I jumped out of the back seat of our minivan and stretched my legs.  It had been a long nine-hour drive from Buffalo and I was happy to finally be here in Richmond, here at college.  I glanced around seeing the flow of people and cars in Monroe Park and watched as people struggled with all the items they deemed necessary to live with for a year in the dorms.  It was my first day at VCU, and hopefully the beginning to a successful and fun four years.  I viewed this as a time in my life where I was not just expected to attend class and get good grades, but to truly learn and meet people.  I expected to gain skills that would let me stand upon my two feet after graduation, ready to embrace the battles of the working world.

     Looking back on that day when I moved into the west wing at Rhoads Hall is almost as scary as it seems recent.  In fact, I find it hard to believe that I am sitting here today writing a dossier that aims to accurately describe how the last four years of my life amounted to an education that was not only successful, but honorable.  My life here at VCU has made it easy to explain why I feel so well rounded after nearly completing four years of education, although I would be lying if I said that most of my education took place in the classroom.  The University Guidelines on what four commitments it hopes to inspire in a student, and what the seven curricular elements are for a general education has given me the format to address my life here at VCU.

     Communication is probably the easiest of the seven elements for a general education to address for me since it is something that I take great pride in being able to do successfully.  Ever since I was little my mother has always said to me, “Jay, you must learn how to communicate, you don’t know how to speak to people.”  I guess I took that as a personal challenge to learn how to communicate and interact with people on every level.  Not only did I know that this would make me a better person and someone who could be easily liked, but I also knew that my future aspirations of becoming a successful physician depended on it.  After all, a doctor who can not relate to his/her patients is no better then a generic computer program that tells you what is wrong with you.  Without the ability to communicate you lose the ability to treat people humanely.  My studies here at VCU provided me with the first step to help me reach my goal of increasing my ability to communicate successfully.  Even as a freshman, I knew that gaining the ability to communicate would be the trait that I most desired to improve upon.  As part of my freshman VCU 101 class I created a web page that provided links to my interests as well as a journal from the past four years here at VCU (available through http://www.oocities.org/jaypahade).  This is what I had to say as a freshman from my journal:

My first objective is to state my goal as an incoming freshman of what I would like to be able to expect of myself. What would I like to get out of my education? Easily stated, I would like to receive an education that enables me not only to work well in my future field, but an education that allows me to communicate and learn from others. This is what I deem as the most important aspect of education. The ability to work with people in a setting that allows you to pursue a goal, and reach it.

    Looking back at this excerpt, I can’t say that much has changed in my beliefs on what an education should provide.  I still feel strongly about communication and have memories of when my “training” on how to communicate better through verbal and non-verbal means began.

    Freshman English 101 was a great staring point for my studies here at VCU since it involved writing two detailed papers about something that could be researched, and something that was more personal.  What amounted to a rough draft after 3 weeks of class was expected to be transformed into a literary masterpiece revealing something about you and your interests.  An average person might think that this was merely a test of your ability to express yourself in a clear manner on paper, yet the class is designed to help you improve on other areas of communication.  By the end of the year your paper almost represented what can be thought of as group work due to all the conferencing and brainstorming you do with 3-4 selected classmates.  They have to gain an insight into your life that allows them to suggest improvements to your paper, and allows you to in turn re-analyze your thoughts and beliefs.  My first personal paper was on life in Buffalo, NY and the conferencing was a mind awakening experience. I would have never believed that three crazy fellow freshman who had never even been to Buffalo would be able to help me recreate what I felt was the most important part of living there.

    Within the discipline of Biology, my ability to communicate went from almost none upon entering college to the point where I feel that I can engage in a meaningful and detailed conversation with faculty in the field.  Taking courses in Cell Biology, Histology, Plant Development, and Anatomy and Physiology have provided me with a great amount of background on all the various depths of the field of Biology.  I feel that I am now able to understand the purpose of research and how it takes place.

