If something can be so bad that it is good. Can this post be so late that it is.....early?

I sincerely apologize for the lack of posting lately. If your quarter is going anything like mine, you will understand completely.

Never the less! I have some exciting scholarship information to share with you.

The Morris K. Udall Foundation (government affiliated)is pleased to offer students the Morris K. Udall Scholarship. We only nominated one person from SCCC last year, which is rather sad. If you qualify for this scholarship, I urge you to apply! The process and requirements for applying follow below.


The Morris K. Udall Foundation offers 80 scholarships, in the amount of $5,000 each, to students who are:

1. Committed to a career related to the environment across the fields of science, education, engineering, or social sciences OR

2. Committed to a career in tribal public policy OR

3. Committed to a career in tribal health care
(Only Native Americans and Alaskan Natives may apply for the tribal scholarships)**

To be eligible a student must:

1. Have sophomore standing

2. Plan to complete at least two more years of full-time undergraduate study beginning in the fall of 2009

3. Have a minimum gpa of 3.0

4. Be a U.S. citizen, U.S. national, or U.S. permanent resident


You must be nominated to be considered for these scholarships

Students may not apply to the Udall Foundation directly. They must be chosen and registered as nominees from the college. Each Udall Faculty Representative may nominate a maximum of six students for further consideration. All nominees must be officially registered by the Faculty Representative. In order to be considered as a Seattle Central nominee, interested students should:

• Go to the Udall Foundation website at www.Udall.gov and either download the PDF version of the application or complete the WORD version

• Submit the completed application, the required 800-word essay and three letters of recommendation to Nada Oakley , Udall Faculty Representative, by 2-20-09. Bring completed application materials to BE4106B by the February 20th deadline.

Additional questions? Contact Nada at noakle@sccd.ctc.edu or by phone at 587-2928.

**The Udall Foundation defines Native American or Alaska Native as an individual who is a member of an Indian tribe or band, as membership is defined by the tribe or band, including tribes or bands terminated since 1940 and any tribe recognized by the state in which the tribe or band resides. Students who are first or second degree descendants of a member of a tribe or band also qualify. Students who are considered by the Secretary of the Interior to be an Indian for any purpose and those who are Eskimo, Aleut, or other Alaskan Native may apply.

A Malaria Vaccine - Safe for Human Trials?

SBRI (Seattle Biomedical Research Institute) will be hosting a public event where SBRI's Stefan Kappe, Ph.D. will be presenting his current research, which is "focused on moving a malaria vaccine candidate into human trials this year". A panel discussion will be initiated, followed by a networking ceremony after the discussion.

SBRI also has a Global Health College Intern Program, through which summer internships at the institute are offered. You can find out more about this program at http://www.sbri.org/Home/

UW Lecture Series Kickoff

The UW (Department of) Molecular Medicine is providing a free lecture series that will run throughout the year. The poster for the first lecture can be found below.



I find that lectures are surprisingly enjoyable when I know that I will not be tested on the material (at least not in the near future). I have also found that attending lectures on different campuses is an efficient way to expand my current network.

Directions can be found here:
http://depts.washington.edu/molmed/seminars/directions.html

New Internship Opportunity for Environmental Science Majors

The University of Washington, Department of Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences (DEOHS) in the School of Public Health is pleased to offer an outstanding summer research opportunity for sophomores, juniors and non-graduated seniors who have strong science backgrounds and an interest in environmental health research.

The Environmental Health Research Experience Program (EH-REP) is a nine week research experience. Successful applicants are paired with DEOHS faculty and mentored through a research project that usually intersects ongoing faculty research projects. Each participant receives a $5200 stipend for the summer. The strongest applicants will have good grades in their biology and/or chemistry science courses and will have an interest in environmental factors that adversely affect human health.

You can learn more and apply online at www.ehrep.washington.edu If you have questions, feel free to email James Meadows at ehug@u.washington.edu or call me at 206-616-4177. Underrepresented students are strongly encouraged to apply!

Priority Application Deadline: February 2, 2009.
Dates: June 22 to August 21


What are you all waiting for!?

Bits and Pieces

1. Rote Memorization
Some of you may find that you need to apply the wonderful skill of memorization for some concepts in science and math (especially A&P and for your language classes).

If you wish to preserve paper and keep your apartment clean like I do, you can use an online flashcard website here.

I like this site for many reasons. I still have to make the flashcards so the encoding process still occurs and I can upload images and drawings if I want to supplement my cards. When using them I can either choose to answer each flashcard in a text box and get immediate feedback or I can just skip to the answer. You can also share your flashcards with your colleagues for them to use as practice test questions. As an additional bonus, the site is free and does not give me pop-ups or spam.

However, it can run slow sometimes and you are limited to characters in your response so it is better for things like nomenclature and definitions.

2. The Green Microgym
This 2,800 sq foot gym has just recently opened by a former school teacher. Based in Portland, Oregon, the gym runs completely on renewable energy. Solar powered and human powered energy (from workouts on the equipment) are the two resources of energy that the gym uses for their utilities.

I think this is pretty cool and wanted to share it. Apparently in Japan they are taking things one step further and have a nightclub which harvests energy from the dancers to use for lighting within the night club. I think it is important that entrepreneurs are starting to test this idea out, as nonrenewable energy resources are not going to be around forever.

More Transfer Talk

If you are transferring for Fall 2009, chances are that you are wound pretty tight right now. If I have to fill out one more form with my name, address, and personal and academic goals I think I might start to drool. Why did I choose my major again? Let me revise for the sixteenth time why I deserve to go to your school. Blah blah passion blah blah academic excellence.......

My bitter rant aside, Annika Mertz at the SCCC Transfer Center has been very helpful in expediting this process. There are computers in the transfer center so you can just camp out there for a day filling out your awful, awful common application and its like having someone in your pocket to help you navigate through some of the more convoluted questions.

She is offering several college transfer workshops during this quarter as well. There is one in particular that I think every student should take called "How To Write Your Personal Statement". Check them out on the calender (scroll to the bottom of the page)! It has some nifty stuff on it aside from workshops.

You can browse any of the calender events simply by clicking on the link and asking for more details. Please do not hesitate to email me at samfeedback@gmail.com for any corrections in names, dates, etc.

Enjoy your first week of Winter Quarter!

SCCC Biotechnology Program = No more. Also, hello winter quarter

Next year, instead of the 2 year Biotechnology program offered by SCCC, the school hopes to offer a two course series that will be transferable to four year colleges such as UW. This decision was made based on a student survey that was made available to biology students last quarter. Thanks to all the students that took a moment to take the survey!

In other news, school starts in 2 days! Be sure to check out the website calender (which I will admit, sorely needed updating) for upcoming events occurring throughout the quarter. See you on campus soon!