After a delicious breakfast of my homemade blueberry pancakes and scrambled eggs, we hopped in the car for our 5 and a half hour trip to Nashville. I am proud to say our longest drive without stopping for a restroom break was an hour and a half. I now know how my dad feels every time I ask him to pull over during our family road trips. After many stops, conversations, jam sessions, and naps; we made it to the beautiful city just as the sun was setting. I drove the entire way, except when Amy drove for an hour of the trip. The scenery in Illinois was so flat and boring compared to Kentucky and Tennesse. In Kentucky, we admired the rolling fields of grass with picket fences surrounding the animals. 

We check into The Hilton Garden Inn and then headed off to dinner at Cafe CoCo’s with my friends from Belmont. I really enjoyed seeing my friend Kate from home and was glad she was able to meet my friends from college. Cafe CoCo was an artistic “hole in the wall” restaurant that had Nashville’s greatest singers covering the walls. We shared many laughs and stories over pesto pasta and hummus wraps. 

Knowing that Grace and I had to get up at 5:40 am, we decided to call it a night. Right before we fell asleep, Grace made a joke about us missing the race because our alarms did not go off. I did not find this joke funny and was very paranoid. However, we ended up falling asleep around 11, and we were able to sleep very peacefully.

Getting ready to hit the town!

We made it to Nashville!

Cafe CoCo

Living it up in the nation’s music capital!

After a spontaneous run 2 months ago, my friend Grace Theisen and I decided to run a half marathon. Of course, if we were going to actually do it, we needed to run it in a place that would be exciting and scenic to take our minds away from the fact that we would be running for 2 straight hours (give or take a few minutes). After months of anticipation, planning, running, and excitement, our trip to Nashville had finally arrived.

We brought along our best friend Amy Banas, for even though Amy wasn’t actually going to run with us, a road trip with three is much better than two. We left Wednesday at 1:45p.m. (we planned on leaving at 1 but you must know that Amy is not the most punctual person on the earth and seems to forget that time is of the “essence” when traveling with Grace and I). Our first stop was my house in Springfield, Illinois.  

Within the 5 hour trip to Springfield, we stopped 5 times. It seemed as though our bladders were not on the same page as our excitement to get to our first destination. And of course, a Starbucks coffee stop is always  essential with this three. 

I have come to realize there is nothing better than the conversations had on road-trips. There is something about the monotonous highway drive that brings out goofy vulnerability like none other. Road-trip conversations are some of the best conversations I have ever had. People’s walls just seem to melt away and there seems to be no question that is too personal to ask or answer. Friendships are strengthened, tears exchanged, and belly aching laughter fills the air. Truly nothing like it.

GUESS WHAT? Today we got our first snow in Holland. It not only blizzarded for a while, but also hailed. I don’t think it’s going to stick though, as the ground is fairly warm still. We’ll see!

Anyways, this week I’m going to tell you a bit more about a research program I am participating in as a FRESHMAN at Hope. Funded by the Howard Hughes Medical Institute and the Science Education Alliance, it’s entitled Bacteriophage Genomic Research.

Bacteriophage are really interesting subjects. They’re neither dead nor alive; they are viruses that infect bacteria. They utilize bacterial growth to replicate and spread. Different types of phage have different host bacteria. Our program focuses on the use of Mycobacterium smegmatis, a bacillus-shaped bacterium that is non-pathogenic. M. smegmatis is the ideal model bacterial host as it is easy and inexpensive to grow and it’s fairly hearty! There are an estimated 10^31 different types of phage, and not many have been genetically sequenced and/or analyzed.

Here’s a diagram of a general bacteriophage

So, what do we do? There are 20 students in our group and our goal is to individually isolate and purify a phage DNA sample to be replicated, decoded, and analyzed. Phage can be simply collected from soil or water samples (generally where decomposition is prevalent) and through a battery of tests it can be isolated from other phage. The course consists of two semesters. Throughout the fall we actually collect samples, isolate the phage, analyze the phage plaque morphology(what the phage looks like when it lyses/bursts the smegmatis cells), and prepare the DNA to be sequenced. Because sequencing is expensive and timely, only one student’s phage will be selected and sequenced over Christmas break through a process called “PHAGE OLYMPICS” where we will all compete for our phage to be chosen. The spring semester will consist of computer lab hours analyzing specific genes in the phage DNA and comparing them to other known genomic sequences and deducting novel ideas about the sequence of genes and in particular, the purpose of the gene. 

