Why College X - Premed/Biological Chemistry

My goal in life is to develop medicines to treat different diseases such as diabetes, AIDS, or leukemia through biochemical research. Tulane University is the perfect place to start out. At Tulane I will graduate from the School of Science and Engineering having majored in Biological Chemistry. This major opens up doors for me that will allow me to participate in medical research and find the cures I desire. My aim might be too high but in the words of Ralph Waldo Emerson, "We aim above the mark to hit the mark."

In addition to the required courses of the major I will take CELL 4710: The Molecular Biology of Cancer as one of my electives which will give me exposure to one of the diseases I am interested in: leukemia. Hopefully in my sophomore year I will be able to conduct research with Dr. Frank Jones, who has experience with the EGFR-family, which has been related to tumor growth. By understanding more about the signal transductions that are mediated by the EFGR-family I will be able to learn more about tumor growth and get one step closer to my goal.

A club that I would be interested in joining is BEAST: Biology Enthusiasts Association for the Students of Tulane as it would provide me with connections with professors and upperclassmen that have similar interests. This would help me greatly because I would be more connected to the research programs that are going on and will have many opportunities to help with research.

When I'm not busy being a lab rat, Tulane offers many different programs and activities that I could have fun partaking in. One activity that I will definitely participate in is 8x8 outdoor intramural soccer. I love playing the sport but I'm not interested in playing extremely competitive soccer so playing it recreationally with my friends is the perfect way to have fun and stay in shape.

Other than all the evident reasons to attend Tulane, one of the most important for me is that I genuinely feel that Tulane cares about the community. Whether it's by the scientific research to find treatments for cancer or by the service-learning requirement, Tulane truly strives to make the world a better place. I plan on volunteering for as many CACTUS (Community Action Council of Tulane University Students) projects I can in order to become part of this history and make the world a little better.

Tulane offers me the ideal college life in which I will be able to pursue my interest in the sciences, serve the community and have an enjoyable social life. I believe it will prepare me to meet Emerson's challenge to "hit the mark." This is why I want to attend.

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