I attended the Honors College Pinning Ceremony for graduating seniors last Wednesday in the Ball Room at the Culp Center at East Tennessee State University. Although I attended the Pinning Ceremony last semester and I knew what to expect, I was surprisingly overcome with the same emotional overflow. The mixture of pride and relief was palpable. One thing that stood out to me during this particular ceremony was the number of Stem students that had maintained their Honor status to completion. I am inspired by their tenacity, and excited for their future endeavors.
The majority of my Colloquium hours this semester were spent gardening at my new home. Gardening has been my happy place for many years, but living in a subdivision has added a new element to the activity. Casual acquaintances with my neighbors has began to evolve into more meaningful relationships. One relationship in particular has blossomed into a friendship. Betsy Lacy lives next door and is the primary care taker of her elderly mother Elizabeth. Betsy has paid for a lawn service to mow their yard for years because she also has many health issues. I noticed that the lawn service had not been coming to mow, so I asked Betsy if I could mow it for her to fulfill my community service requirements. She kept apologizing for her unkept yard and told me that her financial situation was tight. I assured her that I am in the same financial situation and that she would be doing me a favor by allowing me to mow for her. Although the three times that I mowed for them filled the required hours, I will continue to do it as long as I live here. I actually enjoy yard work and it has strengthened my bond in my new community. Since then I have "house sat" for them while they were out of town for a week, and she has fed me delicious meals many times.
Wow! This semester was intense! I just finished my last final exam of the semester, and I realized that I haven't given an update on Blooms For Life. I have received the 501(c)(3) papers from the IRS, and now I need to find three members to be legally considered an organization. I have also secured the websites, Blooms For Life.com and Blooms For Life.org. I was quite a bit busier this semester than I had anticipated, but I am steadily (and slowly) making progress. I also did volunteer my services to Culinary Empathy Catering Company last Saturday and Sunday (12/9/2017 and 12/10/2107) for a private catering event. The owner of the company donated his services for a private dinner for four at an auction to benefit Hands on Regional Museum in Johnson City, TN. on 11/17/2017. The bids started at $200 a plate and they were won at $849 a plate! I have to admit that my volunteer work was actually fun! On Saturday, he gave me a list of items that I needed to pick up at the grocery store and liquor store. Once I returned with the requested items, I made place setting and menu cards for the party of four. From there, I polished glasses, ironed napkins and tablecloth, and helped make a center-piece for the table. On Sunday, the evening of the catered dinner, I helped him load and unload all of the supplies at the home of the auction winners. I stayed in the kitchen and cleaned as needed. After the guests were full, we cleared the table, packed up the leftovers for the guests, cleaned the kitchen, and reloaded the car. Once back at his home, we unloaded the supplies and enjoyed food and wine ourselves.
