UAB: Accepted!

I received an email this morning notifying me that I've been officially invited into the University of Alabama at Birmingham's (UAB) Integrative Biomedical Sciences (IBS) graduate program. Wow! I just got back from the interview two days ago! My decision whether or not to join has to be made by April 15th, but I was very impressed by UAB, both in my research here and during my recent interview. Now I'm pretty sure it's where I want to go, but I still have one last interview.

I'm going to try and reschedule my Arkansas interview to this weekend so I can make a decision based on having seen both schools, but UAMS is really in for a hard sell if they expect to beat out UAB. This is great news!

The UAB Interview

My interview with UAB was fantastic!


I stayed on the tenth floor of the beautiful Doubletree hotel in Birmingham, and when I checked in, they gave me an unbelievable cookie.

We ate at the Macaroni Grill with UAB grad students, but the conversation was so interesting I could hardly think of food. We talked and laughed for hours.

The next day, I interviewed with five faculty members, and had a wonderful conversation with each of them, especially Dr. Lamartiniere, the program director. I could hardly contain myself! I must have asked those faculty more questions by a factor of ten than they asked me. I couldn't hear enough.

Near the end of my last interview, tornado sirens started blaring in the city, and I was driven straight to the airport after we were finished talking. When I got home, I was very happy about how everything went. If you want a more detailed run-down, click here.

Interviews Galore!

It's getting closer and closer to graduation day, and I am excited all over about it! But it's also extremely scary. This could be the biggest step I've ever taken toward an independent life, and now I have to worry about how I'm going to support myself and how I'm going to put my degree to good use. The worst part of graduating can be not knowing where you're going to go or what you're going to do.

Well, I know what I'd like to do and even where I'd like to go, but now I can feel a lot better because I know I am one step closer to getting there. I've been asked to come for an interview at the University of Alabama in Birmingham (UAB)! I'll be arriving April 3rd and staying through the 4th. Wow! The neat part is, UAB will pay for everything: plane ride, my hotel stay, and all my food! What?! That's nuts! I'll be sure to write an entry about it when it happens.

That's wonderful news! And on top of that, just today I received an email back from the University of Arkansas of Medical Sciences (UAMS), and they also seemed interested in having me visit. I'll keep you posted.

UPDATE: UAMS has indeed invited me to an interview! I will be going to Arkansas April 18th-19th. Wish me luck!

Jockey's Ridge Adventure 2008

For my last spring break, some great friends and I took a trip across to Jockey's Ridge State Park at Nags Head, NC in the Outer Banks!

It's the biggest and probably the most fun sand dune in eastern North America, and we spent our day sledding down the sandy slopes and soaking in the vista.