Lori HuangBIOSC Senior & pre-med For students who are pre-med, clubs are something they may stress over as they try to figure out how to fluff up their future med school applications. As a pre-med student myself, that was something that was initially on my mind. However, I have found it much more fulfilling to join clubs that I actually like instead of something that “looks good.” It’s also much easier to talk and write about something you are truly passionate about if you are discussing your extracurriculars in med school interviews or applications anyways. In my case, my favorite extracurricular by far is The Pitt Pulse, Pitt’s Honors-affiliated science magazine. Besides obviously writing STEM articles and getting published (which is great too!), The Pitt Pulse also showcases beautiful designs made by the design department, which I have been the co-Art Director of since I was a sophomore. Funnily enough, I only joined at the suggestion of the then Dean of the Honors College, but I have since grown to love designing for the magazine over the past three years. Although the topics in the magazine are STEM-related, the process of making graphic designs for the articles allows you to exercise your creativity over the scientific rationality of the content. Even if you’re a STEM major, you can be artistic too! In terms of the design department, The Pitt Pulse meets three times for each magazine we publish (which is four times a year) to go over our rough drafts of designs for the articles and give design critiques. Designers use Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator, and InDesign to bring their designs to life. If you don’t have any experience, it’s no problem! The other Art Director and I have uploaded training videos and the vast majority of our new designers who also have no experience have produced wonderful designs. The Pitt Pulse is a great club to learn skills in Adobe and be creative. It’s always rewarding to receive the physical manifestations of your work in magazine form at the end of the cycle (I’ve kept every single one!). The way that the cycles are designed also means that designing isn’t much of a time commitment if you’re a busy Biological Sciences major like me. You don’t have to design for every cycle either--just design when you have the time and when you want to. There’s no need to pile on more stress for you. If you’re interested, we are always happy to have new designers (or writers). While I can’t say much about the writing side of The Pitt Pulse I can say that I am very proud of the designers and what they’ve made throughout the years. If you enjoy graphic design as well, then I hope that you can be one of those designers too 😊 Lastly, if you have any questions, you can email me at [email protected]. You can visit our website at http://www.thepittpulse.org/ and find our magazines at the magazine stands scattered throughout campus (Hillman, Langley, Chevron, Scaife, and the Honors College).
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Mikaela BaratkaE&E Senior; pre-PhD Professors aren’t scary. In fact, they want you attending their office hours and asking questions so that they can gauge what content they may need to review more in depth to help you and your peers succeed. Their job is to make sure you leave the class with new knowledge, not feeling discouraged and like you didn’t learn anything. So how come when it comes to asking questions in class or during office hours our anxieties get the best of us and we freeze? Most likely you weren’t the only one in your 150-person lecture that didn’t quite understand a slide or concept, so why not just go and ask? I’m not a psychology major, so I can’t explain why our brains make us fear professors, but I am a student who has been there, so I can provide some tips on how to overcome that fear to ensure you do well in your classes. The general consensus seems to be that the scariest professors are the ones who teach the larger lectures. The good thing about this is that because they are teaching large courses, they almost certainly have some form of teaching assistant. Utilize them.
I found that first turning to UTAs (undergrad teaching assistant) in courses I was struggling with was much less intimidating, most likely because they are my peers. Instead of feeling whatever anxiety response I typically felt thinking about having to speak with a professor, it felt like I was studying with a friend with a better grasp on the content. Your UTAs have been in your shoes. They know what it takes to succeed in that particular course and most likely have tips to help you better understand that concept that seems to go over your head no matter how many times the professor goes over it in class. And they probably know the professor pretty well and can give some tips on talking with them! If you feel comfortable and still need some extra help, try to branch out to graduate TA office hours. They have more experience with the content and, at least to me, are far less intimidating because, in reality, they are only a few years older than you. Not to mention, their undergraduate career is not too far in their past, meaning they most likely remember how they felt when they needed to ask for help. In my experience, after a few weeks of utilizing TA and UTA office hours, suddenly talking to a professor seemed much less frightening. I think seeing how many resources a professor was providing me with to succeed made me realize that the judgment I once feared was all in my head. I recommend utilizing office hours for more than just exam prep as well. Stopping by for a few minutes to ask a clarifying question or double check your answer for a homework assignment is a great way to demonstrate to the instructors that you are putting in the effort. Better yet, you begin to build a rapport with them. In my personal experience, once I started utilizing all the types of office hours offered