Networking

Networking has been a hard one for me, truth be told. I knew and expected to speak to strangers once I started working but did not realize how helpful networking is during the college years. For the majority of my college years, I have spent my semesters quietly studying by myself or in groups but not really speaking to professors much. But now in my senior year, I do wish I had done more networking with professors and mentors. These wonderful people are full of knowledge about internships and pathways to achieve what you want to acomplish. If I could give a small piece of advice to anyone coming into college, I would tell them to get a mentor right away. It was hard for me to get a mentor because I wasn't sure of what I wanted to do. But a mentor would have helped bring some clarity in my college path. Whether with professors or other professional mentors... connect, connect, connect!

Cultural Responsiveness

Cultural intelligence and cultural responsiveness are the abilities that allow people to see the differences in opportunities and treatment given to some while being denied to others. These abilities also help controlling one’s own feelings and perspectives to be completely impartial and therefore fair in any situation. This is not always easy as everyone has their own beliefs and way-of-life that are unique to them. But, cultural intelligence is necessary for U.S. communities to flourish as these are comprised of many people and usually these are of different cultures as well. Some strategies discussed during the seminar were curiosity and emotional intelligence. I will focus on adopting these two in my professional life to make sure I am being fair to those around me. Curiosity to me means staying alert to those things that other cultures do but I don’t understand and tend to dismiss. If something about one culture or person puzzles me, I will ask or do my own research to know what it means. Emotional intelligence means to put aside my own feelings to welcome new information. If anyone is interested in working on their cultural responsiveness, the following article gives a very straight-to-the-point overview and good examples. Guzman, Maria R., Durden, Tonia R., Taylor, Sarah A., Guzman, Jackie M., Potthoff, Kathy L. (2016). Cultural competence: An important skill set for the 21st century. NebGuide, Nebraska Extension. https://extensionpublications.unl.edu/assets/html/g1375/build/g1375.htm#:~:text=Displaying%20the%20cultural%20competence%20behaviors,similarities%20and%20differences%20among%20cultures.

About Me

Hello there! My name is Wendy Pinon and I'm a senior at ASU, pursuing my bachelors in Pharmacology & Toxicology. This semester has been long awaited! I am getting more clarity as to what I want to do after graduation and am very excited yet a bit scared, truth be told. This semester, I am taking an intro to programming class. This new interest started last semester with the help of my TRAIN class in which we were introduced to computer science and I learned about the biological data science masters program. I am in the process of applying to this program and am very excited about it as it challenges me in everyway possible. The idea of doing something that comes easily for the rest of my life.. was daunting to me. But with programming, I know I will be continually challenged and pushed to keep learning throughout my life. And that is one of my goals in life: to always keep learning, always keep growing. Happy semester everyone!

Social Media for the Professionals

Last week on our TRAIN class, we had a visitor come in and talk to us about developing our online presence professionally. She is Dakota Webber from ASU’s Career and Professional Development Services (CPDS). During her presentation, we were prompted to visit our LinkedIn accounts and reconfigure them a bit to fit our goals. One of the things we did was to follow and connect with people that we could see as our mentors. I was not able to find a specific person who does what I want to do in the future but I did find a few that are in very closely related fields. There was a question on my mind: I asked if we needed to put our entire work history on our profile since most positions that I've held do not pertain to the field in which I am interested. It is not needed but a fellow classmate did mention she was able to land an internship thanks to her mentioning on her LinkedIn account that she used to bartend. So even though these positions do not pertain to our field, they are life experiences that can help us develop skills to handle different situations.