    During the summer of 1998, I had the opportunity to test myself in such a situation when I did research in an Andrology lab in Buffalo, NY.  The type of work that we did was primarily related to the field of biology and anatomy and even though I did not have extensive biological background at that point, I was still able to understand the basis for the research.  This is obviously important since understanding the basis for research allows you to see what the ultimate long-term goal is.  In my research, the ultimate goal was being able to help couples having trouble conceiving a child.  From my online journal my thoughts of the research at the time were this:

I also did research at Children’s Hospital in Buffalo with Dr. Lani Burkman.  I worked a variety of projects including the study of cannabonoid receptors on the acrosome portions of human sperm, a study relating the pregnancy rates of women whose spouse uses either single or split ejaculates and the type of medium the sperm is capacitated in.  I think I learned a lot and the great thing about the research I did this summer, compared to previous experiences, is that it had a definite connection to human medicine directly. It seemed like the other research I have done did not have much direct implication.

    My experience in research also helped me realize four of the commitments of the university of being able to think critically, access information in various formats, becoming a life long learner, and gaining a general education .  I think that any time you are put in a laboratory situation you are forced to be able to think clearly, carefully and critically.  Since generally what you will be studying has never been looked into before there are no written guidelines and expectations to follow.  You need to be able to think about what needs to be done, and the best way to accomplish it.  Furthermore, you must also be able to access, retrieve, and analyze data on your experiment and past work done in the field.  This may mean going to the library and looking up articles on microfiche, or hopping on the newest and fastest growing research medium, the Internet.  The third university commitment of becoming a life long learner is a lot harder to display then any other elements.  I think that becoming a life long learner translated into being curious and outgoing about new and old information.  If you are happy with your experience in research, as I was, you will certainly see the value of continuing to explore areas that have not yet been looked into, thereby becoming a life long learner.  My experience has helped me learn how to think critically, and I gained the ability to analyze data with an open mind in seeing its implications to our study and society.  Lastly, the clinical aspect of the lab allowed me to get a feel for how the last commitment of the university addressing general education could be used in a practical setting.  I think that by taking courses in Psychology and Sociology you gain better understanding of how people feel when they are placed in certain environments.  While doing my research I found this to be crucial.  Working in an environment that tests whether a man has ejaculate that is fertile enough to allow a child to be born is a very sensitive area for most couples (especially for the man).  Hence I was able to observe the importance of knowing how to handle yourself and test results without making them feel uncomfortable.  Having a background in classes like Sociology and Psychology allows you to feel more at ease with individuals so that you can analyze their body position and attitude and therefor tailor how you interact with them.

    Having any exposure to the medical field also brings up the very important issue of Ethics.  Through my undergraduate experience I have had many instances where I was forced to make ethical decisions that would effect others and myself.  Just within the field of medicine this is a huge issue for patient confidentiality purposes.  As a student, while I was watching surgeries in orthopedics, check-ups in a kidney clinic, and cardiac care in West Hospital I was ethically responsible for not disclosing any type of information on the patients I had seen or the medical history I was told.  In all the cases above, not once did a doctor even talk to me about confidentiality and the importance of patient rights.  The idea of ethics in medicine is so engrained that most physicians assume that any student that takes an interest in the field is already familiar with the “code”.

    My class on Ethics in Health Care also brought up many important issues that are causing debate in the medical and biological field.  Since I knew that in many of these issues I had already formulated my opinion I was unsure what I would gain from the course.  I was pleasantly surprised by the conflict that the course caused me.  I can remember many times when I wrestled with my previous beliefs after reading papers on why certain viewpoints were correct.  For example, I wrestled with the question of whether a fetus is alive at conception, at birth, or at the point when they develop an ability to respond to the environment?  These are tough questions and it is hard to come to a conclusion.  Some might say that questioning my thoughts shows weakness in my beliefs, yet I look at it differently.  I think that in order to be confident about what you believe in personally and professionally you need to have someone who believes in the opposite viewpoint talk to you and try to convince you of his or her cause.  This is the only way you gain a true understanding of the other viewpoint and why they feel that way.  I am positive that in my future occupation, medicine, this will be a strategic advantage to me since I can still relate to people who feel differently then me on some of the most sensitive issues of society.

