January 1-15, 2012
Before I embarked on my adventure in Ecuador, I was fortunate enough to be able to
visit the three graduate schools to which I applied—UCLA,
UT Houston, and
Tulane University. My first stop was my grandma’s house in Kansas for a couple days, then a long drive to Houston. I stayed with a current Dietetic Intern for
the night, which was absolutely wonderful to talk with her about the program
and just “life.” Deciding where to go to
graduate school can be a tough choice; where you go to school can direct your
career, and can also be an eye-opening change about what is important to
you. So I’ve heard…
Flight from Houston
to Los Angeles,
where an old friend picked me up at the airport. We picked up my senior-year college roommate,
who now lives and works in LA (http://meganzuba.blogspot.com/). Finally satisfied the Thai curry craving I’d
been having, then took a long stroll down Hollywood Boulevard. Very fun, check out the pics. As it grew dark, we made our way out to the
Griffith Observatory, which overlooks the city and has displays of various
astrological events. Not many pics to
show from here, but it was beautiful and interesting!
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| The Chinese Theater, where celebrities' hand prints are. |
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| Captain Jack Sparrow on Hollywood Blvd. |
The next day I borrowed my friend’s bike
and took it with me on the bus over to UCLA.
I was the only person on the prospective graduate student tour, so it
was very informal and fun. The campus is
absolutely beautiful, and there are some really pretty old buildings. I next met with a program
assistant/admissions officer and then professor. The professor’s research interests aren’t
really what I’m interested in, but it was good to talk to her about her
experience with grad school and research.
I tried biking around campus, but the hills were killing me… But I did bike over to the VA Hospital to
meet with the Dietetic Internship Director.
She was very friendly and helpful and then introduced me to a graduate
of the program to which I am applying who is now a registered dietician at the
VA. The RD gave me an extensive tour of
the hospital and introduced me to other RDs.
By the end I was ready to go home after a long day of walking! I caught a bus that I thought would take me
where I wanted to go, and then got off on the street my friend lives on. However, I was completely on the other end of
the street, about 100 blocks away according to the house numbers. After a little help from a friend looking up
directions, I made the 2.5 bike ride back to where I was supposed to be! It could have been worse…
We had a fun, relaxing weekend in LA—made a
couple trips to Santa Monica Pier, cooked, and still got a little work done for
the Ecuador
research project.
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| My friend Megan and I, on Santa Monica Beach. |
After flying back to
Houston,
I met my mom in the airport (she came from
Minneapolis) and we drove over to the UT
Houston Medical Center. Unfortunately
there were some horrible rain storms, so the Dietetic Internship Director was
flooded in her home and could not meet with me!
The intern with whom I had stayed for the night showed us around and I
did have the opportunity to talk with another director of the program. The medical center is impressive—there are
many new hospitals and research buildings, but not much of a campus. Very different than UCLA campus.
And then it was off to New Orleans that night. We had a reservation at a hotel outside of
the city, since all hotels were booked in NO for the BCS game (LSU v. Alabama). But we didn’t make it very far…as we drove,
we caught up with the rainstorm that had gone through Houston.
Exit ramps were closed from flooding and passing a semi seemed like a
life-threatening task. So we stopped and
called it a night, which meant being able to see all the swamp land in the
morning light during the drive the next day, which was fun.
Mom and I walked around the French Quarter
and had a NO-traditional lunch of jambalaya and red beans and rice. I first met with a program assistant in at
the Tulane School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine. Mom was in awe of the view from her 23rd-floor
office. She showed us where the 9th
ward was, where the worst flooding occurred during Katrina, and also explained
the significance of the “projects” that were the only ones left following
Katrina.
During the very informative conversation
with the assistant, I asked her what the time line was for my application,
since I submitted it in late November.
She offered to check right then and there. I was actually completely nervous for about
three seconds; what if she told me I was not accepted?! BUT she said in fact she had recommended my
application to the admissions committee that very day! Nothing was official, but I was very
excited! I then met with the professor
who would be my adviser if I chose to attend to Tulane. He asked me really important questions and
gave solid advice about how and in what capacity I could work towards my career
goals and how Tulane would help me reach them.
(That’s probably vague, here’s an example: I told him I wanted to work
with community nutrition programs in Latin America and he asked who was going
to pay me…then explained how realistically my desire to work with community
nutrition in Latin America would articulate
into a job, working with an NGO, for example).
We had a great conversation with another
current student who is actually a registered dietician and is pursuing her PhD
at Tulane. She was extremely helpful and
insightful and addressed some important questions, like funding.
We made our way back to Kansas, but of course my mom likes to “take
the back roads,” so it ended up being a 17-hour drive! But worth it; we drove through the edge of
the Ozarks in Arkansas
(my first time in the state!), and drove through the town where we lived til I
was five years old. Oh nostalgia…
The next three days were relaxing at my
grandmas. I didn’t get much work done,
but we cooked and got ice cream and went thrift-store shopping, which was all
wonderful. We went to my cousin’s
basketball game and ended up staying for two varsity games also…so much high
school basketball! But it was fun. The drive home to Cumberland, WI
was quick because I drove most of the way.
J
I spent the next two days packing and getting stuff in order to be gone for six months and saying goodbye to family. The day before I left, I received the admissions packet from Tulane! So I am officially attending Tulane University as a graduate student the Masters in Public Health program!!! I am so very excited!!! Who’s visiting for Mardi Gras!? J
