Charlayne’s Blog

Well it’s Friday, so finals week as pretty much come and gone.  I only had one final (in Philosophy) because I took the others last week, so I did not have much to do.  On Sunday my parents came up to Storrs for the Honors Medals Ceremony.  All of the students graduating from the Honors Program were presented with medals to signify their achievements (or as a peace offering for having to write a 50+ page paper…).  My friend, Heeren, gave the graduation speech and did such an awesome job!  I put a link to his speech here in case you are interested in hearing the parting words of a graduating honors student (http://honors.uconn.edu/academics/graduation/Heereen%20Makanji%20-%20Scholar%20Address.pdf).

Afterward my family and I enjoyed a delicious lunch at the Asian Bistro in the East Brook Mall (the shopping mall about 10 minutes down the road from UConn).  That was, of course, after an obligatory picture with the Husky statue!

Jonathan and I

So the next post will likely be my last and I will do my best to some up the year.  See ya next time!

So today was my last day of undergraduate classes.  It’s pretty crazy that I’m graduating college!  It really does feel like just yesterday when my parents and I unloaded our van at Shippee Hall at the start of my freshman year.  May 1st is TOMORROW, so for those of you who make or have made the decision to attend UConn– you are in for some of the best years of your life up here in Storrs!

This past weekend was the infamous Spring Weekend.  The combination of gorgeous weather and lots of campus events made it a great time!  On Friday, I went to a Women’s Rugby barbecue with my roommates and had some of the best burgers I have ever eaten.

BBQ. Yes, we do all have the same sunglasses.

Saturday was Oozeball.  Picture 15 mud volleyball courts constructed on the South quad where teams of six compete in a huge tournament.  There is music blasting, delicious food, and these gigantic dancing figures (words cannot describe them, but, if you go here, you know what they are!)  Even though my team lost in the first round, we still had a great time.  To be honest, the real fun is just tackling your team into the mud at the end of the game.

Team How's Your News? So dirty!

This week is Senior Week sponsored by the Alumni Association.  I signed up early and got my free Senior t-shirt and wristband.  Today, I attended the Senior Fiesta and ate more than my fair share of fried dough and ice cream.  Tomorrow, I’ll be going to the Mohegan Sun Casino with the rest of the senior class to enjoy a night out.  With so much to do, it truly is a miracle that I managed to find time to study for two finals and finish my thesis.  All in all, this has been a great week and I am soooooo sad to know that I’ll be leaving here soon.

For those of you who are still deciding between schools, you have less than 24 hours before your deposit is due!  Don’t worry– I sent my deposit in on May 1st.  If you have any last minute questions, feel free to email me at charlayne.mcstay@uconn.edu.  Good luck!

This past weekend, in the midst of a blur of Open House activities, I finished the rough draft of my thesis!  At a whopping 48 pages (including references of course) I feel like this is a pretty big accomplishment.  Although I might not feel so proud once my advisor gets back to me with his corrections…

The school year is winding down, so I’m trying to squeeze in all my work with some last minute undergraduate fun.  Speaking of fun, last week was Student Appreciation Day sponsored by USG (Undergraduate Student Government).  After voting in the USG elections, you were given a wristband which entitled you to all the free stuff you could eat/stuff in your backpack.  There was carnival-style food like popcorn, cotton candy, corn dogs, and churros.  Then there were free water bottles, pens, sunglasses, and, of course, t-shirts.  Speaking of t-shirts, I just picked up my official Spring Weekend tee (also distributed by USG).  Free stuff seems to be the theme here…  This weekend I’ll be playing Oozeball with a bunch of my friends. If you don’t know what Oozeball is then you’ll just have to tune in to my post later this week for some, shall we say, dirty pictures.

I do.

As always, send me your questions.

The enrollment deposit deadline is coming up fast–next Friday, May 1st!

Before college, when I heard the word “frontier”, I automatically thought back to my days of playing Oregon Trail.  Now the word has much more meaning.  Frontiers in Undergraduate Research is an annual poster exhibit where students are invited to present the research they have been conducting for the past year.  I have had a poster at Frontiers for the past two years and have really enjoyed the experience.  The posters are set-up in the Wilbur Cross Building’s Reading Room and organized by major.  Visitors can pass through the exhibit and ask questions of the presenters who are standing next to their poster.  As a science major, I am somewhat familiar with the projects that are going on in my field, but it is really interesting to see what students are doing elsewhere on campus.  Last year there were posters on everything from genetic mutations to opera to child development studies to marketing projects.

The Frontiers program is conveniently scheduled during the Open House this Saturday so that prospective students and their families can see what types of research opportunities are available to them while they study here.  If you are interested in research or just happen to find yourself passing through the Wilbur Cross Building (that’s the one with the big gold dome on top), please stop by and say hello!

For more information about Frontiers, visit http://ugradresearch.uconn.edu/frontiers.php.

My friend Sam presenting her poster at last year's exhibit. Sam is currently participating in the Teach for America program in New York City.

Just a quick reminder, the UConn Spring Open House for Admitted Students will be held this Saturday, April 18th beginning at 8:30am in Gampel Pavilion.  For a complete schedule of the events, visit: www.openhouse.uconn.edu.  It should be a great day filled with plenty of opportunities for you to get your last minute questions answered by faculty, staff, and students.  The Spring Open House was what made me decide to attend UConn when I was a high school senior, so I think pretty highly of it!  While on campus I was able to not only learn more about the school, but I got to see other students I would be attending school with.  Knowing I felt comfortable here really made a huge impact on my decision.  For me, UConn was the perfect fit.