    Oddly most people seem to disregard the importance of ethics in almost all the decisions we make every day.  Whether we choose to drink, do drugs, take certain medicine, cheat, talk behind people’s back, or even eat meat are all core fundamentals of ethics.  In relation to this area, I feel that most of my learning was done outside the classroom with friends and classmates.  Whether I was getting in an ethical argument with my roommates on Presidents Clinton’s action’s, or turning down a hit of marijuana at a friend’s party, I was forced to make decisions on the spot without thought, thereby defaulting to my ethical beliefs.  Although I think many of my ethical beliefs were set before I came to VCU, many were not tested until arriving in a university environment. VCU helped me realize the importance of having ethical beliefs in cases such as these, while the diversity of students here at school has allowed me to meet many people that do not share the same ethical beliefs.  In this case, the conflict that was caused between our differing viewpoints helped me become more educated on the spectrum of viewpoints present in our society.

    When it comes to Quantity and Form there are several classes and experiences that I have gone through which have allowed me to understand the relation of size and numbers within the field of Biology.  Two Biology classes, Anatomy and Physiology and Histology served as a great way to unite this concept.  In my Anatomy class we got to look at specimens and tissue examples that were viewable by the natural eye.  We learned their overall value to the body of the organism in a fuller, more complete level.  In Histology we had the opportunity to look at many of these same specimens but under a completely different view.  We examine them based on their cellular make-up, and got to see how many of the smaller components not seen by the natural eye help to create the fuller functioning product seen by the eye.   The example of how the cells comprise larger tissues, and how these tissue come together to form an organ is a great way to view the concept of how the order and proportion of smaller components seen in Histology make up the larger organs and structures seen in Anatomy.

    Another groups of classes required for my major that was primarily based on number manipulation and codified information were the University Physics courses (207 and 208).  Although I can say that I truly don’t like the field of Physics, the class did serve as a great way to learn how to manipulate data and numbers in a symbolic and diagrammatic form to come to a conclusion.  For example, the section of the course that dealt with circuits provided an excellent opportunity for us to learn how to represent concepts by drawing symbols in association with numbers in a diagram to solve the problem.  In most cases, not having the ability to express the problem in such a format relating the size of the voltage, and the order of electric flow all in proportion to the other parts of the circuit would not allow you to solve the problem correctly.  Taking a course such as this emphasized the complexity of quantity and form and the importance that it plays in certain occupations and tasks.

    While my courses in Biology fulfilled the Quantity and Form requirement I feel that my minor in Business also had some applications to this university goal.  My Business minor also helped me realize the fourth commitment of the university by allowing me to take a larger breadth of courses.  My minor was a great way to tie in several other aspects of society that science does not address, thereby increasing my learning and understanding of a variety of new topics.  Many of the classes required for the core business minor like Accounting and Financial Management were based solely on number manipulation and helped me realize the second curricular element of synthesizing information in various formats.  I think that my recent summer work experience at First Union was a great way for me to put this “book knowledge” to use in the financial market.  My position involved processing stock transfers, working with people’s accounts and responding to their requests to liquidate or transfer positions. My work also helped me develop my skills of becoming a careful and critical thinker.  After all,  working with million dollar accounts tends to force you to be careful and critical with all your work! Working with such raw numbers also helped fulfill the second commitment of the university by allowing me to work and manipulate accounts with the most up to date financial software on the market.

