A Non-Traditional Freshman in Freshman Scholars

(Tonja was one of two students who worked on the Development of an Animal Model for the Cognitive Deficits Observed in Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) project with faculty mentor Dr. Megan St. Peters during the 2nd annual Freshman Scholars Program in summer 2013.)

by Tonja P., Freshman Scholar and Guest Blogger

After many years of being out of school and in the real world, I made a decision to go back to college. I chose Ferrum College for this new chapter in my life for many reasons. For one, it is near the beautiful Blue Ridge Mountains and I needed to get away from the killer Texas heat. The second reason was that it offered the classes I wanted to study further. My goal is to become an Art Therapist for children with special needs, and Ferrum offers both Art and Psychology programs.

After enrolling, I decided to join the Freshman Scholars program. I wasn't quite sure at the time what this program involved exactly, but I did know that I would be working directly with a professor on campus and one other student. I thought this would be a good way for me to transition back into the school scene without getting too overwhelmed with feeling like the odd man out. It would also help me to further my education and earn credits in the field of study I was pursuing.

The first day of Freshman Scholars was an eventful and slightly overwhelming day. I met several other people who were 15 years younger than me. They talked of the latest trends, video games, what they accomplished in high school, how they would celebrate their 18th birthday soon, and of social medias that I have never heard of - like Snapchat.  I felt excluded and out of my comfort zone.  I thought that I had nothing in common with these people except that I was a student as well. At one point, I felt frustrated with my choice. I did not want to have to socialize with these people that I had nothing in common with, but I wanted to learn and excel instead. Then, class began and we got to meet with our professor and begin what I came to Ferrum to do.  Over the next few days, I realized that I had made the right choice.

Once the newness of everyone meeting settled down, the seriousness came out in the other students.  I felt more connected to them.  It was less about socializing and more about learning and sharing study tips and ideas.  Several offered suggestions for me in studying and helped me learn new tips on the computer. The professors were also very encouraging and positive. They have taken the time to get to know us personally and offered to help in any way.  I feel like I can call my Freshman Scholars team the start of my Ferrum family.

Freshman Scholars not only taught me a great deal about research in the psychology field, but it also taught me how to work as a team with another generation from which I first felt so disconnected. It has created a bond that would not otherwise be there in normal everyday life. I am excited about this new semester knowing I have the support of the other students and the professors!

Not Self, But Others

by Laken P., Panther Blogger

This summer, I had the opportunity to volunteer at the Remote Area Medical Clinic at the Bristol Motor Speedway.  The event is used to provide free dental, physical, and eye care to people in rural areas who have little or no health insurance.  After working in patient registration and blood pathology for the weekend, I not only helped thousands of people receive free healthcare, but I also came out with a changed outlook on life.

The Ferrum College motto is "Not Self, But Others."  I saw this exact philosophy put into action when doctors, dentists, nurses, technicians, office workers, and average people came together from all across the country to donate a few days of their time and services to help others. As I worked the front registration tables, I witnessed thousands of people camp out in their cars and tents for days to attend the clinic. For some of the attendees, the clinic is the only form of healthcare that they will receive all year.  I thought about how frustrated and aggravated I get when I have to sit in the doctor's office waiting room for longer than I want to be there, and I realized that I really am fortunate that I am even able to go to the doctor at all.


By giving up a weekend of my time and contributing some of the skills I have learned in Ferrum's pre-med curriculum, I was able to do my part to help in a significant way. Knowing that a few thousand people were able to get their teeth cleaned, receive a new pair of free eye-wear, or get a thorough physical from a doctor was one of the most indescribable feelings I have ever had. Volunteering at the clinic helped put life into perspective and gave me the extra push to realize beyond any doubt that becoming a doctor is what I want to do for the rest of my life.

At Ferrum College, the curriculum is designed to not only help you reach your career goals but help shape you into a better, well-rounded person who is able to become involved in the community. By working at the clinic and witnessing a smile on the face of someone who is sick and hurting, I truly say that "Not Self, But Others" comes to life. Sure, I had to wake up at 4 a.m. and work extremely long days while sitting out in the cold rain, but I was not there for myself. I was working at the clinic to put others first and use the opportunities I have been given to help the less fortunate.