The TRAIN mixer brings gratitude to the forefront

This past Friday, I attended the TRAIN mixer at the ASU West campus. The room was filled with current TRAIN students as well as a few future transfer students. Welcoming us was the team of professors that support this program. I always enjoy this mixer as well as the class. This group of students is one of the most welcoming group I have encountered in my educational journey. They are all transfer students from local community colleges, like myself. They understand the journey to get to where we are and they all seem to have similar goals. We are all in the sciences, so they understand the importance of having and giving support as these are not easy degrees. The thing that I like the most of these mixers is the openness with which we all come. Everyone is open to talking, even those who are not the most social. Since we have things in common, it is always easy to find ways to communicate and connect. For example, while talking to future transfer students I noticed some had questions about the transfer process. It is hard to believe I went thru that same process less than two years ago. The one piece of advice I gave them was to keep in touch with their TRAIN program coordinators as much as possible. During my first year in the program at Phoenix College, I had a person with whom I would meet over Zoom (Covid times) to go over the current research I was exploring. Although I am unsure of his title, he was able to guide me thru the process by reminding me the dates to apply to ASU, the seminars I should attend, and he was able to bring other coordinators into our meetings whenever I would ask questions he couldn’t answer. My leaders made the transfer process so incredibly easy that I didn’t feel any anxiety, which I tend to have naturally when I do things I haven’t done before. It was like following a chocolate cake recipe step by step. With their help, I felt as if I was already part of ASU even though I had not even applied. Thank you Phoenix College TRAIN staff. I wouldn’t be here without your hard work. This first generation, adult student will always be grateful to you. -Wendy Pinon

A brief encounter with databases

This semester, we learned about spreadsheets and relational databases. The first we practiced on handling were spreadsheets. Spreadsheets are excel files with data that can be connected from one sheet to another. At the bottom of the sheets, more tabs can be made. On the new tab, information from the previous tabs can be recalled using specific prompts. The information on these sheets can be maneuvered and new information can be obtained from the info at hand. Some examples are obtaing the average from a dataset and finding which scores were the most popular on a test. Relational databases are a bit different. These are used strictly for recalling information from a spreadsheet and the information cannot be manipulated to give new stats. The only thing a person can manipulate is how the data is presented. This is also achieved through a set of commands, just like excel with spreadsheets. Also, we were able to manipulate spreadsheets with excel while relational databases required us to download a different software called DB Browser for SQLite.

For our database class project, we obtained an excel file that contained stats on various diseases. It contained information such as the amount of infected individuals and the total population count in the states during specific years. If we wanted to know how many cases of a particular disease took place during any given year, then it would take us a bit of time to find the information. Making relational databases helped us group and present the information in the ways we wanted them presented. Through the use of prompts, we were able to filter the information and have the system show us things such as the exact number of people infected in a specific year, in a certain year, with a specific disease such as measles.

While reflecting on these projects, a few lessons stood out to me. First for the relational database: the prompts we input on the first line of commands dictates the amount of columns that will be presented on the query. Another thing I learned was that this method is most like the method used by my previous employers when I would search up information that could not be changed by me. Although the system looked different, it was through very strict commands that customer information would be shown to me. I also noticed that the databases can be made by manipulating the information on spreadsheets. While reflecting on this process it seemed to me that when working on a system for an employer, programmers must input information on spreadsheets and manipulate it to cover any possible request. Then it is decided how to display the information with a relational database. With relational databases, unauthorized personnel won't be able to change the numbers. And only key personnel can have access to the spreadsheets.

Learning about databases has motivated me into enrolling into the biological data science masters' program. Although I have not enrolled at the moment, I did sign up for an introductory class for next semester. I was truly lost about where to go with my educational journey since medical school is not an option due to education costs and my responsibilities as a parent. But, this class has shown me that I can still do something I enjoy with my current degree path. The masters' program is available online or through evening classes so it would be easier for me to work a morning job and do my classwork in the evenings. . . I am so grateful for this opportunity to have dipped my feet into databases. Thank you, Professor Dietrich, for showing us the other side of research.

