Dear Madeline (or whoever else is reading), I can’t believe this fellowship is already over. You’ve come a long way since 10 weeks ago, and done a lot of work. Looking back on the first letter, I can’t help but laugh a little at your excitement to start the second part of your project –…
Category: Madeline Parks
Testimonial: A statement testifying to benefits received
Hello all, for almost the last time! I’ve had a great time in this program. I met a lot of great people, got to continue in a lab that I really like, and of course I got paid to do work that I enjoy. One thing that I really liked about the program was the…
A song wherein almost every lyric is relevant (9A)
I feel that the following song sums up my experience in this fellowship quite well. [su_youtube_advanced url=”https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bFwEcRqHJnA” rel=”no”] I realize it sounds silly and cliché, but hear my out as I add some (unnecessary?) interpretation. First of all, I am really tired. I get up early, go to bed late, and I work a lot.…
Opportunities and Challenges: Am I gritty, or is my mindset too fixed?
Hello everyone! Welcome to my blog post based on yesterday’s (7/17) seminar about grit! Hopefully I also manage to respond to the actual blog prompt at some point. To start, let me give a brief history/timeline of my “passions” and interests over the past few years. My first few passions were American Girl and Harry…
WAGSFP Programming Reflection: Wow, I don’t get out much
Hello all! This blog prompt has made me realize how little I do anything besides go to work/seminar and then back home. That being said, I do have a pretty good time at seminars when we’re all chilling out and chatting (or spilling UROP tea on camera). Although I haven’t gotten to know many fellows…
Only Child, or Free Blog: A shorty story from 11th grade, and a bit of commentary on its creation
Hey y’all! I hope you had a good Fourth of July! My blog post today is partly a bit about my life, partly an old piece of writing I did for my English class in eleventh grade. To give you some context, this is the first (and only!) piece of creative writing I’ve done since…
A Day in the Life…
Good morning everyone! Although it’s been a bit of an unusual week (just in time for the “day in the life” post, of course), I’ve come up with a model day of my work at my lab, including some pictures and videos. Most of the videos don’t have interesting sound because I don’t want to…
Reading Reflection: Doing Harm
I recently read (or, I’m in the process of reading) the book Doing Harm by Maya Dusenbery. It’s about the experience of women in the context of medicine and science – as patients and subjects, as well as providers – throughout history and now. I think it’s really relevant to my research and this program, since…
The Impact of My Research
My research project is investigating the effects of mom’s having had bariatric surgery (specifically, vertical sleeve gastrectomy, or VSG) on their offspring. Clinical and rat trials have shown that the offspring of moms who’ve had VSG tend to have low birth weights (“intrauterine growth restriction”) and have metabolic problems later in life. My project has…
About Me
Hey guys! My name is Madeline Sabine Parks, I am 18 and a half years old (as of yesterday), and I just finished my first year at the University of Michigan. I am double majoring in Biochemistry and Gender & Health, with a minor in French, and I play rugby on the UM club team.…