Not only is the education at Ferrum one of the best you can get, but sometime during your time there, you will see that not only do you grow academically, but you also grow as a person. Community service and helping others will no longer be something you have to do; it will be something you want to do.  I can't wait until next year's clinic, and I plan to make volunteering an annual tradition for me, even after I have a medical degree added to my name!

Summer Science Research

by Brittany G., Panther Blogger

As a student at Ferrum College, I get the opportunity to work with the professors and other workers here on campus over the summer doing many different things. I will be a senior in the fall, and this is my first time being offered a summer position to stay on campus in an apartment and work for the school doing research. I am currently working on researching the interaction between an entomopathogenic fungus called Metarhizium and specific insects such as fruit flies, spider mites, thrips, and white flies.  I am helping with all of this research in Garber Hall with Dr. Glen Stevens and several employees from Novozymes, located in Salem, VA.

Image taken with the scanning electron microscope.
Property of Ferrum College.

Currently, the research involves knowing basic handling of the scanning electron microscope, as well as the use of Metarhizium and the insects of interest.  Metarhizium is a fungus that kills insects which are known to thrive on cash crops such as vegetables, citrus fruits, beans, and some flowers.  It targets soil-borne insect larvae as well as infecting the leaf sucking and feeding of the pests to either severely damage or kill them.  At this time, we have worked with five different formulations of Metarhizium and introduced it to fruit flies and spider mites by dipping them in the solutions or by spraying them at Novozymes with a Potter Spray Tower.

Image taken with the scanning electron microscope.
Property of Ferrum College.

After introducing specific pests to the fungus, we have been looking at the spores under the scanning electron microscope. I have learned several techniques for using the microscope from Dr. Michaela Gazdik and Dr. Bob Pohlad over the past few weeks, which have led to several intriguing pictures of these tiny insects with spores of fungus on them. From these pictures, we are focusing on trying to find the rate of germination and clumping of the fungus over a period of time, typically at 2, 24, and 72 hours. 

I have completed four weeks of research so far, and I have learned many new things from conducting my basic research to learning how to handle many different insects and interacting with a very professional company.  It has taught me to always ask questions that I may think of no matter how simple or small they may seem. Although this research has just begun, we still have several weeks left and much still to accomplish with our questions, research abilities, and with the knowledge and funding provided by Novozymes.

Image taken with the scanning electron microscope.
Property of Ferrum College.

If it was not for the hard work that I have put into my schooling thus far, I would not be able to be a part of something so wonderful for the curiosity and questioning within my scientific reasoning.  I am thrilled to be staying on campus with other students who are working on different projects.  I am also excited that I will be allowed the opportunity to possibly publish my name on several things, such as journals and posters that can be presented to the scientific community later this year!

Bones and Bodies

by Blake S., Panther Blogger
 
As I had mentioned in my last blog post, I signed up to participate in the Ferrum College E-Term course titled "The Science of Crime," and WOW, what an experience!  This was by far one of the best college courses I have taken. Each and every day, we were able to implement various tactics and techniques that are used in crime scene television shows such as Forensic Files, CSI, and Bones.  From the analysis of fingerprints to testing unknown drug substances, we were able to reconstruct events that may have occurred at various crime scenes as well as identify suspects of the crime.

Analyzing cranial measurements
to determine an individual's
physical characteristics.

Of the numerous activities and labs that we participated in, the trip to the University of Tennessee's Forensic Anthropology Research Facility was the biggest highlight of the course. At this research facility, we learned how to identify the age, gender, stature, and ancestry of an individual based solely on skeletal remains. We also were privileged with the honor of being able to tour the "Body Farm," which is the area where forensic anthropology college graduate students perform experiments to study changes in human decomposition rates. It was an experience that I will not soon forget!

Our group outside the UT football stadium

The sun sphere in Knoxville, TN

While on this trip, I was also able to bond with and get to know my fellow classmates much better. We were able to spend a lot of time socializing while at restaurants, walking around the campus streets, shopping, and swimming at the hotel pool. I made quite a few new friends, which will make the upcoming year at Ferrum even more enjoyable. I can, without a doubt, say that my Ferrum College E-Term experience was amazing and definitely a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity!

Science of Crime E-Term Course

by Brittany G., Panther Blogger

As a requirement, students at Ferrum College must complete an E-Term course, which is simply one class for three weeks during the month of May.  These E-Terms range from mathematics courses to crime scene photography to study abroad trips to places like Peru.  Some of the classes have the students traveling, which requires a fee, but if the student can pay the fee, these are excellent learning and cultural experiences for every student.  I had the privilege of attending the Science of Crime E-Term this year with Dr. Goff and Professor Minter.

