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My second year at UC was full of ups and downs.
2019-20: Text
One of the main highlights of this year for me was securing a position at Cincinnati Children's Hospital in a pharmacogenetics lab. I never expected that, at age 16, I would be lucky enough to work at the #3 children's hospital in the nation, carrying out research that will improve the quality of life of pediatric psychiatry patients across the world. I've been incredibly privileged to work under the guidance of Dr. Laura Ramsey and her team of graduate and undergraduate students.
Being a minor at university comes with unique challenges. My experience was much different from that of my college colleagues with me on the team. I was not allowed to work in hands-on laboratory experiments like other students, instead working entirely with non-experimental data collected from real patients who I had no contact with. My work hours were also severely limited by the fact that I was never allowed to be at my desk in the lab on my own unless one of my colleagues was present. Though there were limitations to what I was able to achieve, I am incredibly grateful to have gained the invaluable knowledge I did during my time at Children's and look forward to continuing to apply what I've learned at the lab in the 2020 school year.
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Alongside A Moment of Magic as a certified character volunteer, I was able to continue outreach to medically vulnerable children alongside an amazing team of my fellow college-age volunteers. We're so excited to have collaborated with several Ronald McDonald houses, Cincinnati Children's Hospital, the Cincinnati Buddy Walk, and more over the past year. I've personally dedicated well over 100 hours to serving my community through A Moment of Magic as a non-character, character volunteer, and executive board member. In my executive board position, I'm in charge of helping to provide engaging, inclusive, and educational activities and lesson plans for the children we visit to participate in with their favorite characters.
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In the middle of the spring semester, right before my 17th birthday, all on-campus operations at the University of Cincinnati were suspended in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic. All of my classes, including organic chemistry and biology labs, were moved to at-home learning, and my work for Cincinnati Children's Hospital had to be continued over a special VPN system. The change was jarring for everyone, my professors and lab principal investigators included. A Moment of Magic UC had to cancel a large event we'd planned for the children we visit and transition entirely to video call visits. Adapting to a sudden change in learning style and environment was very difficult for me, but it did give me experience in quickly adapting to change, overcoming unexpected adversities, and working under anxiety and pressure. I realize, however, how fortunate I am that the only adverse effects I received from the pandemic were surmountable inconveniences with my education, and as the world continues to adapt to and recover from the coronavirus pandemic, I hope to be able to do everything within my power to help my UC community rebuild.
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