tag:blogs.targetx.com,2009:/osu/nice_genes//161 2009-05-26T03:48:50Z Movable Type 3.34 tag:blogs.targetx.com,2009:/osu/nice_genes//161.10371 2009-05-26T03:39:43Z 2009-05-26T03:48:50Z

I took this picture at Hocking Hills State Park, which is about an hour south of Columbus. I went down with some photography buff friends sort of on the spur of the moment and got some fun pictures of...

nice_genes I took this picture at Hocking Hills State Park, which is about an hour south of Columbus. I went down with some photography buff friends sort of on the spur of the moment and got some fun pictures of my own. (Theirs are much better.) It was a nice day for a hike except for the humidity and it was good to spend time with some buddies that I haven't seen in awhile. Hocking Hills is home to natural scenery, trails, cabins and lodges, arts and antiques shops, and many other activities, so there's something for everyone. I hadn't been there in a very long time, and it's certainly nice to have such a large park so close to campus.]]> tag:blogs.targetx.com,2009:/osu/nice_genes//161.10367 2009-05-23T12:28:10Z 2009-05-23T12:44:15Z

Here are some of my projects for Art 342, Wheel-throwing ceramics. Enjoy! And here is why I think I should go into baking business part-time:...

nice_genes And here is why I think I should go into baking business part-time: tag:blogs.targetx.com,2009:/osu/nice_genes//161.10366 2009-05-22T11:37:27Z 2009-05-22T11:58:20Z

I may have said this before, but I often think that my academic career might have had a different course if I had encountered different mentors throughout my life. Most of the time I'm referring to my lack of real...

nice_genes second student from OSU's MFA program in three years, and the previous winner, Christopher Coake, was also a Herman protege. Now I am not nearly vainglorious enough to think that if I were under Dr. Herman's tutelage, I would follow readily in Pollock and Coake's footsteps. But from our conversations in class and office hours, I think she is exactly the sort of mother figure I'd need to nurture my creative work. I've written before about the preponderance of men in academia, particularly in the field of science, and while most of my male professors have been brilliant, I have not been able to make the final emotional connection that could drive me through a rigorous research or creative endeavor with them. And with just one or two exceptions, my female professors have not really been available for that sort of nurturing relationship either...there's always talk bandied about of women having to act like men in order to succeed in academia, etc etc. But don't get me wrong, I respect all my professors immensely, and it is really more a matter of my personality that requires intense relational bonding to achieve great things. You will hear from a lot of people how important it is to find a mentor in research, personal growth, spiritual health, etc. and I could not agree more. Students are hungrier for personal attention, encouragement, and advocacy than I think they even realize themselves, and that is what I'm really going into the teaching business for. If it were primarily about the biology (which I do love too), there are far more lucrative and less frustrating professions to enter, but I really care most about the students. This was my last week tutoring at COSI for the year and as I said goodbye to one of the girls I'd worked with all year, I definitely felt a tug on the heartstrings. I am probably going to be one of those teachers who cries at the end of the year when her students leave, but frankly I'm okay with that because I believe that "a good teacher is like a candle, consuming itself to light the way for others."]]> tag:blogs.targetx.com,2009:/osu/nice_genes//161.10302 2009-05-12T15:12:43Z 2009-05-12T15:39:02Z

I've been getting OSU Weekly, the e-mail newsletter for graduate and professional students for several months now, and this week I got access to the course content for my master's classes on Carmen. So far all we've done is post...

nice_genes Wild At Heart]]> tag:blogs.targetx.com,2009:/osu/nice_genes//161.10276 2009-05-08T04:43:04Z 2009-05-08T05:09:03Z

I probably shouldn't be writing this when I am really tired and apt to be crankier than I'd like, but I doubt I'll get around to it later. Maybe I was naive about journalistic integrity, but half of the "Duann...