Persistence and vulnerability in Action

This semester and last have been particularly hard for me but I feel as if my life has become ten times more fulfilling and it pushes me to keep going forward. This previous fall, I started at ASU after slowly obtaining my associate's degree from Phoenix College. The workload has inscreased, along with a move, and many other life changes. I have been stuck on getting what I get and not throwing a fit. Asking professors for any kind of help has always felt like a hard thing to do. But lately, I have had to ask for help. The workload had gotten to me and I was turning in less than stellar work. I felt like a failure. I knew lots of people ask for extensions but I didn't want to lay my heart out to my professors. Last week, my lab partner and I had a hard time understanding the statistics side of our research. I had already accepted in my heart that we would get a really bad grade. She, on the other hand, immediately emailed the professor asking for an extension. I honestly thought we did not deserve the extension since we had all of spring break to work on the assignment, and we didn't. I had once reached out to her because I thought I might have Covid so I missed one lab. She emailed me back saying that if the test returned negative, she would not be able to excuse my absence and I would not be able to make up the lab. It was negative, so I lost 30 points. It was clear to me that she would not budge this time around either. To my surprise, the professor did allow us an extension and even got together with us to explain the results and to help us interpret them correctly. Vulnerability. Persistence. I have read countless books about asking others for help, heard the podcasts, preached it to everyone that needed to hear it.. yet, I didn't allow myself to be vulnerable and I had quit after one failure. I was so stuck on my box of perfection that I even thought I was not deserving of the opportunity. This week, I spoke with another professor about my less-than-stellar lab notebook. And, she gave me a second chance to improve my work! It's definitely not easy to ask for help. But I have to admit it, sometimes I do need help. And it is okay to not understand things the first time. Have a wonderful week everyone. If you want to grow, keep growing by stay vulnerable. Here's a cute picture of the wildlife I spotted during an ecology lab outing:

This Week...

This week, I have been working hard at settling into my new place. I just moved less than two weeks ago. And the highlight of my week was receiving my brand-new washer and dryer. My mom came and helped me to receive the delivery and informed me she would be moving closer to my new place in a couple of months. This was music to my ears as I could really use her help with the house and the kids. She loves cooking and that is something I have not been able to do much lately. Moving disrupted my schedule and it has been hard to do much of anything normal, like cooking. Also because of this move, I’m starting to think I really don’t need a television in my room. A bookshelf would probably get more use than a television. Not having a television in my room has also pushed me to read more. This past week, I have been trying to read the assigned book, Daring Greatly by Brene Brown, even if it’s just five minutes a day before bed. It has been hard for me to read for longer than that because I am usually worn out by the end of the day, and I feel that this book deserves a fresh mind to truly understand the author and to absorb the material. I had previously seen the videos because of a different practical skills class from the past. And although I do see the value in the messages and remember those from time to time, the book has been the most valuable this past month. Whenever I do read it, it motivates me so much to be brave in my endeavors that I feel like staying up all night and launching a business. It’s rather hard to stop myself because there are things that I want to do and I know I can do them. With my skills and the motivation obtained from reading the book, it’s hard to remember I can do all things…but just not at the same time. It has been hard to pace myself but while pursuing a degree in STEM, patience and perseverance have been instrumental to staying in school. Have a wonderful week. And, thanks for reading.

Growth vs. Fixed Mindsets

Personally, I feel that I tend to have a growth mindset. But, every once in a while, the fixed mindset tends to creep in and tries to wreak havoc. Throughout my educational journey, my mind has learned to become more malleable and looks for ways to address issues that I encounter. For example, a few years ago, I greatly desired to go back to school but was working full time. I had also just had a baby and have two other older children at home. They needed me to take them to their after-school activities, feed them, and to make them dinner. I simply did not have the time. But, the desire to go to school was so great that I decided I would find a way, one way or another. Ultimately, I was able to transfer to a community college closer to my job and was able to attend one class during my lunch break two days a week. It might not seem like much, but that one class propelled me to eventually quit my job and attend school full-time. For months I was stuck on the fixed mindset that if it’s not easy, then I must not be able to do it. But when the desire to improve ourselves is so great, most everyone (I believe) will find a way to change that mindset and make their dreams come true. I believe we all have the ability to change our mindset when we truly desire it. Yes, we go thru life with some misconceptions and beliefs. But we have the ability to change and evolve.

