My Understanding Then and Now

            My experience in college was full of self-discovery and discovering the science that surrounds us each and every day. I think the best word to describe my understanding and comprehension of life sciences is naivety. When I entered college, I believed I had that basic understanding of life and the science that surrounds us. I went through the typical classes that everyone had to go through in high school. However, I think that I had forgotten the majority of what I had learned in those classes, because it was high school. I don’t think I truly saw the importance of what I was learning until I had to personally apply it in college. I had heard all the key terms and trigger words to appease the teachers thinking that I had the true depth of knowledge they were looking for; however, I didn’t fully comprehend the idea behind metabolism or the total effect of DNA on the future. I remember doing a lot of rote memorization in order to pass exams and that was the extent of my knowledge. Once I entered into your BIOL 1610 class my freshman year, I got the idea of how to understand and fully comprehend different mechanisms that happen throughout the body. I remember my first exam having to sit down and go over the Kreb’s Cycle about a million times to fully understand the concept of the by-products and the products that are most needed for the full body experience.

            My actual interest in the life sciences were near what they are today after finishing my biology degree. I actually planned on getting a business degree until I had taken a biology class and realized I found it more interesting than business and sitting behind a desk all day. From that first biology class I went into full exploration mode in order to seek out a career that fit my personality and person that dealt with the life sciences and applying them. This is when I fell upon my desire for medicine and wanting to seek out and fix the problems that occur within the human body. So, as I continued to pursue my degree and had finally found my career, I started to really focus in on what is most important in my science classes in order to more fully understand how the human body works.

            Throughout my time here at SUU it has opened my eyes into greater depth of field of what scientists can do in the world. Throughout my courses, each one has added a new greater idea of what scientists do in the field. In my ecology class I remember speaking with Paul and what he did to continue his research and maintain a greater connection with nature and maintaining those ecosystems. He remained very active and made his research include many trips and adventures. One of the major reasons he said he loved doing what he did, was that he can get paid to go on river rafting trips while collecting data and ensuring that he is staying up to date on current issues. He being a scientist and completely devoted to his work and helping the environment, but he also made sure he helped his students to succeed as scientists.

            I think one of the biggest insights that I have realized in science while being here at SUU is that you don’t have to a big title or do something amazing in research to be a true scientist. I think that there are a lot of media portrayals of scientists as those brilliant people that are constantly discovering new mechanisms in the human body or even discovering something new in nature that would potentially change the world as we know it. I don’t think there are many people that show or even truly recognize the value of being or having a scientist nearby to simply help with everyday tasks or everyday bodily problems. My eyes were opened to the vast world of true data collection and manipulation while doing my own research throughout the last year and a half. During my research and collecting countless hours of data, I didn’t realize just how much time it took to process that raw data and begin to analyze that data and making sense of what he just spent hours collecting in hopes of having something viable to see and use for presentation.

            The faculty here at SUU has truly opened up my eyes to show me what it takes to be a true curious scientist or student of nature. They have taught me that as long as you ask questions about the natural world that you will continue to help out and make sure that things in nature continued to progress and help keep things from being endangered and keeping them around for the future generations to enjoy. I think that science had made such an impact in my life in the idea that it has always made me curious as to how certain things work in nature and in the human body. There are countless mechanisms that are all happening at once to keep an organism continually healthy and running and contributing to its overall development. Without the knowledge of the processes of how medications work in the human body and which receptors or triggers in the human body the react to; then the new discoveries of medications would become obsolete and pointless. Using science in healthcare will only continue to help me become a greater professional, because I will continue to ensure that the most up to date medications are reacting the way they are supposed to in the human body, and if they are not asking the question as to why it wouldn’t work.

            I think science will always have preface in healthcare, without the curiosity of a scientist in treating and helping patients, you won’t be able to truly figure out how to treat or fix the problem that the person is currently suffering from. I think that throughout my career here at SUU and my future career in healthcare will continue to have the major focus in being investigative to help all those around me and finding the best solution to that current problem. Without that investigative approach to any career or any path that you are looking for, you would wander aimlessly and going through the motions as to how to accomplish a task, rather than actually helping and finding out a better way to solve any problem. SUU has continually opened my eyes to bigger and better things that have all prepared me for my future career.