nice_genes this article are blatant fabrications. In his e-mail interview, the writer requested, "Please give me some quotes to work with when answering." And apparently mine weren't good enough, because he saw the need to make up some of his own. The article don't misrepresent me in any sort of negative light, but making things up that sound good is just not a good journalistic practice in general. Am I alone in thinking that? This is the second incident this week that has me wondering about the state of academic and personal integrity these days. (Yes, I know I sound old and stodgy, but that's the standard complaint of the morally ambivalent.) Earlier this week I found out that the logo I designed for a campus event last year has been reused this year and modified without asking or letting me know. Again, it's not really about my own intellectual property being compromised, but the assumption this year's students made, that anything used in previous years was okay to use freely, is slightly alarming. Back in February a chemistry TA was fired for telling students how to fudge their lab reports without doing any work. It is not okay to take things and modify them to suit your needs. You cannot do it with laboratory results, even if it's a Chemistry 101 lab. You cannot do it with research papers, even if it's for English 110. And you cannot do it for a newspaper article, even if it's for a school paper like The Lantern. It is a bad habit to get into, and if you do it in the professional or academic world, you will be punished severely. I hope I'm not alone in realizing this. Haven't decided what to do about the Lantern article. (The previous two were not a problem.) Maybe a letter to the editor, but I suspect the editorial staff condone, if not outright approve, of this behavior. Disgruntled, Jenn]]> tag:blogs.targetx.com,2009:/osu/nice_genes//161.10240 2009-05-05T12:41:24Z 2009-05-05T13:55:16Z

This weekend was the formal for Chi Alpha Christian Fellowship. Sometimes when people hear our name they think we are part of the Greek system, and while we are not a sorority, we are definitely sisters. (I like to think...

nice_genes (I like to think we have some of the most eligible single women on campus. Our guys are great...but somehow they just don't measure up to that my standard... ^_-) I always wondered whether I wouldn't enjoy being part of Greek life as I've always longed for that sort of close friendship that sororities seem to promise. But I also knew I wouldn't fit in with the [stereo]typical college culture, so I never seriously considered joining one. Fortunately, I found my own family away from home with Chi Alpha. My faith is an important part of my life, and here I found people who lived like they knew God loves them and challenged me to do the same. I've formed lifelong friendships through the years here, even as we welcome new girls every fall to continue passing the torch, as it were. These women are probably whom I would miss most if I left Columbus, so I'm glad to be here for at least another year.]]> tag:blogs.targetx.com,2009:/osu/nice_genes//161.10213 2009-05-02T01:51:11Z 2009-05-02T02:02:23Z

Well, it has been a very interesting Uno De Mayo indeed! There was a tornado warning from about 6:00-6:30 pm, cutting short my English 596 class viewing of West Side Story. (When I got home, though, it happened to be...

nice_genes here. I wonder what this will do for President Gee's plan to mandate campus housing for sophomores...with more students in the residence halls, there is definitely an increased chance of disease outbreaks spreading. Currently OSU requires campus housing residences to get meningococcus vaccinations, but not any others that I am aware of. Maybe this will change soon?]]> tag:blogs.targetx.com,2009:/osu/nice_genes//161.10185 2009-04-29T21:46:20Z 2009-04-29T22:09:19Z

Sometimes I wonder whether I should not have just picked one or the other of my two majors. More than once in my four years (usually as I was gnashing my teeth over some chemistry, physics, or mol gen exam)...

nice_genes only majoring in English, 1) I'd probably be done in three years; and 2) I'd probably have a 4.0 GPA. But then I always reassured myself with the thought, "But I wouldn't have a job after graduation." (That argument is failing in the face of the sour economy in which jobs are hard to come by for anyone...so it's off to grad school for me!) There are boatloads of English classes I wish I could have taken. More creative writing courses, in particular, and maybe more digital media courses. Today my 596 professor told me mine was the best short written assignment she had received from the class, and my H590.04 professor suggested I submit my digital media project from his class last spring for the Digital Media Award for Undergraduate Work. Frankly, though, I know that neither is my best work and that, with more time and effort, I could do a lot better. But I was probably in an o-chem class instead, or physics, or EEOB, or mol gen. If I had majored only in English, I probably would have done a senior thesis. I never did one because I thought juggling two majors for Honors Contract was quite enough. (And I was probably right.) But I sort of wish I had some sort of culminating paper or project or thing to say, "This is what I worked four years for." Instead, I'll end up with two diplomas, and a ticket to graduate school to be a teacher who will likely never teach 75% of what she learned in college because high school biology is just not that in-depth. But you know what? I don't really regret double-majoring. I certainly would not give up molecular genetics because it is the cutting edge of biological science. I'm glad I stuck with English because otherwise I think I would have read nothing but textbooks and journals for the past four years, and that would have been a shame. I've been introduced to some amazing works and authors through my studies and I think our English faculty are really top-notch. (Same goes for biological sciences.) And really, English and molecular genetics are not as disparate as people may think; though the subject matter differs, the analytical skills needed to succeed in both are the same. I may not have been able to go as deeply into either field as someone who only has one major, but I maintained and broadened my interests and I believe that is the purpose of university: to cultivate a love of learning. If I could do it over, I could think of three or four other majors I probably would have loved just as much. That said, double-majoring is a lot of work and certainly not for everyone, but I encourage everyone to at least take some courses that aren't required for your major and make the most of their time at OSU.]]> tag:blogs.targetx.com,2009:/osu/nice_genes//161.10130 2009-04-26T03:50:49Z 2009-04-26T04:11:38Z

