Summer 2021
CHEM 239, CHEM 242, P BIO 499
CHEM 239/242
In CHEM 239, I heavily relied on the textbook and practice problems to prepare for exams, as the lectures weren't as useful as they had been in previous quarters. There were also numerous reactions to study so I created an overview of the reactions from each chapter with page numbers referring to a separate document with the steps of the mechanism, as seen on the right. Although the process of creating these reaction guides was tedious, this systematic method allowed me to solve exam problems in a more efficient manner. The way the class was curved served me well in the end and I was thrilled to see that I received the grade that I was aiming for.
The content of CHEM 242 continued to echo a lot of what we had been learning throughout the o-chem sequence. My favorite part was definitely the unknowns lab, where we were given a set of data for three unknown compounds and had to determine the structures. It was so satisfying when I finally figured out what each of my compounds were and confirmed that the structures matched the NMR and IR spectra. Overall, I'm proud of my performance in the o-chem sequence. Despite taking it online, I built strong study habits that I'm excited to use when I start the physics sequence in the fall.
P BIO 499
I normally don't include my research credits in my course artifacts but considering I spent about 15 hours in my lab every week, there are a lot of experiences worth including here. Whether it was learning how to train injured rats, doing nail trims while the rat is awake, or working on my project, my transition into an independent researcher throughout this quarter has been an exciting one. I even got my own office, as seen on the right! The work I did this summer has definitely furthered my passion for research and I'm looking forward to seeing how my project progresses next quarter. I also received Experiential Learning credit, which you can read more about here.
