out to eat at Fridays, where I had my favorite
Jack Daniels Chicken Sandwich, and then one of those awkward birthday/cake things the restaurant gives people on their birthdays.

Here, my mom and sis gave me some cute cards with a Visa Gift card, some money, and an iTunes card. I know some people hate gift cards and money because they seem impersonal, but those are awesome gifts in my opinion because I don't have to worry about hurting someone's feelings by having to return their gift because it doesn't fit or it's just really NOT my style.  

After this, I returned to Hopkins and went to a church across the street from campus, for the weekly evening college service. I always enjoy going there because I see so many of my friends and the atmosphere is really encouraging. Definitely is a nice brain break from studying orgo or stats or something.

My friends are great because as we went back to our dorms, I came to mine to see a few of my friends and a delicious chocolate cake with candles waiting for me. I was a teeny bit upset that this was the first bday where I didn't have a cake to share with my whole family, but my friends took care of that and I did get to enjoy some...plus at my house, we never get chocolate because my stepdad doesn't eat chocolate, so this was a nice change.  

I successfully did no studying (which I paid for dearly for the rest of the week), but hey, you turn your last year of being a 'teen' once (plus this is the last weekend bday I will have for about 6 years), so why not celebrate?

The day after, I found out that I won a contest, the prize being a signed poster from Corbin Bleu (High School Musical anyone? catch that Kid?)...now, if you know you me, you know I have been obsessed with this person for yearsssssssssssssss, so I was pretty ecstatic!!

Sorry that this blog seems like it's on steroids or something with all of these pictures, but I usually never have many pics in mind for these, so I decided to make good use of them. I truly did enjoy myself this time around, so yay!

Until next time!

 (I'm in the purple)

Good Morning Baltimore!

My first post on my new blog!

Since I last posted, I've done quite a bit (it's been quite a while since I wrote). I've been back at Hopkins for just over a month now, and I've finally gotten into the rhythm of sophomore year. I've settled into my new major-Public Health-and I'm taking some great classes (more about those later). I've decorated my room, gotten a job, been to Washington DC and back home, had visits from my sister and parents, taken my first sophomore midterms, and trained(ish) for a half marathon. It's been a busy month!

Stopped by DC to say hi to Obama (I wish). But I did get to see the White House!

This delicious bakery magic is in my hometown in NJ!

As exciting as this last month has been, the real reason I'm writing this blog is not to catch you all up on my life, but something quite different.

So I, for one, am a big fan of Baltimore. Maybe not so much when I first got here, but I've figured the city out a bit more over the past year, and now I love it. It's definitely a quirky place, and I won't deny there are a few grubby spots about, but it's great nonetheless. One of the most annoying things people ask when I say I go to Hopkins is, "WOW like on the Wire?" NO! Not like on the Wire! Nothing like on The Wire. So imagine my surprise when I was home this weekend and opened the  newspaper to find this.....

36 Hours in Baltimore

(It's subtitle was "The Baltimore You Won't See On The Wire." Too true)

I was quite excited. Baltimore and the New York Times are two of my favorite things, so naturally seeing them come together was pretty great. But even better than that was the fact that the NYTimes decided to feature some of my favorite Baltimore places! Woodberry Kitchen, Carma's Cafe, the BMA! So thrilling.

Oh Woodberry Kitchen. So delicious. This place is one of my favorite eating spots in Baltimore, so naturally I was pretty excited that the New York Times agreed with me. It's even more exciting though that finally everyone else is catching on to how cool Baltimore is. Especially now that fall is just around the corner (or apparently not, it was 70 degrees today) the city looks so beautiful. As I mentioned before, I'm busy pseudo-training for the half marathon, that scarily enough is this Saturday. My runs have been taking me up into the beautiful neighborhood of Roland Park, where I've been doing some aspirational real estate exploration as I run--gets pretty boring otherwise.

Lovely Baltimore sights!

I think one of the reasons I like Baltimore so much is because it's a "secret city." Or as the Times put it, "Baltimore is sometimes the forgotten middle child among attention-getting Eastern cities like Washington and New York." No one's stopping you from coming here, but for some reason so many of the great things about this city aren't well known. Saying you love Baltimore isn't quite as obvious as saying "I love New York" (nor is it on a ubiquitous tshirt), and it almost always makes people as you "Why?" I'm a fairly chatty individual so I have no problem rattling off my favorite places to eat, favorite neighborhoods, and best Baltimore anecdotes, but it's nice to have a condensed version of my Baltimore top 10 list in this article. 

