Fall 2011 - the Department of Biology - Syracuse University

I learned how to read scientific articlesand use the information to better myunderstanding. My peers and supervisorsaided me in ways I would never haveanticipated for which I am very grateful.Working relentlessly reminded me whyI love science so much and where hardwork could take me. Finally I used mylucky encounters to my advantage. I couldvery well have sat and vegetated listeningto Joshua Johnson speaking about ovarieswhile eating some complementary cookiesin the back of the Lundgren room. InsteadI used the clue he gave me and succeededin finishing strong with my capstonethesis.Senior year brought some stressesranging from deciding what future stepsI would take in my life, my zebrafishresearch, and biochemistry lab with Dr.Chan. Sometimes, what I really wanted todo was lounge about on the Quad, read abook, and drink some People’s Place icedcoffee. I definitely fell asleep on the greencenter-point of our campus while reading aparticularly long article on Xenopus ovariandevelopment. Nonetheless, I learned a lotbeing a biochemistry student at SyracuseUniversity. Everything I have learned, Iwant my future students to know. I wantto teach so that I can share my knowledge,share my passion, and share the skills,maybe not just biology-related, to help mystudents succeed.I decided to apply to and join Teachfor America because I wanted to use mydegree after college in a way that suits whoI am. I have participated in teaching manytimes throughout my college experience,from tutoring at Nottingham HighSchool, to assistant teaching at a bilingualelementary school in Strasbourg, France, toaiding in an English as a Second Languageclassroom for immigrant and refugeeadults in the Near West Side of Syracuse.Giving others the knowledge that I have isvery important to me. Right before senioryear I saw a road waiting for me (gradschool) and I didn’t drive down it. I didn’tfeel like that was the next step I wanted totake. For me, teaching biology to kids inNew Orleans is where I need to be now soI can give my students what I received. Thegreatest experiences in my life have beenmy education, and I have pushed to makeevery experience in my life educational. Iwill never stop learning and will never stopasking questions and investigating. Oneday I hope to be a medical anthropologistso that I can bring all of my interests,passions, and skills into one profession.It is my hope to use everything I havelearned in my life to build a foundation todo something that doesn’t just make mehappy, but has the potential of positivelyaffecting many people. I don’t see myselfbeing a high school biology teacher for therest of my life, but I know I will always be ateacher and will always be a student.UNDERGRADUATE STUDENT PROFILE:Sarah K. WendelThere was more than the usual commotion when I arrivedin the Meru District Hospital maternity ward in Tanzaniaon that warm July day in 2010. I had been volunteering inthis unit since my arrival in Arusha, in northern Tanzania, fourweeks earlier. The dilapidated facility, 10 miles east of Arusha,serves city dwellers, subsistence farmers, and the surroundingsemi-nomadic Maasai tribes. Women from the outlying villageshad crowded into the small ward that day. They lay head to toeon the three narrow beds in the birthing room. In the postnatalunit, new mothers and their babies were crowded four to a bed.The staff of two midwives was stretched thin.Sarah with Maasai children; Meru Mountain in thebackgroundLesha, a Canadian midwife called meover to a birthing bed. “You have watchedlong enough,” she said. “Can you gosolo?” I looked down at the laboring woman.She was petite and pretty, with a broadface and high cheekbones. She appearedto be about the same age as me—and shelooked very frightened. Despite my apprehension,I gave her a reassuring smileand took a deep breath. I had watchedup to 10 deliveries a day for weeks. Butcould I do this? I had already watcheda woman die in childbirth. I slipped ona pair of gloves. The noise and chaos ofthe maternity ward receded as I focusedon this singular task. Lesha watched asI timed the patient’s contractions withmy wristwatch and checked to make surethat the baby was head down, feeling forit with my thumb and index finger aftergently pushing on her abdomen as itstiffened in a contraction. The patient wasfully dilated and in active transition. Thehead crowned, and as the baby emerged, Igently placed my hands on its shoulders,guiding the small body as it slid out. Itwas a girl! She gave a good squawk. Afterclamping and cutting the umbilicalword, I cradled the baby, showing her toher mother. Asante, asante, she told merepeatedly, her eyes wet with tears. Thankyou.Over the next six weeks, I learnedother medical skills, such as removing aplacenta, giving injections, and changingIVs. I became a trusted member of theFALL 201119