Summer 2019 Recap
Happy fall! I hope all of you had a great summer. Before the school year gets too far underway, I thought I would catch you up regarding what I’ve been up to over the last couple of months. If you have been keeping up with my posts for a while, you’ll know that I was looking forward to an enjoyable summer without too much work since this is my last year (hopefully) before the hustle and bustle of medical school! I’m happy to report that I did in fact have a pretty calm summer and really enjoyed the few months off from classes.
Mentally, I’ve broken my summer up into three phases. The first was MCAT studying in the month of May – I had my test scheduled for May 24th so I did a great deal of studying at home leading up to it. Fortunately, it paid off and I am happy with my score! Throughout this period of time, I got extremely close with the baristas at my local coffee shop since I was there literally every day. I also had the opportunity to read for fun and enjoy some time catching up with friends. After the MCAT, I had about a week left of complete free time, during which period I finalized my primary application for medical schools.
Starting in June, I began phase 2 of my summer with my job as a neuroscience TA for a high school leadership conference. This was an absolute joy as I was able to work with college-aged students from other schools and mentor younger students in my field of academic interest. Not only that, but I was able to exercise so many of the discussion facilitation skills I have learned throughout my time with VUcept, Vanderbilt’s first-year orientation and mentorship program. I worked with this program for about a month and was able to interact with roughly 150 students in that time. It was a great summer job, and definitely something I hope I can do in the future.
Finally, in July, the third phase of my summer began. In all honesty, the month of July mostly comprised of me relaxing, which was much needed. The main way I used my time was for submitting secondary applications to medical schools, which involved a great deal of essay writing. Beyond this, I had the opportunity to visit a few of my Vanderbilt friends, which took me to Minnesota, Pennsylvania, and Florida. Despite working on essays, the month was extremely restful and gave me time to prepare for my return to Vandy.
As I reflect on this summer, I begin to think about all that I am excited for in this coming year. But more posts will come about that later. In the meantime, if you have any questions about what I did this summer or life at Vanderbilt in general, feel free to email me at alex.rains@vanderbilt.edu.