College life- Transferring into a career

There are traits that I have acquired throughout college that I hope to carry on to my career upon graduation. Three of those traits are resiliency, honesty, and balance. There have been many obstacles on my way to be where I am in my education journey. At one point, I was working full time. There was no time to go to college. And I couldn't stop working since I would be left without a way to pay for a babysitter. I wanted my education so bad, that I enrolled at a college closer to my work so I could go to one lecture during my lunch break. So, I did. I went for lecture two times a week during my lunch break and on monday nights to lab. It was only one class but it propelled me to pursue leaving my job and enrolling full time. Honesty is something I have valued all thru my life. But in college, I have seen the rewards of being honest with others the most. Professors are more willing to work with a student if they are honest and forthcoming. In my future career, I hope to be honest with my superiors whenever I need help. Balance has been a constant struggle with college life and family. I feel as if I finally have reached a point where I can freely say no to other commitments to be able to do homework. Being able to say no to certain social engagements has allowed me time to finish my homework comfortably so I can attend family events as they come up. I look forward to carrying on to my future career much more than just book smarts. Traits that will help me succeed in life are also learned in college.

My future dream career

This is my junior year pursuing my degree in science. My official degree is bachelor degree in pharmacology/ toxicology. In the future, I would like to do research with the help of my degree. It seems very interesting to be able to manipulate genes in plants to create more sustainable and tolerant food crops to feed the world. Recently I learned a bit about Norman Borlaug. He bred certain types of wheat to create a short stemmed class of wheat that helped agriculture tremendously. It seems amazing to me how one scientist can help the farmers of this world without being a farmer himself. I have a great amount of respect for the farmers who put food on our tables and would love to help them feed the world.

Reflections On My Online Presence

This week I have been thinking about the kind of image that I would like to portray online. Recently, I have created a Wix website at the prompt of my STEM professor. And, I realize I would like to have more research under my belt. I am in my second semester of organic chemistry, so I feel as if I still don't understand much of what I could bring to a research team. Ultimately, I will just jump into it. I wish to learn and that will be exactly what I will bring to the table, a clean slate. I am now looking for research opportunities and will update here once I do get a position somewhere. I will do so because I don't just want to have something to beef up my website, I want the experience more than anything. Have a great week! -Wendy

My Online Presence

Like most people, I have social media. I am aware some prospective employers check social media platforms to check on the profiles of prospective employees. But I have never been too worried about my own profiles. As a rule of thumb, I tend to stay away from talking about politics or other controversial topics when online AND when in person. I acknowledge the most people have differing viewpoints and experiences which might affect the way they feel and defend their viewpoints. I have seen and felt the strenght of some individuals passion towards certain issues, and it has scared me at times. This and my need to feel accepted tend to push me into only posting positive, uplifting messages. I usually post pictures of my children and of nature. This is truly how I feel on the inside as well since the things that bring me the most joy are family and nature.

End of Semester

Hello, Finally! The semester is over. This one was a special one. This was my last semester at Phoenix College before transferring to ASU West, and I am over the moon excited! I am very grateful to this program, I wish I had joined earlier in my education. A big thanks to Joshua James and Amanda Chapman. Thank you for guiding me thru this process. And thank you to all of my peers. You are all so brilliant and inspire me so much. Your presentations were phenomenal! I hope to see you all in the future. Maybe there will be a reunion someday, and we can have those chimichangas. Have a wonderful summer, Wendy

May 13th

Hello, Welcome back! While doing my research, I was very surprised that some of my most in-depth sources are papers written in the early 1900’s. Once upon a time, I was once told that a man with the name of Rockefeller had changed the medicine industry. I didn’t think much of it but decided to look into it now. I learned that in the early 1900’s Andrew Carnegie and John D. Rockefeller, both very wealthy, influential men, brought about capitalism to the health care industry and re-invented the medical curriculum being taught in schools at that time. There is a book that was written in 1979 by Richard E. Brown that I plan on ordering and reading over the summer. The book is called: Rockefeller Medicine Men : Medicine and Capitalism in America. Perhaps this might explain why research on plants being used as medicine is not so easily available as plants are not so easily obtained throughout the world but a pill can be distributed without loosing it’s freshness. Thank you for visiting! Wendy Reference: https://digitalcommons.rockefeller.edu/the-rockefellers/37/

May 6th

Hello there! We are nearing the end of the semester and rushing to get as much information into our brains as possible. Here’s a brief reminder: You’ve got this! This week I am getting my research together and finding as much as possible on my plants. In my list, there are four different plants with the ‘Prunus’ prefix and four with the ‘Lupinus’ prefix. All these names sure make me wish I knew Latin. I haven’t come across the language in community college but will hopefully be able to take it later at the university level. For now, I have just finished French 101 and am very proud of it. We’ve got this.