The Baltimore marathon! This weekend!

And there are, of course, a few more places I'd like to mention while I'm at it. If you ever find yourself in Baltimore on a Saturday morning, your trip would be incomplete without a stop by Miss Shirley's for brunch. They have scarily caloric things like cheesecake stuffed French toast that really just sounds incredible. Because you'll be right next door, you may as well stop by the Evergreen Cafe--a great place to study on a Saturday afternoon, and their wraps and salads are well worth the wait. While you're here you can't forget a walk down by the harbor or through Hampden, a stop in the Tulip Garden, at the aquarium, and The Ambassador. You shouldn't miss Fell's Point (particularly at Halloween), Mount Washington, or Federal Hill, and naturally, no trip to Baltimore is complete without a walk through the Homewood campus--especially in the snow! or in springtime...Apparently, this will be a trip that goes on forever? The best kind! I hope you enjoy Baltimore!

P.S. Other cool thing? This isn't the first time Baltimore's been mentioned in the travel section. 2007 saw another "36 Hours In". Check it out! But I like 2009's version of Baltimore better....
36 Hours in Baltimore (2007)

P.P.S. The title of this blog? From Hairspray, set in the neighborhood of Hampden, just behind the Homewood campus

Indecisiveness

This is my attempt to blog before October rolls in.

I have decided that I'm one of the most indecisive people that I know. And yes, I consider myself as someone I know. And given that people often underestimate the extent of their own traits, I am going to conclude that I am the most indecisive person that I know. Now, sometimes I don't think it's a big deal. For example, when I can't decide where to go out to dinner, there's usually someone else that is proactive about it and can make a decision on the spot. I don't know if I was always this way, but recently I have been able to notice it more and more. Here are three examples of how my indecisiveness has influenced my college experience so far in my junior year:

I. Courses

It took me an abnormally long time to decide on my course schedule this year. It wasn't because I hadn't been looking. I had registered for classes with everyone else. I also made a three page single-spaced document of courses that I could possibly want to change into. My major may just be the most interdisciplinary major at Hopkins only encouraging my indecisiveness. I was studying the Sunday before the add deadline and realized at 1 am that I wouldn't be happy with my current schedule, so what did I do? I logged into ISIS and went from 16.5 credits to 12 and e-mailed my advisor saying, "Help!" Nevertheless, I'm happy with my schedule now:

-Macroeconomics: There are a few classes that are on my mental list entitled "Classes That I Must Take Before I Graduate." This is one of them. Yes, it is Macroeconomics. I do not need it for my major. Yes, public health activists often don't agree with economists when it comes to development. Yes, I do not understand money. But really, this is the reason why I'm taking it. And if I don't at least try to make an effort now to understand why countries make the monetary and fiscal policy decisions that they make, I never will.

-Research: I decided rather last minute to add for-credit research with Dr. Jonathan Golub, the epidemiology professor who oversaw my grant for this summer. I helped him over the summer with a thirteen page enrollment form on a tuberculosis/smoking study. I have just finished that up and moving on to performing a literary review on every single article published on tuberculosis/smoking for a 2011 Surgeon General Report that he has been asked to draft by January. By the end of the semester, I will write a long essay on all that I have learned from research. This now means that combined with my paid research assistant position, I am at work at JHSPH for more hours on average than I am in class on the Homewood campus.

-Introduction to Global Health: A course that I have been wanting to take, but that I thought wouldn't fit into my schedule. The class is taught by a JHSPH professor, Dr. Tielsch, and it actually on the quarter system, meaning that it ends on October 27th. So, double the hours of class for now, a midterm next week, and a final at the end of October. However, the course covers everything--mortality rates, Millennium Development Goals, worms, and more!

-Water Resource Development: When I saw that Professor Wolman was teaching a course on water this semester, I immediately was interested. I didn't care that it was an Environmental Engineering class or that it was 400-level or that it required permission to enroll. I quickly e-mailed and got permission to register. For those that don't know, Professor Gordon or 'Reds' Wolman is the son of Abel Wolman. Ever wondered why we have a freshman dorm named Wolman? Abel Wolman is a big name in public health since he worked for decades and basically pioneered a chlorination of drinking water movement in Baltimore, which then spread from city to city throughout the nation. His son is now my professor at Hopkins and is also a 1949 alum of Johns Hopkins. The main portion of this course will be working on a 35-page research paper of our choice. My paper will be on comparing the Three Gorges Dam in China with the Itaipu Dam in Brazil and Paraguay in terms of their role in development.