My mom asked me a good question the other day: "Out of the four places you've lived in the past four years, which was your favorite?" Now, this is slightly difficult for me to answer completely objectively because I have...

nice_genes My mom asked me a good question the other day: "Out of the four places you've lived in the past four years, which was your favorite?" Now, this is slightly difficult for me to answer completely objectively because I have very strong emotional associations with specific location, so my perception of a place is highly influenced by what happens in my life while I'm living there. That said, it's probably a close contest between Neilwood Gables sophomore year and the apartment I'm staying in now. They are about the same size, except now I have the entire place to myself. While I do relish the privacy, I liked my roommate sophomore year and sometimes living by myself can make me a little daffy. Freshman year in Taylor Tower wasn't bad; the only major complaint I have is that it is so terribly far away from everything. My roommates were nice enough, although it was a little strange to have seven people sleeping in one room by the end of the year counting boyfriends. I probably wouldn't choose to live with three other people again, decided mostly by my experience last year. Of course, it was really a combination of shoddy landlord relations, noisy neighbors, roommate issues, several personal hardships, and the complete impossibility of effectively heating or cooling three floors of a townhouse that make me look back on 176 W 9th Avenue with mild horror. Things are going better in this apartment now, but I am definitely looking forward to getting away from campus-area living as soon as humanly possible. tag:blogs.targetx.com,2009:/osu/nice_genes//161.10102 2009-04-23T03:38:32Z 2009-04-23T03:50:32Z

Apparently I've become a minor OSU celebrity, having appeared in the Lantern two days in a row (yesterday for Next Chapter Book Club, today for Jeopardy). And now I am a little worried about being the object of too much...

nice_genes Apparently I've become a minor OSU celebrity, having appeared in the Lantern two days in a row (yesterday for Next Chapter Book Club, today for Jeopardy). And now I am a little worried about being the object of too much attention...well, let's just say that a stranger has contacted me through electronic channels I thought I'd closed off and that makes me a little uneasy. It might just be a coincidence, but I kind of doubt it, as I know this person is in the OSU community. So if I am distinctly laconic on this blog for a while, that is probably why. In other news, it is still winter in central Ohio, with low temperatures right around freezing. By Saturday, the high will be 85 degrees. The poor bikini-clad denizens of South Beach Oval must be very confused indeed. I have severe senioritis. Everyone is in a dither about scheduling classes for next fall and I'm just kind of like "Meh," even though I actually need to schedule for summer. But my master's orientation isn't until May, and I doubt I'll be crowded out of graduate level courses, so I'm not worried. I have an appointment next Friday with my honors adviser to fill out my graduation application, my friend's black gown is ready and waiting in my closet, and the weeks slowly tick down for my undergraduate career... tag:blogs.targetx.com,2009:/osu/nice_genes//161.10028 2009-04-19T01:42:28Z 2009-04-19T01:56:07Z

I brought my bike to campus this week for the first time in my four years here, mostly to get to and from the ceramics studio in Hopkins Hall on north campus a little faster. The jury is still out...

nice_genes I brought my bike to campus this week for the first time in my four years here, mostly to get to and from the ceramics studio in Hopkins Hall on north campus a little faster. The jury is still out on this idea, since traversing campus on bike is definitely different from going on foot. (Especially in the spring, now that the Oval has once again been transformed to South Beach and there are all manner of flying objects whizzing through the air.) It's also handy for getting to and from Target in the Lennox center without waiting for the bus. I'm essentially taking my summer vacation this quarter, as my real summer break is exactly one week long. It's a strange feeling, knowing this is my last ten weeks as an undergraduate. It's also funny hearing friends bemoaning midterms and homework when I have very few of either. I'd ask why the rest of my college career wasn't like this, but the answer is simple: if I'd taken the past four years as easily as this quarter, I definitely wouldn't be graduating on time! Two months and counting... tag:blogs.targetx.com,2009:/osu/nice_genes//161.9905 2009-04-08T19:56:19Z 2009-04-08T20:19:37Z