    My studies as a Biology major were great in several aspects, yet one that certainly stands out is the exposure to Science and Technology I gained through my coursework.  Through classes like Physics and Organic chemistry I had the ability to learn about many of the theories and laboratory practices that are being used today in research and commercial applications.  For example, in Organic Lab I learned about several laboratory-filtering procedures that are currently used by pharmaceutical companies to develop new drugs.  Being able to see that companies like Pfizer are currently practicing many of the same skills I was learning made me see the application of what I learned.
Another course that I took at VCU that focused on the impact on science on society was my Introduction to Biomedical Research course taught at the medical campus.  This was a great way for me to see the impact of science and the latest technology on society.  Many of the researchers talked about how their research had implications in curing cancer, brain defects, and genetic mutations.  Seeing the strong effect that science and technology is having on the people that are being effected by these diseases served as a way to see how ambition and application in the scientific field is reaping effects to people around us.

    In the classroom I think VCU has shown the effects of technology on teaching and the overall learning experience for most students.  From freshman year to senior year I have seen a steady increase in the use of computers, new software and the Internet on the way we learn. One of my Honors modules, The New Millenium, also proved to be a new technological experience for me.  The class itself was nothing more then a series of lectures, however none of the lectures we listened to were given in our classroom.  The class was based on long distance learning and the use of the television, a camera and a satellite to listen and interact with different professors from across the nation giving lectures on topics they thought would have the greatest impact on the new millenium.  It was an interesting experience listening to a lecture from a professor that was not actually in front of you, and having the phone as the only medium to interact and ask questions.  The technology is great and I could see how it would have definite uses for people that are located in remote locations and don’t have access to great amenities like those provided by VCU, but my conclusion was that I prefer traditional classroom learning.  However, one unique aspect of the long distance learning that I liked was the idea of being able to learn and hear from professors that have knowledge in certain academic areas that might not be studied heavily in your vicinity.  This feeling created a sense of interdependence that university’s might start sharing specialized staff to teach classes for them even though they are not present at the school.

    The idea of Interdependence in the university environment can also be seen in the world.  The idea is so evident currently that I don’t think it really needs to be taught in the classroom.  Anyone that keeps up with current events and public policy can see how any type of change in another country’s economy or society can induce havoc or pleasure on a different country’s economy and lifestyle.  Many recent events have shown this like Japan’s bank trouble causing difficulty for the US stock market, the United States testing of its “star wars” defensive shield, or the current oil prices.  I know that I have actually had some personal experience on seeing the interdependence that countries have with my travels.

    Over the last four years I have been to India twice, and every time I go back I get a better glimpse of the interdependence of many countries on each other culturally, economically, and socially.  As soon as you leave the United States and go abroad to different nations you get a completely different view of what our role is in the world.  I don’t think you can fully understand how the actions of our government and economy play a crucial role in the worlds “state” without traveling internationally.  We are a superpower, and in a sense determine the course that many different countries will pursue economically and militarily.  On my last trip to India, the city of Bombay (Mumbai) was being completely re-furnished and cleaned up just because President Clinton was going to make an appearance in the city.  Even though the city has been in desperate need of a “make-over” for many years the government had chosen not to do anything until a U.S. President was going to make a visit.  I never understood that a visit from a president to a third world nation could have such strong effects.  Of course the U.S. is also very independent on other nations for both culture, and economical reasons.  OPEC is a great example of the interdependence of the world based on one very valuable resource.  I think all of us are currently seeing the effect of interdependence at the gas pump as we shell out money for a full tank.  Many of these topics were discussed in my International Relations class where we had the opportunity to get a better view of how many of the relations between countries determine the lives of the people who inhibit them.  Through discussion and additional readings that were provided by the course I was able to further build on my knowledge of the idea of “one world”.

    The explosion of another medium that we have learned about in the classroom, the Internet, has even further fortified the idea of interdependence between countries.  Its ability to link nations in cultural, educational, and economical fashions have increased the knowledge of the general population on world events as well as giving businesses the ability to expand their product line and conduct more international business. For some of my Biology classes the Internet has allowed me to review and print research articles on studies done and published in foreign nations that would not have been carried in our library.  I was also surprised when I checked my guest book on my web site one day and found an entry from someone in Vienna, Austria.  This truly allowed me to see the world wide span of the Internet.  In all aspects of my life, as well as most students here at VCU, I think the Internet has clearly shown how the world’s nations have increased their interdependence on each other.

