Surviving School: the non-class stuff

So after a month I'm still loving it. I managed to pass my first anatomy quiz even though there were only 20 questions but loads of information. This week starts off an exam a week. Cell bio midterm is tomorrow. Then clinical pathology is the following Monday. Then the Monday after that is Anatomy. Enough about school though, I promised to talk about clubs the next time I wrote.

There is a plethora of clubs on campus and each one you have to pay dues to join. The cost varies from free (extremely rare) to $55 or more. So what clubs did I join? I joined the Ohio Veterinary Medical Association which by joining for 4 years gets me into the midwest veterinary conference for free (the cost of which one year is equal to OVMA membership for 4 years). SCAVMA is another one I joined. This is the student chapter of the American veterinary medical association and just about everyone joins to try and be a member in good standing for the perks after graduation.

Surgery club is one that everyone joins because of the way school is set up. During your first two years you have lecture based learning. Your third year you get more of the surgery/hands on learning. Then 4th year is all clinical. From day one you can go into the hospital whenever you want but it is on your own. Surgery club augments your learning and helps you learn the skills you'll start learning 3rd year. You end up getting a jump on things. This week is the start of the required technique labs for surgery club. These are basic hand tying, instrument handling, and suture labs that are the basis for surgery.

VBMA is the veterinary business management association. It provides lunch and dinner lectures (with really good food) that gives you business information. They also have a certificate program that can show an employer you have learned about topics in business. It is not the business minor program. Zoo animal club I joined to be exposed to exotic and wildlife animals.

The last club I joined, which doesn't have dues, is Christian Veterinary Fellowship. They have weekly Bible studies, are planning a retreat to Hocking Hills and are trying to figure out either domestic, international, or both mission trips. I look forward to getting to know this great group of people.

Outside of school I have found a church. It is called Veritas and has two campuses. The one I go to is located in an elementary school. I also joined a community group from that church. I went once and thought I wouldn't be going again because CVF was changing their Bible study time to what I thought was the same time. However, they ended up changing to a different day entirely so I guess I'll be able to keep going.

That's all for now. Better head off to church and then spend the rest of the day studying. TTFN.

Biking Around

I have now finished my second week. We got eased into things in terms of the number of days we went these first two weeks. We started August 27th and went for three days. Then we had a long weekend which made this week only four days. We have not been eased into our classes that much though. From day one we jumped right in and have a massive amount of information thrown at us. As one professor put it we are in a language immersion course. It is definitely true because there is a lot of new terminology that we have to figure out. It is used repetitively though so after a bit we get used to it.

Wednesday we have our first anatomy quiz which is on the muscles and bones of the thoracic limb. That is a lot of material and it will give us an idea of just how massive our future exams will be. Overall I am enjoying classes. Some of them are review. Others are slowly teaching us how to read CBCs. That class is much better after the initial shock of the amount of material and getting used to the terminology. Right now it is turning into one of the classes I enjoy the most.

Not only are we having information thrown at us in classes but in clubs as well. Clubs at the vet school are in recruitment mode right now. What this means is about everyday during lunch you get free food (if you RSVP). It also means that you are writing checks because in order to join clubs you have to pay dues. So far I have found a few that I am looking forward to joining. I'll write more on clubs later.

You might be asking yourself - does she have any free time? The answer is not really. If you want to have free time when you don't study or do anything school related you have to make time. So far I have made time to join a group of 2nd year girls who started a kickboxing group their 1st year. My big sib is part of it so I thought I'd try it out. I also make time to bike around the city.

This may not be the best of bikes but so far it has gotten me around pretty well. Near the veterinary campus, close to the towers and the football stadium there is a trail called the Olentangy River Trail. It can be crowded but it is very nice.

This is the river that runs along the trail. At various points on the trail there are bridges that cross it. As you go across you can see many geese. Today I even saw a man fly fishing.

At points along the trail there are sections that merge. This is one such section. In the background on the left is Schottenstein Center where a few weeks ago I went and picked up my football tickets.

Today on my way past I biked close to the football stadium (the horseshoe or shoe for short). Come  tomorrow the area will be packed for the 1st home game of the season.

I will eventually sit in this stadium but it won't be until later in the season. Yesterday I got a little taste as I watched the marching band practice their routine for tomorrows game. They are really something to watch in person and will be amazing to see in the stadium with all the fans. I should probably go study. Until next time, TTFN!