First Week of Vet Prep

The schedule for the vet prep program is slightly relaxed in that you do end up having more time than any of the actual semesters in veterinary school.  But seems to be proving to be a great opportunity for me to fine tune my study skills now that my full-time job is truly to be JUST a student!  I'm so grateful that I don't have to juggle a full-time job and full-time course load ever again.  I finally get to focus completely on school.  My job IS to study and be a successful student in veterinary school.

The courses that I have this semester are the following:
Applications
Medical Math
Microbiology
Prep. Physiology
Study Skills
Veterinary Terminology
Evidence Based Medicine

So far I'm really enjoying all of the courses and the fact that they are getting my brain juices flowing once again.

I feel pretty awesome right now in the sense that I think I have a great balance as well as the sense to buckle down and focus when there is work to be done.

Last week I was elected as the Vet Prep Class Representative for the Ross University School of Veterinary Medicines SCAVMA board.  I'm extremely thrilled about this opportunity!  I love being able to finally put my leadership skills to the test as well as continuing my education on how to manage and listen to groups, etc.  The first meeting for SCAVMA was today and I was officially sworn onto the board.  I hope to be the best voice for my fellow classmates/colleagues as well as keep them well informed about the current issues/opportunities that are happening within the university.

I have also joined the Josh & Friends committee at Ross University.  The committee raised enough funds the other semester to buy 12 kits (see the website for details) for the pediatric ward at the local hospital in St. Kitt's.  Those are going to be distributed to the children this Thursday for the first time ever!  The really cool part of this impressive achievement is that when the committee chair was talking about this event, you could really see her eyes light up with so much excitement to have accomplished such a feat.  My hopes in joining the Josh & Friends Committee is to give back to the community around the university.  I really wanted to provide some form of community service that didn't necessarily involve contact or working with animals but rather the locals here on St. Kitts.  Community service has really always been a very large passion of mine.  I've always felt that we are better off serving others that are in some form or another less fortunate than ourselves...there's always some kind of need in the community that you live in.  You don't necessarily have to focus on changing the world as a whole, but definitely try to change the community around you in any way you can.  There are resources/organizations out there to help you achieve this goal.

Aside from SCAVMA and the Josh & Friends committee, I really don't plan to stretch myself much further.  Maybe next semester (my 1st semester of veterinary school), I will look into clubs that are offered at Ross, but for right now these two commitments are perfect.

More to come as the weeks roll on by :)

Getting to Know RUSVM and St. Kitt's

I arrived on St. Kitt's on Thursday, April 28th 2011 around 2pm.  As soon as I stepped off the plane I was greeted with the warm island climate and constant breeze.  Made my way through immigration and customs...really was not as difficult as I had expected!  Got all my luggage that I checked at the airport in Columbus, OH!  Thank goodness!  After I grabbed my luggage, the school had a wonderful group of helpers to put our bags on dollies and roll it all outside to meet our orientation leader (OL) and group.  After everyone in my orientation group gathered from the airport, they transported us to campus where we unloaded our luggage and got slightly situated.  From there it was off to dinner.

I have spent the orientation period with an amazing group of 1st semester students and an OL who is moving into his 5th semester at RUSVM.  Most of the days until Monday (the first day of our scheduled orientation) have been filled with fun ways to get to know our surroundings (ie the island, the culture, the school, the food, etc.).  It's been an amazing experience and I'm extremely thankful for everything that has been offered to me.  The island is very rich with history and culture.  I'm extremely excited to continue to explore it and discover all the amazing local specialties.

One of the most interesting discoveries was our island tour and being told by our bus driver the extensive history of the island (i.e. settlement, sugar cane industry and all the plantations around the island, etc.) and getting to see where specific events occurred (ie. Brimstone Hill Fortress National Park).

Reality really started to sink in on Monday when the entire bunch (1st semester and VP semester students) was sitting in one of the huge classrooms and Keith Kramer (assistant dean for student life) spoke to us and really instilled a feeling of greatness in me for my presence at such a special and really blossoming university.

I think I've mentioned this to a few people, but I'm going to say it again...I truly believe that this is where I was meant to end up.  I know I had horse blinders on the last couple of years and was too focused on getting into OSU's program to pay attention to other opportunities that were out there.  But luckily the door and opportunity to attend OSU closed...so it led me to RUSVM.  I wouldn't have it any other way. Just as much potential as RUSVM has to blossom into an even more successful university, I know I have a huge amount of potential where I am to blossom into a wonderful veterinarian and colleague.  I truly feel like this is my opportunity to grow in ways that I might not have if I had ended up at OSU.

There's a ton of things planned for the rest of the week!  Can't wait to let everyone know how it all goes!

                                                       view while standing in front of my dorm

One of the beaches we drove past where the Atlantic and Caribbean Oceans meet 

Brimstone Hill Fortress National Park

Pretty scenery :)