    The sixth element of the general education model designed by VCU, The Visual and Performing Arts, is easily the area where I most lacked experience coming into college.  However, thanks to some of the Honors Modules I have taken I feel that I have gained a much better understanding of the field of arts.  VCU itself is a great school for those that have never had much exposure to arts to get a feel for what it entails due to our School of the Arts and the wide variety of art students on this campus.  My first experience of arts at VCU was taking the Performance Art honors module.  As I wrote in my journal, “ I am also looking forward to beginning my performance art class. From what I hear, it is both fun and weird. Just like me.”  This module was a completely different experience than any of the classes that I had taken due to its obscurity and lack of format.  The whole class was based on performances that each student came up with and did somewhere on VCU’s campus. Hence, we would always have an audience that did not know the format of the class who would serve as an unbiased observer.  Just having the location of the class different for each performance as we wandered around and entertained the students of VCU gave it life.  One of my performances that my professor really liked was an enactment of treating a tree like a person just waking up.  I brushed its teeth, shaved it, and dressed it.  At the end I took an umbrella and beat the tree until my umbrella fell apart.  Now you might be thinking, what the heck does that mean?  It took me a while to understand that each performance was nothing more than an expression of the artist’s conscious and unconscious mind and was meant to give a different meaning to all the people that witnessed it. Early on in the class I had a major problem of adjusting to this style of learning; one that does not have any set expectations and hence is hard to prepare for.  I was used to having classes that said, this is what you need to do to get an “A”.  Being in a class where the professor was the sole force on deciding the “quality” of our performance for our grade was difficult for me to accept. This was a new concept that I never thought I would have had to deal with, but being older now I think it is clear to see that many of the projects I will take on in life will be “performance art” since the goals might not be defined.   This is obviously a much different view and teaching philosophy then I might get in BIO 101, and this is why the class had such a strong effect on me.
 My last module dealing with the Arts was my Architecture in Richmond class.  Although the class was on a Saturday morning I found it very interesting since it provided a sense of history to this campus that many students don’t know about.  I think that this is one of the biggest downfalls to VCU since we have such a historical campus, yet many of the students have no idea of the importance of this area in history.  For example, take Monroe Park, which is probably viewed as one of the biggest eye sores on campus.  Yet having the knowledge that it served as a carnival area and popular destination when Richmond pioneered the electric streetcar, or understanding that it was a make shift hospital during the Civil War gives you a new view of the park.  Even the entrance of GRC takes a different historical perspective, as it is the remains of a bathhouse used during the Civil War.  This class allowed me to get a different view of the environment that we are learning in as a VCU student, as well as a better understanding of Richmond and its look 100-150 years ago.
 
    Being a student in the Humanities and Social Sciences school has given me ample opportunity to gain an understanding of the variety of thoughts that are present in many different academic areas.  I feel that most of the learning that has helped me demonstrate and appreciate the variety and complexities of views present in culture was done outside the classroom through activities I have been involved in.  Most of all, I feel that my experience with my fraternity, Alpha Kappa Lambda, has helped me the most.  I decided to pledge the fraternity spring of my freshman year and it certainly kept me busy. The excerpt from my journal shows what my expectations were of the fraternity that semester:

I decided to pledge for a fraternity this semester and it has been taking up a brute majority of any free time I have. Whether it is going to an event, getting questions answered, calling brothers, or studying, my time is being used up. I can only hope that all the work that pledging involves will amount to an experience that is both socially fun, and a maturing process. By the end of the semester I hope to be an Alpha Kappa Lambda brother.

