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Premed at WAC

There is no premed major at WAC - being premed simply means taking a series of classes typically required for admission into medical school. Those classes are:

General Biology I and II w/lab (BIO 111, 112)

Chemical Principles of Organic Molecules (CHE 120)

Reactions of Organic Molecules (CHE 140)

Quantitative Chemical Analysis - QCA (CHE 220)

Chemistry of the Elements (CHE 240)

Biochemistry w/lab (BIO 409/CHE 309)

College Physics I and II w/lab (PHY 101, 102) or General Physics I and II w/lab (PHY 111,112)

Two Math courses (see additional information below)

Two English courses (ENG 101 is recommended)

Social Science courses (see additional information below)

Humanities courses

Premed students typically major in a STEM field like biology or chemistry, which makes course scheduling much easier than if you were to major in another field. Although I’m a psych major concentrating in behavioral neuroscience, my major/minor classes and classes that I need to take for premed overlap pretty well (lucky for me!) General biology and general chemistry are requirements for both, and my psych classes fulfill the social science requirement needed for premed. 

Next semester I’ll be taking QCA and Physics, leaving me with only premed requirement to take my senior year - biochemistry. (It’s super scary that I’m already halfway done with college!)

If you would like more information on the Premed track at WAC, click HERE!

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Summer Plans

As of right now, the only summer plans I have are going out to vacation in California for a week and a half or so at the beginning of summer before coming home and getting a summer job. 

The FIFA Women’s World Cup is also scheduled to take place in France this summer, so I’m really looking forward to following that.

Other than that, I’ll just be relaxing!

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The Best Things Happen Unexpectedly

Moving 1,000 miles away from home was beyond scary. I didn’t know anyone, and I had no idea what to expect. The one thing that I DEFINITELY didn’t expect to happen, however, was joining WAC’s varsity sailing team (before college, I had never even stepped foot in a sailboat!)

Although I played lacrosse all four years of high school, I knew that I needed a break from all the constant games, practices, and conditioning, so I decided to just take things slowly and see what opportunities would come my way. As it turns out, the perfect opportunity came one day when I was at dinner with a friend. 

She mentioned that she might be joining the sailing team, and asked if I wanted to go down to the boathouse with her to practice with the team. She said that it would probably be a much more relaxed environment than lacrosse practices, so I figured that I had nothing to lose and tagged along. It’s been nearly 2 years, and here I am with absolutely no regrets!

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Free Time!

Chestertown is pretty rural, so I’m sure most people would agree that there’s not much to do on the weekends. This is why it’s a good idea to make the most out of what IS available!

During the weekends, you can find me: - Sleeping in (duh) - At the Saturday morning Chestertown Farmer’s Market, downtown from 8am – 12pm  - Exploring all the shops in downtown Chestertown (The Bookplate is one of my favorites) - At the waterfront - Kayaking/paddle boarding/sailing on the Chester River - Catching up on all of my shows

Me at the boathouse:

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Making New Friends at WAC

The transition to college can be super scary, so here are some tips for making new friends here at WAC:

1. Sign up for Orientation Explore!! This is a great chance for you to move in to your dorm before orientation starts (this was called pre-orientation during my freshman year), get a head start on familiarizing yourself with the campus, and get to know other freshman students with similar interests. Since I was coming from Florida and I didn’t know anyone on campus, I decided to sign up for a pre-orientation group called “Capital Crawl” because of my interest in traveling. During pre-orientation, I got to tour DC, the National Mall, Annapolis, the Maryland State House, go paddle-boarding on the Chester River, and so much more!  I cannot recommend signing up for Orientation Explore enough - I had a blast and actually met one of my closest friends through my Pre-Orientation group, and I’m sure you will, too!

2. SEB Events! During the first week of classes each semester, or “Welcome Week,” the Student Events Board (SEB) will put on a series of events designed for you to make new friends and have fun. These events can vary, but some memorable ones include free snow cones, a Pinterest party, Taco Tuesday, Waffle Wednesday, a mentalist, DIY snow globes, and Bingo!

3. Join a club! Club fair is usually happens during the first few weeks of classes fall semester, and as you can probably guess, it is when all of the clubs on campus are showcased in Martha Washington Square so that you can decide how you want to get involved on campus and which clubs you want to join. WAC has a variety of clubs - personally, I am a member of the Psychology Club and Health Occupations Students of America - and in the rare event that you don’t find one that suits your interests, you can start a club - even as a freshman! To find out how, head over to fellow blogger Holly’s blog HERE!

A picture of my pre-orientation group at the White House:

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Why you should enroll at WAC:

Small classes

Cherry blossoms

D-hall’s Thanksgiving dinner

The Rose O’Neill Literary House

Availability of internships and externships

Your professors will know your name

The Eastern Shore Food Lab

Plays put on by the Theater department

The Hodson Boathouse (especially at sunrise/sunset)

Chicken Pesto Club sandwich from Create

The Career Center

Downtown Chestertown (with discounts from certain stores)

The puppies that are always in Hodson

Saturday Farmers Market

The engaging discussions that you will have in class

Caring professors

The Writing Center (seriously, they’re lifesavers)

D-hall’s dessert bar

SEB events

Free fitness classes

Research opportunities (I just got to go to NYC!)

