L.Kim

  March Service Hours: 12 hours Cumulative for the Spring Semester: 18 hours During the month of March, I spent more time volunteering at the Second Harvest Food Bank. Due to my packed schedule, I find it more comfortable to find a volunteer shift under Second Harvest. This month I decided to expand my outreach by volunteering for the kitchen shift in order to see other ways I can contribute to the community. Food and meal preparation was a different experience from what I was used to because I’ve spent most of my time at Second Harvest mainly packing food into boxes. Specifically food that is in individual packaging and has minimal risk of spilling. From my experience at the kitchen shift, my only recommendation would be to make sure you bring your apron! Cleanliness and food contamination should be avoided as you will be there to pack meals and potentially wash dishes. Overall, I find myself more interested in exploring the different ways I can continue to give back to the comm...

  February Service Hours: 6 hours Cumulative for the Spring Semester: 6 hours This month was overflowing with holiday cheer thanks to Valentine’s Day and Mardi Gras. I’m grateful I was able to make space for both celebration and community service. I continued my volunteer efforts at Second Harvest Food Bank, spending time packing boxes with essential food items for families who need extra support. What stood out to me the most this month was seeing how people came to give back to the community, it is a reminder of how much community matters especially during such a busy time. Seeing volunteers show up was endearing to see, there are many thoughtful people who regularly give back to the community. Listening to their stories is one of the joys of volunteering, meeting new people and hearing about their stories that surface naturally while volunteering together makes the experience more personal and inspires me to continue my community service past graduation. I have seen consistent k...

  January Service Hours: 0 hours Cumulative for the Spring Semester: 0 hours As I began my Spring semester with cold temperatures and cold wind warnings, my academic journey continued. My academics strived more than my community service hours as I regretfully could not begin my acts of service due to illness. Despite this setback, I gained a great deal of knowledge during the Reproductive module. Growing up, contraceptives were often introduced briefly, so it was refreshing to explore the mechanisms of the hypothalamic pituitary gonadal axis in greater depth, along with the hormones involved in reproductive regulation. One of the most memorable learning experiences of this module was the CBL on Contraception. Being placed in Dr. Clarkson’s group made the discussion engaging and educational, particularly when we examined the differences between relative therapeutic effects of birth control to actual effects. This reinforced the necessity of individualized patient focused care which ...

  November Service Hours: 9 hours Cumulative for the Fall Semester: 12 hours During November, I was grateful for the opportunity to participate in several meaningful community service activities. I returned to Second Harvest Food Bank to contribute to their Thanksgiving outreach efforts by assisting with the sorting and packing of food donations for families in need. I also volunteered alongside Dr. Solch-Ottaiano at the American Heart Association Heart Walk, hosted at Lafreniere Park. We collaborated with the Tulane Departments of Neurology and Neurosurgery at a joint informational table where we spoke with the attendees about brain health and emphasized the impact of cerebrovascular conditions such as stroke and vascular dementia, as well as current research in these areas. This event also included a two mile walk which my classmates and I participated in. During my more relaxing days, I decorated Christmas cards which were generously provided by our program coordinator, Linda Ma...

October Service Hours: 3 hours Cumulative for the Fall Semester: 3 hours For my three hours of community service I had the opportunity of volunteering at Second Harvest Food Bank. I participated in food packing and sorting. This was a wonderful experience and I got to witness firsthand the incredible efforts of Second Harvest. Our volunteer group included members from Ochsner Hospital, who had a whole department come in that day. Working alongside such motivated team members made the experience even more meaningful. Throughout our shift we focused on packing boxes with essential food items such as cereal, flour, milk, and canned goods. By the end of our session, we were told that our group had packed approximately 560 boxes which amounted to 14 pallets of food. We were praised by Second Harvest as we were told that we had not only met but exceeded Second Harvest’s quote for that volunteer session. This filled everyone with a deep sense of pride and accomplishment! The staff was incre...

My Introduction into Pharmacology During the past few weeks our cohort began to dive into inflammation and cell biology. It’s really interesting to learn about the connection between everyday medications and common illnesses. Learning more about NSAIDs and Tylenol has allowed me to identify symptoms and select the correct OTC medications I need. It almost feels like I’ve been endowed with secret knowledge! This makes every lecture truly fascinating because there is always more to learn. In particular, I found the microorganism related lectures to be the most interesting due to learning about the different fungi and bacteria that live within us and around us. A key takeaway from this module would be that even the smallest acts of prevention can make a difference in health. Especially for travelers, premedication and having a general understanding of the country you're traveling to will help in preventing illnesses such as malaria. Some topics from the past weeks that I would like to...