This class was amazing for so many reasons!  Although we had the first and third week of class here on campus, we traveled during the middle week to the University of Tennessee.  We had lectures and labs from 8 a.m. until 5 p.m. on the first three days, then a day of case work, and a day of lectures, and finally a visit to the "Body Farm," more accurately known as the Anthropology Research Facility.  During the lectures and labs, we were in an intense crash course of forensic anthropology. It was taught by many graduate degree-seeking students and PhDs who were working on their own research but who took the time to help pass on their knowledge.

Over the course of the week, we had crammed so much new information into our heads to use for our case work and presentation. We were taught how to determine the biological profile of skeletons which included the sex, age, stature, and ancestry of the remains, as well as any trauma if it was present. It is amazing that each of those categories can be learned by the structure of the skeleton and marking on the bones!

Did you know that sex can be estimated by the cranium, pelvis, and measurements of long bones, or that ancestry is estimated through cranial measurements?

After learning as much as we possibly could in two and a half days, Wednesday afternoon involved a practical exam where we tested our knowledge to see how well we grasped the concepts. Thankfully, we all did pretty well!  We put everything we learned together through a case work study where we were given a box of skeletal remains and we had to use every technique we could to determine the biological profile before presenting it to many of the instructors who taught the class.  It was a reassuring moment when the entire class really understood how much we learned in just those few days.

Finally, the day we were all waiting for was Friday morning when we completed our last lecture and journeyed to the "Body Farm."  It was a once-in-a-lifetime chance to see such a facility where their focus is based on body decomposition in different situations as well as animal scavenging.  At maximum capacity for the bodies, they needed to "push" along the decomposition of some bodies, but it was amazing to see the difference in stages of "time since death."  They are currently studying the differences in having a donor body in the shade, in the open, or even buried as if natural burial had occurred.

The one problem with the facility being out in nature is the scavenging from animals like raccoons and rodents. Currently, they are trying different techniques to possibly keep them away from the bodies so they do not have to search yards away for bones that belong to the skeleton. Luckily, there are a few students who are working on the taphonomy, but they will still have some issues with keeping every predator out.

No matter what theories were being tested and despite animals scavenging for bones and muscles, the facility is a prime opportunity to experience what you might be interested in studying.  All of us as a class were so thrilled to be a part of such an elite group that we would take the class again if we could!  E-Term is an opportunity to experience something that most people do not get a chance to do, so I recommend that students try to take whichever one they would be most interested in. 

Who knows, maybe you will be able to go on a trip to Peru or to the Virgin Islands, or maybe even make connections for potential internships or other opportunities after graduation!

My Anatomy & Physiology Practicum

by Brittany G., Panther Blogger

There are so many classes at Ferrum that you can take in order to gain a better knowledge and courage in what you may want to do when you graduate. One of the best classes I have been a part of is a Practicum for Anatomy & Physiology.  It requires you to take the actual class and get referred by the professors to help the next class in the upcoming year. Completing the class the first time and getting enrolled into Practicum served as a teaching aide not only for the professors, but also for me and the new class of students taking the course for the first time.  It helped me gain a confidence in my knowledge of the material that I had learned during my first time taking the class.

In my Practicum for Anatomy & Physiology, I got to help with labs every Tuesday with a wonderful professor and mentor.  There is not much required for the class but to help set up labs and guide the other students to what they should be doing during those few hours.  We came in on a weekend before midterms and finals in order to set up a practical exam that would test what the students had learned so far. This Practicum class also required me to write a one-page paper about what was covered, how the students responded, what could have been better, and what I learned from the experience.  It served as a reflection paper to see what things can be improved for the next year to increase the success of how the labs work and how much more the students can learn. 

Being in a practicum has helped instill in me what I had previously learned in that class, as well as helped me gain more knowledge from what I did not quite pick up on the first time. It allowed me to connect to the students since I knew what the class required, as well as get a better feeling for what it would be like to teach the class on a regular basis. Furthermore, it helped me understand exactly how the students feel when they enter the laboratory or lecture period. If you ever have an opportunity to participate in a practicum, I would recommend that you do it!