Sense of community (not just WAC, but Chestertown too)

The alumni network

I could go on and on...but what are you waiting for? Enroll today!

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Learning in Mount Vernon

All freshmen at Washington College are required to take a First Year Seminar (FYS) class that will introduce them to the academic skills needed for success at WC. As a freshman I ended up taking Religious Liberty with Dr. Joseph Prudhomme - although it was not my first choice, I can say with certainty that I couldn’t have ended up in a better class. 

Now, I’ll be the first to admit that the US Constitution is definitely not in my wheelhouse, but Dr. Prudhomme is incredibly knowledgeable and he really made learning about the First Amendment to the Constitution a fun experience. For example, just two weeks into the semester, he took our class on a field trip to George Washington’s Mount Vernon where we got to tour the grounds and learn all about George Washington’s life and the history behind his home. This tour was followed by a lunch at the on-site restaurant, where we engaged in a lively debate about whether or not George Washington was a Christian (if you didn’t know, this is very controversial!)

I throughly enjoyed this experience, especially because this was my very first outside of the classroom learning experience here at WAC. Since then, I’ve had a countless number of other fun learning experiences outside the classroom (at the Starr Center and the Center for Environment & Society, just to name a few) and if you decide to come to Washington College, you will too. 

Here’s a picture of me at Mount Vernon!

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Admitted Students Day!!

 Tomorrow is Admitted Students Day and we’re all SO excited to welcome you to campus! Here are my recommendations on things to do while you’re here at WAC:

1) Check-in is from 8:45-9:20 am. If you get to Chestertown early and you want something to eat for breakfast, I recommend stopping by Evergrain for some coffee and a pastry. I cannot recommend them enough!

2) Make sure to also stop by the academic fair in the Cain Gym, which runs from 10:15 - 11:30 am. You’ll get to learn about all of the different academic departments here on campus and listen to current students present their research. 

3) Grab lunch in the Hodson Dining Hall. The chefs here will go all out for admitted students day, so be sure to grab a bite to eat and get a taste of what your next four years at WC might look like food-wise.

4) TOURS. I cannot stress this one enough. Tours are the only way to really figure out if Washington College is the right place for you. From 12pm to 2:30pm, you can tour the:

Washington College Campus

Residence Halls

Chestertown

Rose O’Neill Literary House

Center for Environment & Society

Starr Center

Eastern Shore Food Lab

Miller Library

5) War on the Shore!! This is a men’s lacrosse game between WAC and our rival Salisbury. It is only hosted at WAC every other year, so tomorrow is the perfect chance for you to come and be a part of the fun! The tailgate starts at 12 pm and the game itself begins at 1 pm. (You’ll have VIP seating - I’m jealous!)

I’ll be working at the Academic Fair, so come say hi!!

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Life Goals

As you can probably guess from the title of my blog, I have a case of wanderlust. As corny as it may sound, one of my life goals is to travel the world. I’d especially love to travel Europe and Asia because of all the history, culture and, of course, food available on those continents! Since I have two more years of undergrad and then grad school this probably won’t be happening anytime soon, but it will someday!

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Advising Day

This semester’s advising day was this past Wednesday, April 3rd. Since Advising Day is typically for the freshmen who haven’t yet declared their majors and I had already talked to my advisor about my classes the week before, Wednesday was a much needed day off from classes for me! Although I didn’t do much other than catch up on sleep and homework, it was still pretty nice to relax during what was otherwise a pretty hectic week.

Until next time!

Picture credit: Pinterest

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Belated April Fools

Happy belated April Fools! Here’s a funny story for you: 

At the beginning of this school year a transformer blew downtown, which knocked out power to only one side of campus...the side with the freshman dorms and the academic buildings. (All of the upperclassmen in the River and Western Shore dorms were fine). 

At the time I was living in West, one of the Hill dorms that overlooks the campus green. I was doing homework around 9pm when the power suddenly went out. At first I thought there was something wrong with my room, so I peeked outside...only to find that the power was out all over my side of campus! 

Since I was on the first floor of West, I heard (and later saw) a good number of freshmen go running past my room onto the green to play games like manhunt and hide & seek. The power came back on about two hours later, but this incident was the only thing that people talked about for the next few days. 

To this day, I still laugh when I think about it!

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Public Health Minor

The Public Health minor at Washington College consists of six classes, two of which are core classes, Introduction to Public Health and Global Health Disparities, and the other four of which are electives. These electives include classes in the biology, chemistry, psychology, sociology, philosophy, environmental studies, and political science departments.

As you can see, the Public Health minor encompasses a broad range of classes, all of which reflect the interdisciplinary nature of the Public Health field. Overall, minoring in Public Health will prepare you for future success in the health and medical fields.

