The
morning of an exam, I usually take a shower to clear my head and get my blood
circulation going. Of course, as my luck would have it, the bathroom on the
first floor was busy today! However, I was still able to get ready, grab
breakfast, and make it to class on time, thankfully.
Everyone
in the Biotech class was worried about the exam! Finally, at 9 AM, we all took
our seats and got to work on the exams. The test was 70 questions in one and a
half hours, which isn’t too bad. I managed my time wisely and was able to have around
20 minutes to go over my answers. However, there were a couple questions I wasn’t
sure about, and some I just barely recognized from Dr. Bhasin’s slides.
Overall, the exam wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be, but it definitely
wasn’t easy.
I
talked to the other students about it afterward, and I’m glad to know that I’m
not the only one who felt unsure about certain questions.
Fifteen
minutes after the exam, our class made a three-minute walk to the Comprehensive
Cancer Center, DNA Sequencing and
Genotyping Facility on the UChicago
campus. They showed us their PCR machines (we’ll start working with those
tomorrow in lab), sequencing equipment, and capillary arrays. It was
interesting to learn about biotechnology in action (besides in lab) instead of
theoretically.
I went to lunch afterwards, where we saw a group of
students ranging from 8 to 17 years old in the Dining Hall. They have to sing songs
during each of their meals and when they clean up after meals, which I had the
privilege of listening to. It’s strange to see little kids at UChicago—living
on my own truly feels like college living, so seeing younger kids walking
around surprises me. I wonder if college students think that about high school
students taking classes here.
After that, I attempted to take a nap in my dorm (it
didn’t work out well). I went to lab, where we calculated the transformation
efficiency and transformation frequency of the transformed cells. Out of the
class, three pairs resulted in good cultures. April and I were one of those
pairs! I’d say we’ve grown a lot since the beginning of the class (was that
only a week ago?), when we were totally clueless on how to change pipette tips
or work the microscope.
 |
| My jellyfish. The purple and blue barely glow! |
We went directly to our dorms after lab—we were so
tired! I hung out in my room with Kaitlyn, talking about Wicked songs and how
great our TAs, Danny and Ciara, are. We left the room at 6:30 PM to eat and
socialize. The kids from the other program were also in the Dining Hall (I was
able to hear their songs again; at this rate I’ll have the songs memorized by
tomorrow night).
Afterwards, I edited my essay and read a couple
pages’ worth of reading material before walking to the library with Kaitlyn.
Though there’s a printer in South Campus, it only lets students put in $20 for
printing (not anything less or more), so we chose to walk to the library and
save $19.
UChicago at around 8 PM is so pretty! I wished I had
my camera with me when walking out tonight. The sky was a dusky purple-black
color, and the various light poles every ten steps (if not less) and emergency
blue light poles (with police officers standing near once it got too dark out)
made me feel totally safe. I’m pretty sure by the end of this program, I’ll be
able to confidently say I’ve never once felt unsafe on campus.
After posting this blog,
finishing just a bit more of the assigned reading material, and getting ready
for bed, I’ll hit the sack. I can’t wait for tomorrow. I’m happy to say that
this experience, though slightly stressful, is full of fun as well. Most of the
fun, I think, comes from being around the cohort and Biotech classmates (we’re all
growing closer). It goes to show that what every single person at every single
dinner has said—college really gives you a sense of community. It’s a great
feeling.
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