Only 3 days until Labor Day which means 3 more days to wear white! I think the for most students Labor Day is very bitter sweet. Labor Day at Wofford means quite the opposite of what it means for every other place in America. While everyone else gets the day off, we get to start class. Its super exciting to be back at Wofford to see everyone we’ve missed all summer, but seeing the many pictures of our friends from back home at the lake, enjoying the day off from work or class, always reminds me of the extra work we put into our studies because we attend Wofford. But, I absolutely love Wofford and the challenge that comes with it.
This year I’ll be a Junior and I can’t believe I’m already half way done with my time here. I’m a double Biology and Chemistry major and plan to attend medical school. I’ll actually be taking the MCAT in January, which is definitely a little nerve racking. I TA, tutor, work in the library and am involved in several clubs on campus, so basically I try my best to stay as busy as possible. I think many students feel like they never have a free moment, but if they’re anything like me, they don’t really want one. The opportunities both academically and in the community always seem to be worth it.
Unlike most students coming back to Wofford today, I didn’t get the typical summer break we get to enjoy while in college. Instead I spent my summer in good old Sparkle City taking Organic Chemistry and working, which basically means that I never left Wofford. Honestly though, I have no complaints. I really enjoyed my summer. Summer school at Wofford is very different from the regular semester. Beyond the obvious differences (you only take 1 or 2 classes and you have them everyday), the whole mindset of summer school is very different. Most students seemed to fall into one of two categories, either they felt super overwhelmed with the big chunks of information that was being thrown on them all at once, or they felt way more relaxed than normal because they only had to focus on one subject at a time.
Thankfully I fell into the second category. While it was a TON of information being thrown at us each day only having to do organic all day everyday made it really easy for me to focus. During the regular semester there is always so much that seems to be going on in addition to classes, so this was a nice change that I took full advantage of. During the week I basically did nothing but organic, man the desk at the Library, and spend way to much time on Netflix watching One Tree Hill and Grey’s Anatomy. But, because of this I really got to enjoy my weekends. I spent a couple weekends at the beach , a couple weekends hiking near Caesar’s head, spent one picking blueberries locally, and also headed to Raleigh, NC for the first time with a friend. Having Dr. Bass as my professor also helped make the summer great. He is by far one of the best professors I’ve ever had. Not only is he super smart (so he always has the answer to any O. Chem question you could ask), and funny (even though you might hear the same jokes all summer), but he really cares about his students and really wants them to succeed and therefore spends way more time that he should in his office working with students to make sure they understand and are confident going into the tests.
This summer is also when I decided that I was going to go abroad the fall of my senior year, and I’m SO EXCITED! One of the best things about Wofford is how easy it is to study abroad and how much it is encouraged. Many of my friends went abroad last year or are abroad right now and all of them love it! Right now I’m still finishing my application, but if all goes as planned I’ll be spending the fall of 2014 in Legon, Ghana! Ghana is definitely not a typical place students go. I’m really looking forward to the opportunity to experience a culture that is so different from South Carolina, while getting to continue my studies and even take courses I wouldn’t get the opportunity to take at Wofford. I’m hoping to get to study the health care and nutrition of Ghana, both in the classroom and outside of it.
Well time to get back to setting up my room (it always takes way longer than I expect it will). Class on Monday means lots to get done before then and lots of people to catch up with.