Moulage Experiences

As I've mentioned in previous posts, I occasionally work as a Moulage actor! I have been participating for almost a year now, and I absolutely love it! Hearing doctors describe how they would assist a patient in dire need has taught me so much. After listening to the physicians work the scenario, I am able to ask questions about different medical terminology. The facilitators are also really friendly, and I've even gotten contact information after a session. My mentor, Jennifer Irving, provided me with this opportunity and would like me to share it. If you are interested in participating, please email me at ashleemarnae@gmail.com.  You can checkout my other article here to learn more about what Mrs. Irving does. Below are a few pictures from Moulage!

The key to succsess: Grit

Today, my mom sent me an amazing article about the importance of innate intelligence to succeed in both school and life. Surprisingly, researchers have found that one's natural intelligence isn't the most important attribute at all. Studies have shown that students with determination and perserverance rather than a high IQ tend to get better grades in their classes. Personality matters more! There's even a Ted Talk about the importance of grit!

Read about it here: https://agenda.weforum.org/2014/12/what-do-successful-students-have-in-common/

An Overdue Update

I apologize for this overdue update of Grades and Grit! This year has been crazy hectic and I will be sure to keep the blog updated from this point on--consider it my New Year's resolution! The next few posts will be about all of my experiences this past year. This summer I volunteered for Variety Club's Adventure camp, shadowed in the emergency room of Barnes-Jewish Hospital and frequently participated in moulage. Since the school year has begun, I have attended Mini-Medical School at Washington University and I even got a job! For the next couple weeks I will be posting about each activity/event that has taken place in the past few months.

This post will be about my time volunteering for Variety Club's Adventure Camp. Adventure Camp is a camp for kids with intellectual and physical disabilities. I worked as a counselor and partnered with a camper for 2 weeks. Attending this camp was one of the best things that has ever happened to me. I made a real connection with my camper that I will never forget. I actually wrote about the experience and I feel this essay best conveys my time at Adventure Camp. (Sorry if the wording sounds a bit peculiar-I was assigned to use specific vocabulary words!)

            I never expected that the in the first summer where I did not travel would be the most prodigious and eye-opening summer of my life. This past summer in 2014, my mother told me that I have too much work to do this summer and would have to sacrifice vacation for a period of service and preparations for college. Suddenly, I had an epiphany; if I was going to be stuck in St. Louis all summer, I might as well find something entertaining as well as helpful. I then set out to find volunteer work to keep me occupied.

Within the next week, I found Variety, the Children’s Charity, a charity which focuses on the needs of children with immutable mental and physical disabilities. On their front page was an application for their summer Adventure Camp that I promptly filled out and submitted. Next thing I knew, I was at Richmond Height’s recreational center for training. After filling out countless forms, I was ready to go!

The first day of camp was extremely awkward; I was the new girl and it felt like all eyes were on me, from the campers and the counselors. However, my reluctance began to relent as soon as I met my camper, Erica*. She welcomed me with open arms like she had known me forever. Erica has a neurodevelopmental disorder called Williams Syndrome and one symptom is an unusually cheerful demeanor and ease with strangers. Erica is far from brash; she is easy to get along with and, although very indecisive, will go along with anything. Unfortunately, due to her constant complaisance, she became a target of one of the other campers. He would always hector her. He knew she was claustrophobic so he would always try to push her into small places or block her from where she wanted to go. She would be upset for only a moment, though, and soon she’d be back with her merry disposition.

There was never a boring day with Erica. One moment we were traveling up precipitous hills to play tennis, the next we were recumbent, lying down reading a Curious George book. However, some things never changed. At least 3 or 4 times and hour, she would ask people to smell her hair or her hands. Everyone knew to always respond with either ‘coconut’ or ‘rosemary.’ I didn’t realize until the end of the first day that the smell she was obsessed with was actually her hair spray! She loved that spray so much, she would put it on every day in the morning and after she was done swimming. Among other things she loved was getting her hand scratched. If she was ever hesitant to do something, all you would have to do was offer to scratch her hand and she was fully on-board! 

Erica is one of the sweetest girls I have ever met. Her kindness and big heart truly touched me in ways indescribable. Honestly, all the campers and counselors made me feel this way. It was such a loving community! I can't wait to go again. 

*Name has been changed. 

Well, that's my essay! Speaking of Adventure Camp, there is a Winter Camp coming up in about a week and I just signed up to be a counselor again! I am so pumped to be reunited with the campers' familiar faces. 

You can find out more about the Variety Club here: https://www.varietystl.org/. I recommended to all students in Saint Louis! 

Get to Know Candice Love!

As I have mention in previous posts, a young woman named Candice Love has come to nearly every meeting, teaching the students about Essay Etiquette and prepping them for their future college essays. After last weeks meeting, I briefly interviewed Candice concerning her interests, hobbies and life goals.

Candice is 19 years old and entering her sophomore year at Washington University in St. Louis. She attended a boarding school, Phillips Exeter Academy, from 9th-12th grade. Although she attended high school in New Hampshire, she was born in St. Louis, Missouri and attended elementary school in North County. During her senior year, she worked as an intern for the United States Senate in Washington D. C.

Candice is currently majoring in English and hopes to become a teacher in an urban setting. She also has a strong interest in politics and is a proud libertarian; she is a writer for Washington University's political magazine. Fun fact: Candice is a fanatic Cardinals fan!

Ms. Love has been an essential member of this program and words cannot express how grateful we are to have her!

Week 4 of Summer Seminar!

July 16th, we had our fourth meeting. Summer Seminar is slowly becoming more rigorous each week! Last meeting, I asked the students to complete a small worksheet about the extracurricular activities they participated in during the 9th and 10th grade. This week, I presented a small power-point pertaining to college resumes. Also, Candice Love came back to discuss, what she called, 'Essay Etiquette.' Participants learned about basic essay format and specific Microsoft Word configurations.

Previously, on July 2nd, Candice had the students write a half-page essay to use as a diagnostic exam. During her free time, she read and corrected these writings. She planned to come back this week with a new prompt based off of their original papers, however, there were too many technical problems at North Tech. We switched rooms 3 times, and due to construction, the network connection for all of the computers was dysfunctional. I had also planned to help them utilize their worksheets to build their college resumes. Unfortunately, this also required computers and was not able to be completed. This weeks meeting, while productive, was very difficult and we were not able to accomplish all of our goals. Next week, we will have a guest speaker and catch up with writing!

Also, Candice Love will be highlighted this weekend! She has been so helpful with the program and I look forward to more of her lessons!

Up-And-Coming Feature!

From this point on, I will showcase a student every week! Summer Seminar requires a lot of time commitment, in and outside of the weekly meetings. Students displaying dedication and care through attending meetings, completing assignments and showing enthusiasm will be highlighted. Also, I will not only elaborate on their accomplishments in the program; I will interview them and get their picture!

The first person featured will be posted soon.

Third Meeting, Hello Ms. Irving!

July 9th, our guest speaker, Ms. Jennifer Irving of BJC School Outreach, spoke to us about careers in health-care and ways to explore our interests in the medical field. She explained that, while the internet is a great source of information, shadowing and volunteering can offer hands on experiences you cannot receive in front of a screen. After explaining some of the well paid, lesser known careers in heath services, she discussed resources available to students through BJC Health Care. She provided us with volunteer forms, brochures and her contact information. Students now have the opportunity to not only shadow physicians, but any career in health care! The visits can range from following a doctor in an ER to witnessing a surgery. We are so excited!