for a course, the next semester I was less afraid to ask for help. There are no stupid questions. Yes, everyone says that, but it’s true. If you think the question is too simple and you feel like you should know the answer already, that means you need to ask it sooner rather than later. Office hours are truly a judgment-free zone. Everyone learns in different ways, and maybe you need to be taught a concept differently than your peers. There is nothing wrong with that. Gopika RajanikanthBIOSC Senior, pre-genetic counseling There are a lot of requirements to become a competitive applicant for genetic counseling programs. One requirement that many programs emphasize is having “exposure” to the field of genetic counseling because they want applicants to have a clear understanding of what genetic counseling is before they apply. But what technically counts as exposure? The first experience that most people may think about is shadowing. Shadowing a genetic counselor is a great way to get exposure to what a genetic counselor does. However, even though Pittsburgh has many genetic counselors, it can be challenging to find shadowing opportunities, especially so in the midst of a pandemic. So, what else can you do to gain exposure to genetic counseling? Informational Interviews: Informational interviews involve speaking directly with a genetic counselor and asking them questions about their career. You could do this either in-person or virtually, so you’re not limited to your location like you may be with shadowing. How do you find genetic counselors to contact and ask for an interview? It’s actually pretty easy. You can go to the “Find a Genetic Counselor” page on the National Society of Genetic Counselors (NSGC) website and search for genetic counselors who allow student contact (use this link) and find their email addresses. Here, you’re able to filter by location and specialty so that you can talk to genetic counselors with a wide variety of experiences and work environments. Speaking one-on-one with a genetic counselor is a great way to learn more about the profession and if it’s right for you. Webinars: Because of the pandemic, many schools and organizations have been holding online webinars discussing genetic counseling and holding panels with genetic counselors across various specialties. These webinars usually have some time for Q&A, so it’s a great way to ask genetic counselors and program directors any questions you have about the profession or grad school applications. To find webinars, I recommend scrolling through #gcchat on Twitter because many programs and organizations will publicize their events there. Podcasts: There are many podcasts available that can give you a great insight into what genetic counseling is like. And some programs consider you taking the time to listen to these podcasts as exposure to genetic counseling. Some great podcasts include the NSGC Podcast Series, Patient Stories with Grey Genetics, DNA Today: A Genetics Podcast, and GC Chat: A Genetic Counseling Podcast. Genetic Counseling Club at Pitt: You can also join the Genetic Counseling Club here at Pitt! We provide a support network of students who all have the same goal of becoming a genetic counselor. In addition, we host panels with current genetic counselors and genetic counseling students, so it’s a good way to get more exposure to the field of genetic counseling. If you have any questions, contact us at [email protected] or feel free to schedule an appointment (through Navigate Student) to chat with me about the club. This semester we are lucky to have 11 bio peer advisors who are excited to share their experiences in the department and on campus. You can now schedule appointments with the Bio Peer Advisors through the Navigate Student app > choose Bio Peer Advising as your service type! Keep on reading to get to know your Peer Advisors before scheduling an appointment! Julianna Menendez Hi! I'm Julianna, a senior majoring in Biological Sciences! I'm from Northern PA by Lake Erie, and I'm hoping to follow up my time here with four more years of medical school. When I'm not taking bio courses, I'm either working at one of my 2 jobs or (safely) spending time with friends (: Hoping to help other students navigate to the best of my ability and share many of the resources, both academic and non-academic, that have helped me over the years! Madison Palmiero Hi everyone! I'm Madison and I am a senior biology major. I am on the pre-physician assistant track and will be applying to PA schools this spring. I'm from Meadville, Pennsylvania, which is about an hour and a half north of Pittsburgh. When I'm not in class I love going to the gym and spending time outside. This is my second year as a biology peer advisor, and I'm looking forward to getting to know you all! Gopika Rajanikanth My name is Gopika, and I’m originally from Northern Virginia. I’m currently a senior majoring in biological sciences, and I’m interested in becoming a genetic counselor. I also volunteer at Crisis Text Line and as a teaching assistant for adult students trying to get their GED. When I’m not working, I also enjoy reading and watching TV. Tyler Whitfield Hello! My name is Tyler Whitfield, and I am a fourth-year computational biology student here at Pitt. I am from Washington, Pennsylvania (about 30 minutes south of campus). After I graduate, I am hoping to continue my education in Dental School, using cutting-edge technology in the dental field. In my free time, I enjoy long distance running Kamron Woods Hi! My name is Kamron Woods and I am a senior microbiology major on the pre-MDPhD track. When I am not busy with bio classes I enjoy cooking, reading, running, and listening to music. |
Pitt Bio BlogThe Pitt Bio Blog is maintained by the Department of Biological Sciences Advising Office. Posts are authored by our students Archives
January 2022
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