LECOM at Seton Hill had an Open House today from 1-4pm. Lorin and I arrived later than I had planned, around 3:30. While I didn’t come across too many other students that late in the day, I was able to talk a little bit longer with our Anatomy professor during our tour. She is the only member of the Basic Science faculty that is a D.O.; the rest have PhD’s. I know this because mini biographies of the faculty were sent out earlier this week. I was especially interested in meeting her because her bio listed her as a pianist. I can’t really claim to be a pianist anymore because it’s been so long since I’ve played, but I took lessons from age 4 – 18, and it was pretty much my life all through high school. We chatted a bit about our musical histories and I think I made a decent impression.

One of my regrets in undergrad was that I didn’t forge any relationships with my professors. Getting letters of rec for med school was a bit of a struggle because of it. I managed to get a letter from an MSU prof that I worked for my last two years there, and my other was from a professor from OU, to whom I never really spoke in or outside of class. Needless to say acquiring those letters was a source of great stress. My goal for medical school is form better and genuine relationships with my professors. I tend to be timid around professors and I’m not particularly great at faking interest. So to meet a professor that has similar interests is exciting.

The school itself is very beautiful. For those who don’t know – I am attending Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine. The main campus is in Erie, PA. This year, to meet the demands of an anticipated physician shortage, they expanded their enrollment and leased (I think) space from Seton Hill University in Greensburg, PA. The schools aren’t affiliated other than a Premed Scholars program at Seton Hill where qualified students can have guaranteed enrollment to LECOM. All the space occupied by LECOM has been renovated and looks brand new. Even though we are the first class at this location, I’m not nervous.

This will be an interesting week. It’s the first time in years that I’ve had to go to bed. When I worked nights at the Red Cross, I mostly went to bed whenever (usually, but not always when I got home) and I rarely set an alarm clock to wake up. I’ve completely reverted back to a normal sleep schedule though. Since we’ve been living in PA, I wake up naturally around 9am. Until I figure out exactly how much time I need to get ready and how long the morning commute to school is (read: know the very latest time I can sleep in til), I’m going to get up at 6am.

Alright – here I go.

For tomorrow: First Day of School Photo, summary of my day, etc.