I urge you and your families to take some time out of your day Saturday and head up to Storrs.  You might even catch me or one of the other bloggers walking around campus!

And, of course, congratulations to the UConn Women’s Basketball team for their awesome season!

We're #1! (Photo courtesy of the Daily Campus)

This Friday and Saturday I attended Second-Look Weekend at UConn’s School of Medicine. In August, I will be attending there as a first year medical student. The weekend’s activities were designed to give prospective students a chance to see what UConn is like. I attended a bunch of lectures on research and clinical opportunities, met with current students, and even got to hold a human lung from a cadaver in the anatomy lab! It was a great opportunity to ask questions about what my life is going to be like for the next four years. *Hint hint… it was kind of like this blog! I thought I’d take some time to tell you about what being a pre-med student is like at UConn.

If you are interested in going to medical school, you can major in anything you want. You just have to make sure you meet all of the academic requirements for medical school (things like taking organic chemistry, biochemistry, and physics) and do well on your MCATs (the big standardized test for pre-med students). There is a pre-med advisor who can help you make sure you are on the right track. The summer before your senior year is when students typically apply to medical school. The interview process begins in early fall and can go all the way through the spring. I applied to the UConn School of Medicine through a program known as Early Assurance in which filled out my application during my junior year. I was notified of my admission in April last year and given standards I had to meet for my GPA and MCAT scores. It was a great program for me because UConn was my first choice school, so I saved a lot of time and money by not having to fill out other applications!

I wonder if this is what medical school is really like? (www.cartoonstock.com)

If you have any questions about pre-med or going to medical school or anything else for that matter, let me know! You can always email me too at charlayne.mcstay@uconn.edu. Also here are some links you might find helpful:

http://medicine.uchc.edu/prospective/index.html

http://premed.uconn.edu/

Well, we are well into Men’s & Women’s NCAA Basketball Tournament.  Here at UConn this is a really big deal.  Whether you watch the games on one of the many screens around campus or in the privacy of your dorm room (where you can still hear the cheers coming from other rooms where the game is on), there is tons of excitement.  I guess it helps that both of our teams are doing fantastic!  Last week I had the opportunity to attend Rounds 1 and 2 of the Women’s Tournament which was held in Gampel Pavilion.  Amazingly, tickets were only $10 for a three-game package and students had some pretty great seats in the upper level behind the hoop.  President Hogan even joined us in the student section for a bit to help cheer the team on!

Matt and I at the game against Florida.

On Saturday, I attended a reception for scholarship recipients in Southington, Connecticut.  I had the pleasure of eating lunch with students and their families and answering their questions about UConn.  It was a great day and I hope it helped some people make their final decisions.

HAP coordinators at the reception with Jonathan.

With all of this stuff going on I’ve barely had time for homework and writing my thesis, but I’ve been doing my best.  I guess the madness of March is in more ways than one!

I apologize for the long time between posts– I was having a hard time adjusting back to UConn life.  It’s a tough thing to trade-in flip flops for boots and easy “summer” reading for chemistry textbooks.  Thankfully, I have March Madness and my thesis to keep my mind off how depressing this is!  My spring break trip to the Dominican Republic was fantastic!  Rather than telling you about it, I’ll just show you…

Barcelo Capella pool (Juan Dolio, DR)

Group shot in the Colonial City (Santo Domingo, DR)

Snorkeling off Catalina Island (La Romana, DR)

Banana boat!

Classes are finished with (for now) and I am off to the Dominican Republic for spring break.  This is the second time I’ll be visiting the country.  The first was for a three-week study abroad experiences where I volunteered as a health educator on sugar cane plantations and an English teacher in an urban school.  This time I’ll be there for some relaxation on the beaches of Juan Dolio, but even though I’m there for a very different experience, I hope that I’ll be able to visit some of my favorite spots in the area.  I won’t have access to a computer for the week, but I’ll be sure to update you on my adventures when I return.

In the meantime, send me your questions about life at UConn or anything else for that matter.

My favorite beach in the DR, Bayahibe.

So for the past four weeks, I have been attending yoga class.  The class is a program sponsored by the Charter Oak Suites and Apartments Community Assistants and will run through the end of the semester.  Our teacher, Amy, is a minister at one of the local churches in the area and also a seasoned yoga-er (is that even the right word?).  Most of the people who attend are fairly new to yoga (myself included), so Amy does a great job of introducing the “poses” and offering simplifications, as well as advice to make them harder.  You can really go at your own pace and still get a great work out.  The “cat”, “cow”, and “downward dog” are just some of the poses we have learned in class.  My favorite, shown below, is child’s pose and sooo relaxing!  I really enjoy getting to take an hour break from my busy life and relax to some soothing music while stretching.

At UConn, there are a variety of similar classes offered through the Bodywise Fitness and Wellness Program.  While this yoga class is run through the community assistants, Bodywise consistently holds classes in their studio near Hilltop Dorms and Suites for the entire campus community.  You can look at the schedule of classes here:  http://web.uconn.edu/recreation/bodywise/.  I’ve taken a few of these classes and they were great!  There are also opportunities to try-out to be an instructor if that is something you are interested in.

All in all, college is the place to try new things.  So whether its twisting yourself up in knots in yoga class, trying an aerobics class, or participating in another interesting recreational activity– I encourage you to take advantage of all the programs offered to us here at UConn.