The schedule for the vet prep program is slightly relaxed in that you do end up having more time than any of the actual semesters in veterinary school. But seems to be proving to be a great opportunity for me to fine tune my study skills now that my full-time job is truly to be JUST a student! I'm so grateful that I don't have to juggle a full-time job and full-time course load ever again. I finally get to focus completely on school. My job IS to study and be a successful student in veterinary school.
The courses that I have this semester are the following:
Applications
Medical Math
Microbiology
Prep. Physiology
Study Skills
Veterinary Terminology
Evidence Based Medicine
So far I'm really enjoying all of the courses and the fact that they are getting my brain juices flowing once again.
I feel pretty awesome right now in the sense that I think I have a great balance as well as the sense to buckle down and focus when there is work to be done.
Last week I was elected as the Vet Prep Class Representative for the Ross University School of Veterinary Medicines SCAVMA board. I'm extremely thrilled about this opportunity! I love being able to finally put my leadership skills to the test as well as continuing my education on how to manage and listen to groups, etc. The first meeting for SCAVMA was today and I was officially sworn onto the board. I hope to be the best voice for my fellow classmates/colleagues as well as keep them well informed about the current issues/opportunities that are happening within the university.
I have also joined the Josh & Friends committee at Ross University. The committee raised enough funds the other semester to buy 12 kits (see the website for details) for the pediatric ward at the local hospital in St. Kitt's. Those are going to be distributed to the children this Thursday for the first time ever! The really cool part of this impressive achievement is that when the committee chair was talking about this event, you could really see her eyes light up with so much excitement to have accomplished such a feat. My hopes in joining the Josh & Friends Committee is to give back to the community around the university. I really wanted to provide some form of community service that didn't necessarily involve contact or working with animals but rather the locals here on St. Kitts. Community service has really always been a very large passion of mine. I've always felt that we are better off serving others that are in some form or another less fortunate than ourselves...there's always some kind of need in the community that you live in. You don't necessarily have to focus on changing the world as a whole, but definitely try to change the community around you in any way you can. There are resources/organizations out there to help you achieve this goal.
Aside from SCAVMA and the Josh & Friends committee, I really don't plan to stretch myself much further. Maybe next semester (my 1st semester of veterinary school), I will look into clubs that are offered at Ross, but for right now these two commitments are perfect.
More to come as the weeks roll on by :)