So the semester is wrapping up, and as I have been frantically trying to complete all of the last minute assignments for my classes, I remembered that I had not attended a musical performance on campus. I searched the directory of campus events and to my delight I discovered that there would be a piano recital that featured two Students of Esther Park on Sunday evening (December 3) at Mathes Recital Hall on East Tennessee State University's campus. I was in luck! I was scheduled to leave work at 5p.m. and the recital did not start until 7:30p.m. I was relieved that I would have the opportunity to complete my last assignment for Honors Colloquium, but I honestly expected to be underwhelmed by the performances. As I arrived on campus, I realized that the huge full moon cast an eerie orange glow that illuminated the darkness of the unusually empty campus. I did not pass one person as I was walking toward Mathes Hall, and I had convinced myself that I would be the stranger in a small gathering. I was immediately proven wrong upon entering the Recital Hall. Although I was 20 minutes early, the entire facility was almost to capacity! I found an extra seat in the back corner behind the last row and I was delighted to find it. Crowded rooms make me claustrophobic, and I also decided that it would be a convenient escape if the event lasted too long. Students continued piling in the Recital Hall until the clock struck 7:30 and Esther Park presented her two students. The first artist was Patrick Rice, and as I looked at the program, I realized that he would be performing a quite lengthy list of works from Bach, Mozart, and Schumann. I again was quite pleased with my choice of seats! As soon as he began to play, I became entranced. From the angle of my seat, I had a perfect view of his hands on the keys. I could see every note that he played. He was AMAZING!! I was impressed beyond expression at his ability. The fact that he had memorized every note of every rendition that he performed was enough to impress anyone, but the passion that he poured into his art was overwhelming. As he was working his way through the compilation of Schumann's works, I realized that I had a tear streaming down my cheek. His performance of Reverie was truly beautiful! When he finished and took a bow, I realized that he had been playing for an hour, but time had become irrelevant. I was excited to hear Professor Park's second student, Austin Blythe's performance. He started out with Scarlatti and then moved on to Haydn. He also had the inexplicable ability to memorize the works, but I didn't feel the passion that had been exuded by Rice. As Blythe took a pause before his last work by Liszt, I noticed a smirk emerge on his face. He forcefully commanded the baritone keys to reverberate and shake the entire facility! I had chill bumps all over my body. The best way that I can describe his performance is to compare it to reading Edgar Allan Poe. He made the piano make sounds that I had never heard before. Once again, I realized that I had a steady stream of tears rolling down my cheek. I was truly grateful for the unexpected release, and I was also grateful that I had chosen a secluded seat in the corner! After the performance, I thanked both of the artists for their performances and as I made the drive home, the huge orange moon followed me.
What a week! Last Tuesday night was the first time this semester that I actually took a few hours out of my busy schedule to relax enough to enjoy this experience called college. I started out the evening with my fellow Midway Honors recipients at the Pinning Ceremony for the graduating Honors students. There were two topics that dominated the pre-ceremony conversation; "how is your research proposal coming along, and are you going to the Honors Social?" Once the ceremony started, I began to think about how many long hours that each student had devoted to their studies in order to reach this moment. It was inspiring, and I felt a sense of pride to be a fellow Honors student. After the ceremony I rushed home to change clothes for the Honors Social. It took me longer than anticipated to get ready because I forgot how to fix my hair! I laughed at myself because I used to love spending hours trying out new hairstyles and cosmetic tricks, and now I just throw on some clothes and run out the door for school. Wow, how times have changed! By the time I got there, the room was packed and I could not see my friends. I did recognize a few faces and began making conversation. I know, what a shocker! I finally bumped into one of my friends and she escorted me to the table, but all of the chairs were full (stupid hair), so I sat at a table close to them. It was a pleasant surprise to see my Physics Lab partner walk up and sit down next to me. He is a Presidential Honors student, and we
When asked the question of how I picture my life in ten years, The first image that popped into my mind was of the "Professional" me. I can envision myself working in either a hospital or a cancer treatment center as a Medical Physicist. I would arrive around 6 a.m. with coffee in hand and immediately review the charts of the patients that are scheduled to receive Radiation Therapy for that particular day. I would then ask God to guide my hands and eyes, and ask him to fill me with love and compassion for the cancer patients that I will be interacting with in the course of my day. I would then proceed to read the calibration charts of all of the machinery that is being used in the radiation process, and make any necessary alterations to ensure that the machines are operating at maximum capacity. I would then begin to program the Proton Machine for each patient's dosage requirements to ensure that the course of Radiation Therapy matched the orders that the Radiologist had signed off on in the patient's chart. The next few hours would be spent rendering dosage calculations from the Radiologist's orders for the next day, and then I would submit my dosage calculations back to the Radiologist for approval or corrections. I would also have in person or telephone conversations with the patients after their treatments to discuss any possible side effects that they were having due to the radiation dosages. Since my work day ends within an hour or so after the last appointment, I would leave the treatment facility around 5 p.m. I can envison that my drive home from work would be filled with reflections of the cancer patients that I had interacted with throughout the day. As I drive home I will also be thanking God for all of the blessings that he has given me, and again asking for his guidance. I am immediately greeted by my dog when I arrive at my little stone cottage. We both go to my Greenhouse where I check on my hybrid orchids, lillies, and other flowers that I have cross pollinated. My husband works longer hours than I do, so most days I am happily working in my gardens when he arrives home from work. Our week day evenings are usually spent at home relaxing, except for my scheduled choir practice that I have once a week with the children at my local church, the occasional charity event, and our weekly dinner that we host for our friends and family. The weekends are full of adventure, whether it be kayaking, hiking, or touring local museums and attractions. Since we are both believers in God, we attend our local church regularly. I enjoy working with the children as their Music Director, and my husband and I often take the children with us on our weekend adventures. Vacations and holidays are spent at the beach house that we bought to share with our family and friends.
