As much as I try to make New Orleans feel like my new home, I'm just stuck in the mindset that it's nothing more than a temporary arrangement. Adjusting to a new city that is very different from any other place that I have lived has had a large strain on me. I knew not to set my expectations for graduate school too high, as nothing could ever top my four years of undergrad at the University of Miami and UNC-Chapel Hill. Still, I try to capitalize on my time and the experiences that Tulane, New Orleans, and graduate school as a whole has to offer.
The first semester has not been too challenging to be quite honest, comparable to freshmen year of undergrad. Besides my constant battle with epidemiology, mastering course content, as reflected in my grades, has not even required as much effort as my final two years of undergraduate. In undergrad, maintaining a competitive academic record required a lot of time and effort. In graduate school, I'd be lying if I did not say I've been putting in minimal effort. Maybe that will change as I dig deeper into higher level, concentration-focused coursework. In terms of the caliber of students, Tulane's School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine attracts a very wide-range of individuals; from individuals who just graduated undergrad in May, to people who've returned from the Peace Corps and/or career changers such as myself. For the most part, most students are very focused and hard working, however there are a few individuals that tend to make me raise my eyebrows. All of the professors that I have had the chance to learn from this semester are really knowledgeable in their content areas. Of all the public health programs that I researched, applied to, and was accepted to, Tulane definitely offered the best overall curriculum, which aligned perfectly with my public health and career interests. As I get further into my international health, program design, implementation, and evaluation, and maternal child and heath courses, I'm sure that I'll have a more optimistic perspective on the academics. For now, everything is very introductory, which can seem boring, tedious, and irrelevant at times.
The Academics: The Easy "A"
The first semester has not been too challenging to be quite honest, comparable to freshmen year of undergrad. Besides my constant battle with epidemiology, mastering course content, as reflected in my grades, has not even required as much effort as my final two years of undergraduate. In undergrad, maintaining a competitive academic record required a lot of time and effort. In graduate school, I'd be lying if I did not say I've been putting in minimal effort. Maybe that will change as I dig deeper into higher level, concentration-focused coursework. In terms of the caliber of students, Tulane's School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine attracts a very wide-range of individuals; from individuals who just graduated undergrad in May, to people who've returned from the Peace Corps and/or career changers such as myself. For the most part, most students are very focused and hard working, however there are a few individuals that tend to make me raise my eyebrows. All of the professors that I have had the chance to learn from this semester are really knowledgeable in their content areas. Of all the public health programs that I researched, applied to, and was accepted to, Tulane definitely offered the best overall curriculum, which aligned perfectly with my public health and career interests. As I get further into my international health, program design, implementation, and evaluation, and maternal child and heath courses, I'm sure that I'll have a more optimistic perspective on the academics. For now, everything is very introductory, which can seem boring, tedious, and irrelevant at times.
The Student Body: Small Yet Powerful
As I pinpointed above, the student body is very diverse. If I had one bone to pick with the student body composition at Tulane's School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine when comparing it to other programs, such as the MPH programs at Emory's Rollins School of Public an Johns Hopkins' Bloomberg School of Public Health, it would be that the students tend to be younger, and to not possess the same level of experience in the working world. A large concentration of the students are recent graduates, many of whom just finished their bachelor's degrees in May. At times, this implication makes it very hard to relate with others. While many of them have had the chance to study and volunteer abroad, as well as hold various internships during their undergraduate studies, many of them have never been out in the real world; never worked in a professional environment, having to collaborate in a real-world manner. Working on a group project for an upper level course in undergraduate is a lot different than designing and implementing a million dollar fundraising and advocacy campaign to eradicate cardiovascular diseases and stroke. I do not view myself as better than them, though I do believe that I am older, wiser, and more experienced than them. When you have real world experience, you have a lot more to contribute in classroom discussions and hallway conversations.
On a separate note, many of the students are still stuck in what I will term "undergraduate socialization" mode. New Orleans is infamous for its drinking culture, more so than Miami. Being out of undergrad for the past three years and not exposed to the undergraduate culture, I've lost touch with drinking and "going out". I believe in having a good time, however I do not believe that one has to drink to the point of "blacking out", and to the point where one's decisions become questionable. Walking down the halls of Tidewater, I overhear stories about people's weekend, and how they got so messed up, to the extent where they cannot even remember what they did. At 26, I'm not dying or anything, though I've experienced my fair share of debauchery and questionable moments, I'm looking for something more meaningful than a night that seems blurry the next morning, and I do not find having a banging headache the entire next day entirely fun.
Probably the most troubling component of the student body for me, is the gender distribution within the School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine. Working in the nonprofit world, I do understand that there's a large gender divide, when compared to other industries, i.e. finance, law, and medicine. However, I did not expect to be one of three men in my particular concentration. I have no problem with socializing with females, I mean I do love me some girls. Though a man needs his bros, and time away from the females to "bro out". Not having that testosterone heavy outlet has not been easy for me. Coming from a very masculine heavy social life in Washington DC, I've been struggling with the lack of potential bros in the program.
Social Life: I'm Dancing On My Own
As in any academic environment, of course there are going to be different cliques, each divided by cultural, racial, ethnic, and other factors. I've never been one to segregate myself to one specific group. I do not like to be tied down, I'm a leader not a follower. As I have already expressed, finding my niche within the School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine has not been particularly easy. While I have met many individuals, and have made many new friends, I'm still not where I would like to be socially. Since I have not managed to find that fit at Tulane, I've been expanding my outreach to other clubs, organizations, and activities in New Orleans. I have not had much time to explore these other areas, though I'm hoping to find my fit within the Jewish community, PLAYNOLA kickball league, and other social outlets. I have no plans to extend my stay in New Orleans after December 2015, though it would be nice to have a few guys to shoot the bricks with once in a while. If all else fails, there's always Tinder and JDate to keep me busy. Joke..Haha.
The Graduate School-15
There's no doubt that New Orleans has the best food in the nation, if not the world. As an aspiring foodie, I've had a great time diving into all of the different cuisine that "The Big Easy" has to offer. Sadly, I'm sure this has resulted in unwanted weight gain. Battling a chronic condition that triggers pain in my core and back, makes it especially hard to workout to the extent that I used to before being diagnosed. I just started seeing a physical therapist in New Orleans, so I'm hoping that this will alleviate the pain and allow me to pursue my health, wellness and fitness endeavor in the near future.
The Skinny
It's been a harder time adapting to graduate school than I had imagined. Academically, I'm settled, though there's still plenty room to grow in other areas. Until next time, keep paddling.