Intrigued? So was I. Here’s a picture of the phage I’ve been working hard on all semester:

Isn’t it cute!! My phage actually has two plaque morphologies: a small and a large with slight turbid halos!

Here’s a photo taken at the beginning of the semester of our phage phamily (okay, sorry for the phage puns). 🙂

Danielle, also is a phage alumni!

The class has also been fun because, as freshman, we don’t know a whole lot of people coming in (maybe not any at all!). Our class is a consistent group of 19 others that are going through the exact same experiences you are, and some are even in a lot of the same classes. We’ve even had a phage pizza party at our TA’s house!

Our class is far from boring. Check out this video of fellow phager’s cheering one another on as we prepare a gel for electrophoresis to analyze DNA concentration and quality:

Hey everyone!

This week kept me very busy and I felt weighed down by classes. Spanish dominated my life this week with a test, literary analysis paper, readings, and an oral exam. The most I slept this week was 5.5 hours. I definitely feel tired, but as always coffee has pulled through for me.

This week also required some decision-making. Registration for classes next semester begins on Monday, and since I do not yet know my major, I have some major planning and praying to do. Currently, I plan to minor in Spanish and Leadership, but still need to choose a major. I am contemplating putting together a composite major…. In all honestly, I am not sure what career I want to pursue, but I plan on taking 2 psychology courses, a Spanish class, and a communication class for the spring semester. My academic advisor helped me pick out some courses and recommended different professors. One of my favorite things about Hope is the professors here. They truly care about me and invest their time and energy in me. I have not had a professor here who I did not like. I feel comfortable talking with them about academic concerns and personal problems. I met with my advisor this week since it has been so crazy for me.

Amongst the stress and craziness this week, I still squeezed in a little room for fun. On Sunday night after the gathering, a group of us went to IHOP for all you can pancakes and competed in a pancake-eating contest amongst each other. I am proud to say I won the competition after consuming 18 pumpkin pancakes! I felt so sick afterwards, but I didn’t have to pay for my meal and walked away with bragging rights.

Even though this week has been rather stressful; I still have enjoyed it. However, I am more than ready for the weekend. My parents are coming to visit tomorrow for family weekend. Words cannot describe how happy I am to see them! We are going to do some shopping together and of course eat some yummy meals in downtown. Well I need to finish up some homework for tomorrow. Have an awesome weekend!

***CoLLeeN***

The group at IHOP

Empty plate after my 18th pumpkin pancake!

On Saturday night I went with two of my clustermates to see Hope College’s dANCE pROjECt (that’s really how the title is with alternating uppercase and lowercase). 

It was definitely not what I expected AT ALL. It was very modern and all of the pieces were very interesting. dANCE pROjECt’s mission is to enteratain and challenge audiences with a diverse contemporary experience. They do this through possibilities beyond the traditionally accepted dance forms. 

I enjoy viewing art or artistic vessels such as dance because of the many ways each piece can be interpreted. More often than not, you’ll understand a piece much differently than even the person beside you because of the different views and background you formulate your opinions on. Thus said, the following is my interpretation of each piece.

Act I consisted of three pieces, all strangely bizarre but completely awesome. Helix consisted of six dancers all utilizing a stretchy fabric that they were able to stretch over themselves to create interesting forms. As they danced and “stretched” the projector painted their white costumes with vibrant patterns that complemented the musical accompaniment. It was an intense piece, but captivating all the same. Helix was inspired by the work of Alvin Nikolais and looked very similar to this: 

Ferdinand Hodler. It was definitely my favorite experience of the evening.

The artistic director of the production, Steven Iannacone, choregraphed the rest of the show. Although each piece was remarkable different, his style definitely shone through. Garden had an African Tribal ambiance, with costumes reminiscent of the jungle and a procession of movements as a group and individually. 