    I know that I made the right decision in joining the fraternity for several reasons.  First of all, the views I gained on the diversity of lifestyles were drastically improved through my interaction with my brothers and fellow Greeks.  In a certain sense, I feel that coming to VCU as an honors student and guaranteed medical student could make it very easy to isolate myself with students in the same area.  I knew that this would be a major mistake for me since I enjoy meeting new people and going through different experiences.  The fraternity has allowed me to grow close to and meet a diverse group of people.  Many of my brothers openly admit that they never met a person of Indian roots, like me, before coming to school.  In this aspect they were ignorant of many aspects of my background and life.  I feel that my interaction with them has helped them become better individuals, and their interaction with me has helped me learn things I never expected.  Having the ability to interact with people that have gone through so much hardship to get where they are today was a beneficial experience for me. I feel that the fraternity has also helped me prepare for my future in medicine.  Just like in medicine, in the Greek system you are forced to deal with people that are much different then you, and must be able to make a bond with them in-order to be successful in endeavors.  Having met so many different people, I know that when my time comes to treat patients with a different lifestyle I should be able to understand them better having already met someone that has gone through a similar experience. I know that I am a much better person leaving VCU thanks to my interaction with all my brothers from whom each I learned about a new culture, and a new view on life.
 
    My involvement with several other clubs at VCU also proved to be a great way to gain a better understanding of the variety and complexities of life.  Becoming a Carver promise mentor early freshman year was also a great choice.  This club involved getting a young elementary child and becoming their mentor for the year and if possible, future years.  I have been active in the program for four years and each year I was assigned a new child from whom I hoped to learn about being a child raised in the city, as they learned Math and English from me.  Through the years I have interacted with children that predominately came from families that are in a lower income bracket and often live in public housing.
On the first day I went to Carver I met my first child, RaJohn.  He openly told me about how he witnessed his father get shot, and how his older brother sells drug in Gilpen Court.  I was in absolute shock to hear such a strong and sad story from a third grade child who in my view was innocent enough to just be learning basic arithmetic.  The Carver program has opened my eyes to a new world and gave me an understanding on how hard it is to grow up based on circumstances that are often not in your control.  It made me wonder what many of these kids could amount to if they had the opportunity to grow up in a calm environment like I grew up in and did not have to face so many distractions. Being able to have the interaction with people that have such different viewpoints on life really allows you to gain and appreciate the diversity of life and circumstances of people around you.
 
    Many of my classes here at VCU have also allowed me to understand all the differences in literature, religions, historical and philosophical works.  My course on Religions of the World allowed me to gain an understanding on many different religious philosophies and literature associated with each religion.   Being able to examine the works of Hinduism, Taoism, Buddhism and many other Eastern Religions in such detail has allowed me to get a much better understanding of how people view the world, and even the afterworld.  As this class taught, in many cases a true understanding of a countries major religion also gives you an in-depth look into the political, economic, and social institutions present in that country.  For example, while discussing the religion of Hinduism, we talked about the presence of the Caste system being discussed in some of its earliest religious texts. While it is true that this system is changing, you can still go to India and see this present in many of the smaller cities.

    Not only have my classes here at VCU helped me realize all the complexities and differences associated with different works and institutions, but the setting of this school and students have also played a large role.  VCU is a very diverse school, and being aware of many of the movements and feelings on this campus also gives you an in-depth look at how people think.  For example, in the past year I have seen the Greeks pushing for more freedom and less hassle from the school on their activities at their houses and with their members.  The union for student rights was asking for the altering of the McDonalds contract by staging protests and sleep outs, and the SGA members were looking for more involvement and power to actually make a difference.  Here we can see that many of the same problems associated with different societies, in cultural, economical and political fashions, are also present here at VCU.