-Gender and Development: It is rare at Hopkins to take multiple courses with one professor. This is an example of that. This course is taught by Professor Agarwala in the Sociology department. I took her Issues in International Development course freshman year. It was definitely not the easiest course that I took, but definitely opened my eyes to the conflicting theories within development. This year's course is on how gender plays a role in development. The main point of the course is to imagine how we would go about developing our ideal society. For example, would you have maternity leave in your ideal society? Surprisingly, the United States has decided to not federally recognize maternity leave as a right. This course will also have a term paper on a topic of our choice.

It definitely won't be my easiest semester, but it definitely will be the semester where I'm interested in all of my courses.

II. Study Abroad

 

"So, where are you going next semester?" I have gotten this question asked to me over and over. Since forever I have wanted to study abroad. I love to travel, so there basically was never a question. However, since forever I have also never known where I was going to go abroad. You literally can study anywhere in the world. And for me, study abroad is a huge opportunity and I didn't want to pick the 'wrong' country. If someone gave me an airline ticket to anywhere in the world. I would have it go to Japan, without a question. However, that doesn't necessarily mean I want to study abroad there. Study abroad means taking classes, traveling, and language immersion. I also have a love for developing countries (especially Southeast Asia) and am one of those people that constantly thinks about opportunities like Peace Corps. I also feel like every single public health major around me is going to South Africa. However, I decided that I didn't know if I actually wanted to study in one of these countries and I decided that after my adventure in Brazil for two months, that I would rather be surrounded by students than in a home stay environment. As you can tell, I've been thinking about this A LOT. I never really thought of going to Europe. I distinctly remember laughing after my grandpa told me, "Where you haven't been to Europe, have you? Then that's it." I also remember telling my dad that my goal in life was never to go to a football game and to never go to Europe. Given the fact that my dad travels to Europe every other week, I think he was offended.

However, I have decided to go to Geneva, Switzerland next semester. I will be part of a Boston University public health internship program. I will have four weeks of French class and an international health course followed by eight weeks of a full-time internship while taking a course on international organizations. I currently am working on my visa application which involves writing an essay about my future plans, getting a money order, getting 14 passport photos, copying bank statements, copying my high school diploma, creating a resume with biographical information, filling out a seven-page application, and making multiple copies of everything. The process is expected to take three months. This is just the beginning of learning about the quirkiness of Switzerland.

III. Going Home

I am even indecisive about small things like deciding whether or not to go home last weekend. My brother for a while was encouraging me to go home for my mom's birthday, so that we could all see a Yankees vs. Red Sox game. It took me a while to finally decide to buy the train tickets. But sure enough, last Saturday I presented at the NACAC (National Association for College Admission Counseling) conference with Admissions Daniel, Lauren, Mandy and Josh, and hopped on a train. I completely surprised my mother, "What are you doing here?!", went out to a great dinner with my mom and brother, and went to the new Yankee stadium to see the Yankees clench the American League East Division, get their 100th win, and sweep the Red Sox. Sure, it made for a lot of catching-up on Monday, but I am so glad that I was able to wish my Mom a happy birthday in person.

Phew... Well, I think that's all of my indecisiveness for now. Next week brings with it two midterms, so it's definitely time to hit the books. Look out for another post in two weeks.

Jessica

P.S. On a side note, I am also blogging for work for the Center for a Livable Future. Check out a couple of my blogs here: 

"Do ‘Danes know best’ in responsible use of agricultural antibiotics?"

"Edible Education"

P.P.S. Check out the article published in The Baltimore Sun today about social media. Daniel, Mandy, and I are quoted...yay! 

Ch-ch-ch-ch-changes

Just a quick update letting you know that this blog, "Caught in Between," has recently gone through a new change with the new school year. In addition to myself, this blog will now feature two public health sophomore majors: Dominique D. and Lauren B. We decided to keep the title of this blog since we're all still in the in-between years of our undergraduate years. Enjoy the two new perspectives and the dinosaur theme!

To read Dominique's freshman year entries: http://hopkins.typepad.com/2012ksa/dominique_d_/
To read Lauren's freshman year entries: http://hopkins.typepad.com/2012ksas/lauren_b/