Bizet, creating a somber but sophisticated mood.

Sur La Table focused on a poem, written by Jackie Bartley, about the centrality of a table in a woman’s life. Six dancers dressed in 1970’s apparel danced sophisticatedly to Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, conveying the wear, tear, and love the table (and the woman) received througout the years. 

Depree Art Gallery! 🙂 I love HOPE COLLEGE!

-A

The ever-familiar words to me this year are “Help me! I’m just a freshman!” as I have used some variation of them many times.

Although Hope’s campus isn’t very difficult to get around on and classes aren’t always super demanding, there are some things that enevitably Freshman won’t know about or how to do.

For instance, NEVER PICK UP A FROLF DISC. Ever. Seriously. This is always warned about and many people have shared their accounts with me about the repercussions of disrupting someones game.

There are also commonalities and lingo often used here that can rarely be understood in other settings such as, “Yeah she’s in my cluster,” “I’m waiting for the gathering,” etc.

You can become quite quickly accustomed to what most call “The Hope Bubble,” otherwise known as the culture that arises from the 3200 students in attendance here.

Luckily, your transition is eased by the wonderful programs and practices here at Hope College. As a first year student, you are ushered in with Orientation (mentioned in my first post). This also occurs at other schools, but after talking to many freshman friends, Hope Orientation is one of the only programs in small student groups (10-12 students) that have Hope student “Orientation leaders” that befriend you and guide you through the week before school begins. Every first year student is also required to take a “First Year Seminar” in the fall semester. The professor becomes your advisor and helps introduce you to college classes by focusing on a unique topic of your choice and incorporating important ideas like time management, giving presentations, paper-writing, and most prominently: Scheduling.

As November is only days away, it will soon be time to make the decision that will CHANGE OUR LIVES FOREVER. Okay, not really. But we do have to select the classes for Spring semester 2012. As freshman, it splits us up into three groups. There are:

• the students that already had a detailed plan of every class they were ever going to take walking onto Hope’s campus (an estimated .001% of the freshman class)
• the students that have some semblance of what they’d like to do for the rest of their life, or maybe just the subject they’d like to study (an estimated 15 % of the class)
• and of course the students that have no idea what will happen tomorrow, let alone what they want to study the next four years and continue using in a career (100%-what is listed above)

No matter which of the three you are, each academic department has had pre-registration meetings for the past two weeks to double check (or decide) that you will be taking the proper classes for your Major.

Career Services also provides an amazing amount of information and guidance when it comes to internships, career counseling for those that don’t know what they want to do, graduate school information, and speed networking among other things.

So, I’ve spent the last week determining what classes I need to take, what second (and third) options I should have lined up and this week my dreams were shattered(okay, again–not really. I should really be a drama major!). I was so confident in my plan after the many hours it took to formulate. This week, I had a quick meeting with my advisor (my FYS teacher) and told her I had a few schedule conflicts. I couldn’t figure out how to fit all 4 labs into my schedule when three of them were offered at the same time. She overviewed my schedule and realized that actually, according to the classes I was going to take, I would have 5 labs. So I definitely couldn’t fit all 5 into my schedule. She also told me that I’d need special permission to enroll for three of my classes and I had to have signed forms before I went to the registrar. Back to the drawing board. But, fortunately, I have another scheduled meeting with her next week to iron out any other problems I may have.

I LOVE HOPE COLLEGE

Everyone is always looking out for you. What would I have done if I had showed up with my glorious plan and there had been so many flaws? The registrar would have likely taken great care of me, but as a “newbie” I don’t have to go through anything alone. My professors are always asking how I am, making sure I’m sleeping and getting things done. If a student begins to slip in class, the professor meets with them individually and tries to find a resolution.There are so many little things that can be done to make a person feel welcome and accepted, and I am so thankful for the community that I have chosen to be a part of.

 So, Hey. I may just be a freshman, but I’m priviledged to be one of around 900 of the “newbies,” adjusting to the “Hope Bubble” and learning new things about others and myself everyday.

More soon!

-A