Talking about science to people with no science background is a really valuable skill to learn. When going into the medical field, being able to communicate to patients how their body is reacting or responding to certain treatments is imperative.
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In my LIFESTEM class, we got the opportunity to do our own little poster presentation on the 1st floor of Chichester. We had to prepare a presentation based on our desired career path and what it will take to get there. This was such a fun and interactive way to make sure that we were prepared for our future. It is also really interesting to see how many people do not realize how much work you have to do to become a dentist. My dental presentation outlined how to prepare for the application to dental school and the statistics about being a general dentist. Then Dr. Alix Fink invited professors and we got to invite our friends to come to see us at our presentation. What I took as the most valuable part of this activity was being able to portray the importance of your work/the topic you are explaining clearly. If not, the listener is unengaged and uninterested. I will be able to use these skills to talk to patients about why their oral health matters in relation to their entire body.
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One of the strangest math classes I have ever taken was my HONS: MATH 301 applied statistics class. We had a semester-long project where we visited a local sheep farm, conducted primary literature research, and analyzed current statistics of the farm in relation to sheep genetics. The point of the project was to help the farmer to be able to produce the highest yield of the product while using his resources effectively. I really enjoyed this class because I had the opportunity to incorporate science into our project. We even used the scientific method to make sure all of the influencing variables were accounted for. A big part of this was to make sure the farmer could understand our research and be able to take that knowledge and use it in the future. We presented our final presentation to him as well as the rest of the class. This was really cool because we all choose different topics/perspectives to look at. This experience was beneficial to my future because I will have to be able to help my patients take what they learned from the dentist’s home and implement it into their daily routine. That is why dentists always give out goodie bags!
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Finally, in my capstone citizen class “Lancer Launchpad” we got to form groups based on our interest in projects. Our project had to be an idea that we could potentially input into our community at Longwood or the town of Farmville. My group chose sustainability, but how? We really struggled with nailing down a topic at first because sustainability and recycling can mean so many things. After doing some research we found a program that had been previously active on Longwood’s campus: Green Lancer Days. This program died out after COVID started and was flawed because the reward system was not effective long term. So our group presented at the Symposium day with our revamped Green Lancer Days presentation. Everyone at the session loved our ideas because it talked about having a Green week on campus that had planned events that everyone could participate in instead of trying to do something year around. I learned something very important during this project, do not be afraid to scrap your initial ideas, they can lead to something even better. I think this is important to take into my future endeavors because dental medicine is not a cut-and-dry process sometimes you have to consult your peers, ask for advice, and rethink your strategy. It is okay to not know everything all of the time.
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My skill of talking to those with a non-science background has developed over my time here in so many different ways. Ways I would have never expected, such as explaining biological systems to my friends during COVID and how vaccines really work. I am grateful to have been pushed to do more and step out of my comfort zone. Now I am confident to go into the workforce prepared to actively communicate and listen to those around me.