Over winter break my classmates and I went to London for ten days, which was a tremendous amount of fun. Among other places, I went to Kew Gardens, St. Paul's Cathedral, Westminster Abbey, the British Museum, Stonehenge and Uffington, Bath...

nice_genes Over winter break my classmates and I went to London for ten days, which was a tremendous amount of fun. Among other places, I went to Kew Gardens, St. Paul's Cathedral, Westminster Abbey, the British Museum, Stonehenge and Uffington, Bath and Oxford, the Victoria and Albert Museum, Harrod's, and Les Miserables at Queen's Theatre. Unfortunately, this was probably the high point of winter quarter for me. The excitement of starting college was wearing off and though my classes were still fun, I was quickly realizing that all of the "friends" I had made really didn't know me well at all. A lot of the freshmen I've talked to in years since have reported the same sort of experience. Fall quarter everyone is running around meeting people, but by winter quarter people are less interested in hanging out except with their more select group of friends. I did not manage to settle in with new friends as well as others, and my old friends from high school seemed to largely disappear, even the ones who were at OSU too. I don't blame them for this, it just sort of happened, but it did seem to usher in a low period in personal life. My classes, on the other hand, were not bad. For the first two years I slaved away through the galleys of general and organic chemistry and entry-level physics, so not much interesting happened there, but I did get started on my English major courses. Winter 2006 I took English 265, which was beginning creative fiction writing. The class gave me the opportunity to explore some personal issues through writing and revealed things I didn't even know had been brewing under the surface. Writing has always been therapeutic for me and there wasn't any pressure to write a masterpiece, so it was a good choice. On a lighter note, I also discovered very quickly the fastest ways to get across campus to avoid the biting cold, and the importance of warm fuzzy boots. tag:blogs.targetx.com,2009:/osu/nice_genes//161.9851 2009-04-05T02:34:03Z 2009-04-05T03:05:11Z

Even my "last" quarter is bringing plenty of firsts. My first studio class, Art 342 (Wheel Throwing), is proving to be more time and labor-intensive than expected, but so far it is fun and satisfying. It's good to practice what...

nice_genes more classes, I'm not sure if I have necessarily learned more in the rush to cram in six midterms in one quarter.) See the Lantern article here.]]> tag:blogs.targetx.com,2009:/osu/nice_genes//161.9788 2009-04-01T01:29:09Z 2009-04-01T01:35:31Z

You take a deep breath and you walk through the doors It's the morning of your very first day And you say hi to your friends you ain't seen in a while Try and stay out of everybody's way ("FIfteen"...

nice_genes You take a deep breath and you walk through the doors It's the morning of your very first day And you say hi to your friends you ain't seen in a while Try and stay out of everybody's way ("FIfteen" by Taylor Swift) No matter how old I get, I just love first days of class. (I suppose that's one of the reasons I like the quarter system...three first days a year instead of two!) You never know who you're going to meet, both students and professors, and the hopeful prospect of a new quarter, like so many sheets of blank notebook paper, is always exhilarating. So this quarter I will be spending my time watching Broadway musicals, throwing clay, and reading the Bible. I could not ask for a better end to my undergraduate career! tag:blogs.targetx.com,2009:/osu/nice_genes//161.9744 2009-03-29T13:34:19Z 2009-03-29T13:38:44Z

For some reason, February seemed to drag on and on and on, but March has completely passed me by. Between traveling to Philadelphia, finals, and a spring break jaunt to Atlanta, I suddenly find myself on April's doorstep. I suppose...

nice_genes For some reason, February seemed to drag on and on and on, but March has completely passed me by. Between traveling to Philadelphia, finals, and a spring break jaunt to Atlanta, I suddenly find myself on April's doorstep. I suppose next year's freshman class is quivering with anticipation of their acceptance letters, but I have already decided to accept a Graduate Enrichment Fellowship to get my M.Ed at Ohio State next year. Here's to another year of Buckeye greatness! In other news... ... ... ... I am going to be on the Jeopardy College Tournament. More details forthcoming, but I will be flying to L.A. for the taping in about two weeks, and the tournament will air the first week of May. It is still sinking in even though I found out over a week ago. Now I need to go buy another OSU sweatshirt...