As a psychology major on the pre-med track, a lot of the premed classes/classes that I’ve taken for my major overlap with the requirements for the Public Health minor. As a matter of fact, I’ve finished already finished all four of the elective classes that are required, and I’m currently taking Intro to Public Health. This means that I only have to complete one more course, Global Health Disparities, to graduate with a minor in Public Health!

Here’s a cool infographic about US Life Expectancy, which is actually something that we just covered in public health class:

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Stress Relief

College can be stressful, especially when you’re juggling both academics and extracurriculars while trying to maintain a social life and get a decent amount of sleep each night. Sometimes, it seems like it’s almost impossible - and those are the times when you need to take a break and do something that you enjoy to destress.

Here are my stress relief tips:

1. Take a nap. Not a 4 hour nap where you end up missing dinner, but a 30 minute power nap. Power naps can help to improve both your mood and alertness and decrease your stress levels so that you can come back to your work feeling reenergized. (Don’t forget to set an alarm!)

2. Take a break. Have some shows you need to catch up on? A book you want to finish reading? A friend you haven’t seen/talked to in awhile? Take a break from your work to do something that you enjoy, and come back to it later after you’ve spent some ‘me’ time. Disclaimer: Start things early so that you can take a break if you really need to. Don’t procrastinate!

3. Take a walk. WAC’s campus is beautiful, especially in the fall when all the leaves are starting to change colors and now in the spring when all the flowers are starting to bloom again. Downtown Chestertown, especially by the waterfront, is also a really nice place to walk and clear your mind.

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Washington College Professors...

...are the most dedicated, knowledgeable teachers ever! They are what make learning at Washington College so great. I’d be remiss to not give a shoutout to my advisor, Dr. Gibson, who is a psychology professor.

The first class that I walked into on my first day of college was Dr. Gibson’s General Psychology class. I walked out of the class about four months later knowing that I would be majoring in psychology, and that I wanted Dr. Gibson to be my advisor. 

Last spring, after declaring my major, Dr. Gibson was super helpful! She told me about all of the classes that I’d need to take and she helped me plan out my schedule for my next three years at WAC. Since then, she has also written me several recommendations for internships and other programs, and I definitely wouldn’t be as successful at WAC as I am today without her.

People often say that your professors will either make or break your college experience. Well, that’s true, and so far Washington College’s faculty has made my experience at WAC absolutely amazing.

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Sciences at WAC

Just yesterday, WAC held a “Natural Sciences and Mathematics Day” for students to learn all about the various science classes and programs offered here at the college. Classes include (but are not limited to) Biology, Psychology, Chemistry, Environmental Science/Studies, Physics, Math, and Computer Science. Programs offered include 3:2 Nursing with the UMD School of Nursing, 3:2 Engineering with Columbia University, and the 3:4 Pharmacy program with UMD.

As a Psychology major with a Biology minor currently on the Pre-Med track, I can tell you all about the classes offered in these two departments!

There are A LOT of Psychology courses offered, but my favorite class so far is one that I’m currently taking – Drugs & Behavior. As you can probably tell from the name, this class is all about various drugs and the effects that they have on our behaviors/bodies and it is super interesting!

Something that I really love about the psychology department at Washington College are the professors. Since WAC is such a small school, you can really build a relationship with your teachers – and once you do, they can open all sorts of doors for you in terms of research and internships.

In fact, I mentioned an interest in research to my advisor towards the end of last year, but because I would only be a sophomore she said that I’d probably have to end up waiting until junior year to join a research lab. Then, out of the blue at the beginning of this academic year, I received an email from one of the new professors in the department inviting me to join her lab! As it turns out, she got my name from a conversation that she had with my advisor and the data that we ended up collecting last semester culminated in a poster at my first ever academic conference in NYC! I’ll attach a picture from the conference below.

The biology department at WAC is also fantastic. I just registered for my classes for next fall, and one of the classes that I’m really excited to take is Integrative Human Anatomy with Dr. Krochmal. I’ve always loved learning about the ins and outs of the human body, so I’m really looking forward to this class!

If you have any questions about the Psychology or Biology departments here at WAC (or any other questions, really) please feel free to reach out to me and I’ll do my best to answer your questions!

Below: At the EPA Conference in NYC

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Spring Break

Over Spring Break (which was way too short) I went to San Francisco! Here are some pictures: 

Now it’s time to get back into the swing of things and finish out the semester strong. T-8 weeks until summer!

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Grey’s Anatomy (aka the best TV show ever)

If for some reason you’ve never heard of Grey’s Anatomy, it’s a medical drama that follows a group of doctors around their day-to-day lives at Grey-Sloan Memorial Hospital. It is one of the longest running primetime TV series in the United States, and just this season it actually reached a new milestone - it is also the longest running medical drama, just recently surpassing ER’s record of 331 episodes. 

I started watching Grey’s Anatomy the summer between my freshman and sophomore years of high school. I fell in love and have been following it ever since - Grey’s Anatomy is definitely my favorite TV show.