When I first enrolled in the Neurochemistry Capstone course, I was a little unsure of what I was getting myself into. But, now that I am quickly approaching the end of the semester and thus the end of this class, I am finding myself a little nostalgic. I have loved every second of this course, as it certainly represents the concept of a capstone course. Concordia’s mission is for students to BREW (become responsibly engaged in the world). Neurochemistry has represented the mission well, as well as aligning with the goals of a liberal education.
Being a biology major, I was a little nervous when I started the course. My general chemistry and biochemistry courses were the only things that I thought would help me out with learning neurochemistry content. However, I found that a lot of the mechanisms and structures that we were learning were things that I was able to understanding fairly well. I really appreciated that I was able to use my foundational skills from other courses to incorporate information across disciplines. I also found out that a lot of neurochemistry involves quite a bit of background from my biology courses. Knowing that I was going to be able to pull previously learned information from my brain made class a lot more enjoyable. Interdisciplinary work is something that Concordia strives for, with neurochemistry not being an exception to their goal for learning.
The concept of BREW was definitely illustrated through this course. Through our Wednesday speed-dating, Friday conversations and blog-posts, I found myself becoming more socially engaged with my peers, many of whom I did not know well at the beginning of the semester. The Friday sessions were pure discussions about the topic that we had gone over for the week. We were able to discuss ethical, cultural, and personal opinions on the topic at hand, an experience I had not had in any previous classes. It was interesting to hear what others had to say about some pretty controversial topics. I also really enjoyed learning new information that I had not known previously. The blog post also gave us another opportunity to showcase our knowledge and opinions about the weekly topic. It also allowed us to connect with the community, spreading knowledge about topics that they may not know much about! Even if not many people read my blogs, I hope that I was able impact some people within the community with my thoughts!
My specific capstone project that I worked on all semester with both neurochem and social work students was on the topic of anxiety. We chose to specifically target the teachers on campus in order to have a “trickle down” effect on the students. I really believe that we were able to succeed with our faculty and staff workshop. This project was challenging, but it allowed me to expand my friendships into other disciplines, while also learning how to navigate through a “real world” issue that exists within our society.
Throughout my entire four years at Concordia, I have fallen deeply in love with learning, so as much to pursue a career that will immerse me in education for years to come. Specifically, neurochemistry has contributed to my love of learning. Learning about topics that are prevalent within the community and may contribute to my work as a physician really stimulated my learning within the course. The environment of students that I have been able to work with throughout the semesters have been phenomenal. Also, having a professor that shares the same passions as you makes learning even more fun and worthwhile. Overall, this was a class for the books. It is hard to find professors that are willing to hold a class in such an environment.
My Neurochemistry Experience