     Through my summer experiences in between years at VCU I have tried to make use of my knowledge in medicine and its practices as well as trying to put a use to my minor in Business.  I feel that many of my work experiences have left me with a greater understanding of the field of medicine, thereby helping prepare me for my future goals.  An excerpt from my journal commented on what I felt I got from my first summer work experience after freshman year:

On a different note I also worked in a rising HMO, Health Care Plan. It has been rated as one of the best HMO’s (if that can be true??) in the nation. I was positioned in the business office for the company. Much of my day was spent trying to initiate payments for services we provided patients that were part of different insurance companies or due to workers comp. I can not begin to express the frustration that one is put through doing such a task. I concluded that I HATE INSURANCE COMPANIES. It was so obvious at times when I could tell the person at the other end of phone was doing nothing but delaying payment in hopes that we would stop nagging them. I really learned a lot from this experience about how the business of a doctor’s office is handled. I was exposed to the process of coding procedures and treatments, and seeing how much they cost. I was also exposed to the process of how doctors receive reimbursement for them. I knew this always happened but before this summer could not begin to tell you how. The funny thing is many doctors that work for HMO's and are not responsible for their own billing couldn't tell you how either. The conclusion I made was the less you know, the more you can be taken advantage of. I guess that is true in lots of situations.

     I think much of what I learned during that summer still holds true and testifies to the breadth of an education that I have received here at VCU both in and out of school.  Personally, I think a sign of a student who is truly in college to learn and get the best out of his/her education is when they set out to learn not only during the school year, but also through summer vacations and spring breaks.  I know that I have tried to exercise the third commitment of the university in setting the tone to become a life long learner by trying to learn different skills even when school is not in session.  I have used my time here at VCU to prepare myself for medical school by taking courses in science and biology as well as shadowing physicians, conducting scientific research, and working in HMO’s during the summer.

     The rigor of my education can be addressed in many different ways.  Not only have I created a strong transcript by taking upper level courses in Biology, Chemistry, and Business and succeeding in them, but I have also shown that I have challenged myself in a variety of fields.  In this sense, the rigor of my education can be shown completely on a few sheets of paper, yet it would be ignorant to say that this is the only evidence of how I have challenged myself here at VCU.  As a student, it is obvious that the difficulty of the courses and the number of credits you take per semester are really not a true sign of the rigor of your education, but what you do outside of the class while managing all this.  I know that even with my challenging schedule I have always made time to conduct other activities for the benefit of the community and myself.  In between the many hours I spent studying, I spent time in my fraternity developing my skills as a leader by holding the offices of treasurer, philanthropy chair, fundraising chair, pledge educator, and alumni affairs.  I coordinated the Halloween Watch event for two years involving over 300 hundred students, nine local businesses, three television stations, and the Richmond-Times Dispatch, for the benefit of the children trick or treating in the surrounding Fan District.  I have acted as a university tour guide for the last 4 years conducting at least two tours a month and during all major events to help recruit students to VCU.  I also mentioned that I have been a tutor for the children at Carver Elementary.  During my schooling at VCU, I also decided to gain some work experience by taking the lead role for a pioneering online textbook company called Varsitybooks.com.  I was given the position as lead rep for VCU, and had the responsibility to hire and manage a team of eight workers and develop a marketing plan for VCU allowing me to put my business minor to use.  My work with company has allowed me to travel to three marketing development conferences, and I have made VCU one of the most successful schools on the East Coast.
My coursework and success at VCU was heavily influenced by the direction of the Honors Program and for that reason I felt I should show my dedication to the program by attending as many discussions and lectures as possible in between my classes.   I also took the chair position for the advisory council to help improve the program and address problems seen by my peers.  I have lent a helping hand by providing feedback about the guaranteed program and have always volunteered to help recruit other guaranteed students by giving them tours, talking to them via phone and email, and sitting on discussion panels. I think this shows that I have learned how to give back to the department that has the greatest influence on me during my education here at VCU.

    Overall I know I have received an education here at VCU that has prepared me for a world that needs knowledge and understanding.  I know that my years at VCU have been a success not only because I have gained a well-rounded education in Biology and Business that will help me prepare for medical school, but also because of all the bonds I have made with faculty and friends. I believe my education here at VCU is deserving of University Honors because I have challenged myself more then an average student and have gained the ability to think critically and thoughtfully, which are traits that will serve me through my entire life.  Lastly, I know that through all my activities, positions and academic course load I have still maintained a level of academic excellence that the Honors Program tries to inspire.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

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