Move In:
I got to East Lansing on Wednesday, August 17 around 4:00 PM and got right to unpacking. In between making my bed and organizing my life, I met my roommates, Caela and Jessica. I could tell right away we were going to get along really well. :) As far as my apartment, I am in love. We have such a great little community in my complex and everything is so accessible! In my complex, I have a gym (which I have actually taken advantage of--wahoo!), a pool/hot tub (which I have also taken advantage of lots), free tanning, free computer lab/printing, and a free shuttle that will take you to campus and to the main street in EL --Grand River. Also, my complex is like 5 minutes walking to campus and about 2 minutes away from this shopping center called "Hannah Plaza" that has so many restaurants and a college store. So, everything really is perfect! :)
Orientation Week: This week was the longest, but most fun week I have had in a long time. I honestly can't remember the last time I have been this excited about something (probably my first week of undergrad!). I feel like getting all of the information about school and making really great friendships (really fast) has made my med school experience so great already and its only just the beginning. But, Im getting ahead of myself, here is the breakdown of my Orientation Week.
Pre-Orientation Days: The three days between move-in and orientation, I tried to get used to my new apartment and meet lots of my new classmates. I was nervous that with such a small class (only 100) that I couldn't find people I really got along with, but boy was I wrong! The friends I made here within only a few days will be my best friends for life. Its crazy how similar everyone is as far as motivation, drive, and being extraverted. In fact, on my first night of meeting everyone, we already had a team name "That A Team" and solidified each other as a really solid group. In fact, the longest I went without seeing members of the A Team after our meetings was probably 6 hours. I <3 our little group (of 25 haha). Anyways, basically my pre-orientation days consisted of lots of bar hopping, movie nights, BBQ, pool/hot tub parties, and (although I dont get the appeal) Jersey Shore Viewing Parties.
Although I wish pre-orientation could have lasted forever, Saturday finally came. Here is the breakdown of orientation:
Day 1 (Saturday): Lots of Icebreaker games in the morning and then...FLASH MOB practice! Yup, my whole incoming class got lessons from a choreographer and worked on a flash mob that we did at our Student Activities Fair on Friday (more details on Fridays info). Overall, it was a really fun, but exhasting day. That night, of course, my entire class went out. My roommates and I held the meeting place and then we bar hopped at some local East Lansing bars. It was really fun and made me fall in love with my class. Seriously, I could not have imagined a better group of people. Everyone one is so intelligent, but still social and amazing!
Day 2 (Sunday): Free day! Thank goodness, because I needed my sleep after such a long day/night! That day, I drove up to Flint to visit Sarath. For those of you who dont know, Flint, Michigan is the number one most dangerous city in the United States. So, I was kind of terrified to go, but to my suprise, the area he lived around was really nice! Aparently there is one nice street in the whole city, and his apartment complex is right there. So, that was nice. I pretty much just spent the whole time hanging out in his apartment and looking through all of his med school text books, which I am borrowing! Also, one of his good friends, that I have gotten to know over the last two years, made us (a rediculously healthy) dinner. She made squash pasta with a tomato sauce w/ mushrooms. It was absolutely delicious!
Day 3 (Monday): My first "real" day of orientation. The day consisted of mostly welcoming information, including an introduction to the faculty, the Block I academic orientation, photos for our ID cards, a drug test, and then a few student panels about "what to expect." A lot of this information was really helpful, but my highlight of the day was definitely the welcome form the dean. I LOVE my dean, Dr. Masha Rappley. Seriously, this woman is amazing. She is so well spoken and seems really amazing at what she does, but what I loved about her right away was her fearless honesty. In her welcome speech, she addressed the fact that we were all probably terrified about the incoming school year and told us about her own experience in medical school. Her very first test in medical school, a Biochemistry exam, she got a 28%. So, she failed badly, but she didn't give up and not only finished medical school, but is the DEAN of a medical school. So, that was a really great intro for us, because it made all of us feel better about the challenges ahead!
Day 4 (Tuesday): Again, we had a morning full of talks. The first was about security, which doesn't sound like that great of a lecture, but I found out something awesome -- as med students, we get late-night accesss to all of the buildings! Our main study space (the radiology building) closes at 6, but medical students get keys so we can be in their 24 hours/day! That afternoon, I took a practice USMLE board exam. I haven't gotten my scores back yet, but I am aiming for about a 20/200! That test was IMPOSSIBLE if you havent completed your first two years of medical school. CHM wasn't expecting us to do well (obviously), but I am kind of glad to get the exposure to that exam so early on!
Day 5 (Wednesday): Wednesday's morning discussions were all about career development and professionalism. My Career Development councelor, Mrs. Deana Willbanks, is my second favorite faculty member. To be honest, I really was not excited about career development stuff because I knew it would entail all of these silly surveys that will tell me what I do like v. what I dont, but I have been pleasantly supprised on what the Career Development program has to offer. Mrs. W is crazy hooked up with summer internships and is already making us files to prepare for residencies. She is super bubbly, very interested in what is going on in our lives, and has been rediculously helpful already! :) As far as professionalism, CHM is kind of crazy about professionalism. I mean, we had 3 hours of discussion about professional behavior. Don't get me wrong, I know how important looking and sounding professional is in the medical field and I am glad that there is a focus, but 3 hours was a little overkill. Oh well! Finally, that afternoon, we participated in the "Evening of Community Service." We were all split into groups and got to go out into the greater Lansing area to do service projects. I went to the "Haven House," which is the only homeless shelter in Lansing that allows whole families to stay, which is awesome. I basically did maintenance and housekeeping work, but it was a great way to integrate the EL community into my medical school orientation week!
Day 6 (Thursday): Information was given on the MSU library resources. Again, I did not think I would be too engrossed in this, but I found another awesome thing about being a medical student. Basically, we have access to every book in both paper and electronic form. If we go to search for a source and it is not available, the library will go out and get it and scan it in so that we can have electronic access. Isn't that awesome? They treat us so well! That afternoon, I got BLS certified. I was kind of annoyed I had to get this, considering I teach CPR classes, but it was quick and painless! That night, my class went out again. There was a very late day on Friday so we weren't afraid of being too tired!
Day 7: (Friday): Friday was our last real day of orientation! I thought it would never come, but once it arrived, I wanted to go back in time! Friday we got to sleep in, like I already mentioned, and didn't have anything scheduled at all until 2:30! However, we did have to go by to pick up our course packs (all of the notes for each class) and sign up for DSGs (Directed Study Groups -- basically tutoring). That afternoon, we had our big student activities fair. There was about 25 different student organizations that you could sign up for. Of course, I signed up for way to many. I signed up for AMSA, the LMUV (leadership in medicine for underserved and vulnerable populations), Pediatrics Interest Group, Neurology Interest Group, International Medicine Interest Group, Friendship Student Clinic, Student Interview Ambassador (people who do admissions interviews) and The Teddy Bear Clinic. So, I clearly will not be able to do all of these, but I loved how many options of extracurriculars there are! :) We also got a delicious dinner and desert bar. Finally, we performed our flash mob! The only people who knew about it were the first year class and faculty members involved with orientation, so all of the second year students and the rest of the people at the orientation fair were very surprised! It was awesome!
Day 8 (Saturday): Free day! My parents came and we went to Holland, MI. It was so cool! Since I studied abroad in the netherlands, I frequently have dutch withdraws. So, I loved that there is a mini-Netherlands only an hour away!
Day 9 (Sunday): FINALLY.....WHITE COAT CEREMONY! (See next blog post)
So, overall, move-in and orientation were amazing! I made such great friends and have had so much fun! This week beat out all of my expectations! :)
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