HC 1000 First Year Colloquium

This course helped me develop my critical thinking and creative faculties while exploring the nature of human discovery. I collaborated with other first-year students to engineer creative solutions to university problems, such as OUtube, an online learning platform.

BIO 2100/BIO2101 Human Anatomy w/Lab

This course involved dissection and identification of all major organ systems utilizing human cadavers. Application and extension into the realms of developmental and comparative anatomy as well as microanatomy made this course particularly impactful for me. I loved having the opportunity to work with real human cadavers as a first-year undergraduate student.

HS 2000 Health in Personal and Occupational Environments

In this course, I explored the impact of health behaviors (e.g., stress management, sleep, dietary intake, physical activity) on the risk for chronic diseases including obesity, cardiovascular disease, and cancer, with an emphasis on prevention. I also learned about making evidence-based recommendations, the use of health sciences research, and the identification of credible sources. Fusing these skills together, I completed a behavior change to revise my stress management techniques and recorded/analyzed the process.

BIO 2600/3621 Human Physiology w/Lab

In this course, I learned about systemic physiology with an emphasis on maintaining human homeostatic equilibrium and on clinical applications and pathologies. This course expanded on concepts introduced in Human Anatomy.

HS 4500 Law, Values and Health Care (Capstone)

This course made me question my fundamental beliefs as I examined the ethical theories, legal concepts, and institutions that shape and control professional responsibility, licensure, and related problems in the organization and delivery of health care services, along with the questions that are associated with maintaining and terminating life. I was given the opportunity to expand on concepts introduced in an Intro to Philosophy course I previously took and to apply them to the healthcare field.

BIO 3400 Genetics

In this course, I expanded my prior knowledge of genetics including transmission genetics and the basic mechanisms of inheritance. In addition, I practiced the application of statistical analysis in biochemistry and studied modern biotechnology and its application.

BIO 1201 Biology Lab

This lab helped me to gain laboratory and field experience with an emphasis on the scientific method, scientific writing, Mendelian genetics, comparative vertebrate anatomy and animal and plant diversity. I applied these skills by writing a scientific paper in NLM format discussing cellular metabolism of artificial sweeteners such as Sucralose using Baker's yeast (S. cerevisiae) as a model organism.

HC 2020 World Mythology

This course taught me how to make connections across multiple disciplines. Although the subject of the course was world mythology, we spent most of our time discussing topics like the Cosmos and Man's place in it. I learned about the modern-day implications of different cultural values and examined how they are reflected not only in a culture's myths and folklore but also in how and why people act the way that they do around the world.

CDS 4010 Human Pathology

This course gave me an appreciation for the breadth of knowledge and ability to synthesize information from multiple different disciplines necessary to find success in an upper-level course. It was designed to emulate the difficulty level of medical school pathology and was one of the most interesting courses I have taken in undergrad. I was able to expand upon knowledge from human anatomy and physiology, biochemistry, genetics, nutrition, and immunology to learn about different disease states and their causes.

MGT 3500 Legal Environment of Business

This course provided an understanding of the legal framework in which businesses operate and different types of government regulation. It exposed me to ethical and moral dilemmas in the business world and issues concerning individuals and businesses.

NTR 2500 Nutrition

Proper nutrition is a vital element of disease prevention and treatment. Historically, physicians have underplayed the role of nutrition in diseases such as diabetes, cancer, and heart disease since they lack sufficient medical training on the subject. Taking nutrition in undergrad introduced me to the topic of nutrition and the full range of influence it has on human health and well-being.

PSY 3180 Biological Psychology

This course enlightened me to the various mechanisms and pathways involved in human psychology. This included an exploration of the basic neuroanatomy and neurophysiology involved in emotion, learning, memory, sleep, depression, anxiety, and behavior. It also introduced me to psychopharmacology and biopsychological research methods.

PSY 3410 Adult Pathopsychology

Pathopsychology introduced me to the assessment, diagnosis, and treatment of different psychological disease states in humans. This included analysis of psychological diseases through biological, sociocultural, behavioral, and cognitive perspectives with a focus on disease etiology and evidence-based treatment.

ENT 3010 Entrepreneurship

This course helped me further understand the process of founding a business and of developing a new business idea. The course used an evidence-based approach to highlight principles of entrepreneurial success and common points of failure. This framework will be valuable in the future if I decide to open a private practice as a physician.

PSY 3770 Group Dynamics

This course explored group structure, function, and processes. This helped me understand the biological, evolutionary, and behavioral mechanisms behind group phenomena such as leadership, cohesion, group therapy, communication, and attitudes. Understanding group dynamics will help me better lead a group and be a valuable member of a team.

PSY 4974 Seminar in Individual Differences and Personality Psychology

This seminar introduced me to theories on personality, aggression, religion, gender, and intelligence. It included weekly discussions of empirical research and a research proposal based on the subjects discussed

PSY 3030 Evolutionary Psychology

Like many of my previous psychology classes, this class further explored differences in individual and group behavior; however, this class used an evolutionary focus. An emphasis was placed on sex and cultural differences.

PSY 4974 Seminar in Sports Resilience and Trauma

This seminar course explored how humans change cognitively, emotionally, spiritually, and physically while they live with a focus on post-traumatic growth and resilience in a sports setting. Concepts from this class are applicable in many settings, not only in the athletic world. In particular, individuals in competitive settings often benefit from having high resiliency via post-traumatic growth.