Last week, the USG campus held the 4^th annual Biomedical Sciences Day.  This is a great exhibition of scientific and medical research going on by students of our very own Shady Grove Universities campus.

These poster sessions are a fantastic opportunity for students to gain recognition outside of the normal classes.  They’re a fun environment where you can hang out with your school friends, meet other people in your program, and network with professors and people in industry. It was great to see my friends Mary and Sheheryar here on campus giving a poster presentation. I was able to say hi and see how their pharmacy rotations were going and how they were able to stay so involved with their busy fourth year schedules.

I highly encourage everyone to go out and see if these opportunities are available to you.  Degree programs represented at the Biomedical Sciences Day included the U Maryland Schools of Nursing and Pharmacy, the UMBC Psychology program, and the U Maryland College Park Biological Sciences program.

Also taking place on campus last week was a Culture of Care Network discussion session about anxiety.  Guest speakers discussed the nature of anxiety and how to effectively manage it.  We’re all in difficult academic programs here, and even though taking classes here allows a better work-life balance, sometimes anxiety can get the best of us.

We at the School of Pharmacy just lost a fellow student who decided to drop out of the program for various academic and personal reasons.  When you spend most of your waking hours on campus together, your fellow students become your close friends, and when they decide to leave the program, it feels like the loss of a family member.  I personally will miss their presence while studying in the library late at night and wish them the best during their break period.

And on that note, to stay motivated when the days are dark and dreary and the rain won’t let up, say active!  Get to the gym. Plan out your day and week.  Stick to a schedule and don’t look back (and don’t take a break to browse Reddit unless you can limit yourself to the front page).

Thanksgiving is days away, signaling the home stretch for fall semester.  I wish you all a happy Thanksgiving and hope you all hang in there and do your best.

The end of the semester is in sight!  You can do it!

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