Core Values vs. Time Management Last Tuesday in Honors Collo, we discussed core values and time management. We were asked to create a list of eight values that we could not live without and then eliminate a few at a time until we had only two remaining values. My original eight values were: Religion Love Family Stability Giving Purpose
Friends Quietness The first elimination was easy. I marked off "Quietness" because I am noticeably NOT quiet, and it looked selfish underneath of "Giving"! Each elimination after that became more difficult, so I decided to change the rules of the exercise and to look at each value abstractly. My two remaining values were: Love (because I give/receive love from God, family, and friends) (God , family, and friends bring happiness, companionship, and kindness) Purpose (I want to give through working with oncology patients, and I need an education to do that) (an education will provide stability and prosperity) We were then asked if we are living a life that reflects our values. We then moved on to the Time Management Exercise. We had to account for every hour of our week to find out what the majority of our time is spent on. I found that I spend an almost equal amount of time on sleep and work. That was a depressing realization! The purpose of the exercises were to show us what we are spending our time on, and where we might be able to adjust our schedules to open up opportunities for us to do the things that we say that we want to do. I realized that I have not adjusted properly to my new life. I have struggled to find the balance between work and school, and I have been neglecting the relationships that I cherish. I have taken necessary steps to readjust my schedule this week, and I am trying to readjust my finances so that I can be better prepared for the following semesters. East Tennessee State University Lecture: From Eugenics To The Holocaust E.T.S.U. has been hosting a traveling exhibit from the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum called Deadly Medicine: Creating The Master Race since July 30, 2017, and it will run through September 28, 2017. In addition to the exhibit, East Tennessee State University's Exhibition Coordinator, Spenser Brenner also scheduled a weekly lecture that covers a variety of topics about the Holocaust. I attended a powerful lecture by Dr. Stephen Fritz, a Professor of History at E. T.S.U. on September 12, 2017. The topic of the lecture was From Eugenics to the Holocaust. Dr. Fritz' lecture was not only historically informative, but thought provoking as well. I did not realize that the Eugenics Program was a Progressive Movement that was created by esteemed Professors of Science from American Universities. I was also in shock when I learned that the process of sterilization was an occidental discovery by a Research gynecologist that had started his career trying to cure infertility in women. The shock began to wear off as Dr. Fritz explained that all of the horrific Programs of torture that are associated with the Nazi Socialist Party were actually perpetuated by physicians, public health officials, professors, and biomedical researchers. My state of shock had turned to terror! Because of my degree choice in the field of Biomedical and Radiation Engineering, this lecture presented ethical dilemmas that I had never considered. My mind immediately raced towards the present day practice of silencing genes to create genetically "perfect" babies. My thoughts then took a hard left to contemplate the advances in Artificial Intelligence. Although I attended the lecture one week ago, I am still a little more than unsettled by the thought of what the world would be like if indeed scientist could create a "perfect human". After all, is it not our blemishes and imperfections that make us human? What would our world be like if were are able to take the humanness out of the humans?
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