Image created by: Me!

Mid-April

Hello friends, April has been rushing by and we are about a month away from the end of the semester. I haven’t had much time to work on my research as I have been busy with classes. But, this research always gets me in a good mood so I’ll be spending this weekend working on it. This week I have been studying Helenium Autumnale, otherwise known as ‘Sneezeweed’. This is a prairie wildflower that blooms from June to October. There are many Helenium varieties but the Autumnale is the one on my list. It is known to be toxic to grazing animals such as sheep. It upsets their stomach. This seems very odd seeing how it has been used by humans as a remedy for colds and diseases of the chest. I have yet to find how the plant was prepared. Have a wonderful week! -Wendy

References: • Elecampane. (2018). In P. Lagasse, & Columbia University, The Columbia encyclopedia (8th ed.). Columbia University Press. Credo Reference: https://ezproxy.pc.maricopa.edu/login?url=https://search.credoreference.com/content/entry/columency/elecampane/0?institutionId=5317 • Wang et al. (2018) Total sesquiterpene lactones isolated from Inula helenium L. attenuates 2,4-dinitrochlorobenzene-induced atopic dermatitis-like skin lesions in mice. Phytomedicine. Volume 46, Pages 78-84. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0944711318301363 • https://www.izelplants.com/native-perennials/helenium-autumnale-common-sneezeweed/

Fagopyrum Esculentum

This week, I studied Fagopyrum Esculentum, otherwise known as Buckwheat. This plant was originally tagged for me as toxic by the USDA website. It was really surprising to find out that it is known as Buckwheat and is used for purposes for human consumption. Not only is it high in nutrients, but it is also flavorful. “So, why is this classified as toxic?” said I. Well, it turns out, the plant is toxic, but the ripe seeds are not toxic! The ripe seeds are the parts that are used for making buckwheat flour. The plant itself, on the other hand, contains Fagopyrin. This chemical reacts to ultraviolet rays when it is already inside the body! This happens particularly in non-pigmented skin. It irritates the blood vessels and it sometimes takes up to three months to recuperate. In this picture, you can see the effects of the Fagopyrin chemical on the non-pigmented parts of the horse but not on the pigmented, brown, areas.

(2019) Guide to Poisonous Plants. Colorado State University, James L. Voss. Veterinary Teaching Hospital. https://csuvth.colostate.edu/poisonous_plants/Plants/Details/44 Kiprovski, B. et al. (2015) Comparison of Phenolic Profiles and Antioxidant Properties of European Fagopyrum Escalentum Cultivars. Food Chemistry. Volume 112, Issue 1, 1 January 2009, Pages 120-124. Elsevier Ltd.

April 1st

 Today while driving home from lab, I came across a podcast that made my drive home very enjoyable.  Not only was it enjoyable, but it was also informative and inspiring.

On the podcast, they were interviewing Dr. Marilyn Glassberg.

She spoke about the research her and her team did when the Covid-19 virus started. She mentioned the research some students had done was purely literary reviews, just like my current research. I had always thought meaningful research was the kind that involves a lab, so doing this research by researching literary reviews has not been as motivating as I hoped it would be. But, hearing about these students making a difference with their literary reviews has inspired me deeply. I am seeing my project with brand new eyes and enthusiasm.

So, for a little talk about my research this week.. here’s a little bit of food for thought: Apocynum Cannabinum, also known as ‘Dogbane’. Was used by natives in the Americas not only for its strong fibers to make ropes and baskets. But, it was also used for all kinds of ailments such as: headaches and cardiac issues. The root is able to be made into a mixture that helps hair grow and gets rid of dandruff.

 

Until next time,

Wendy

 

If you would like to listen to the podcast previously mentioned, go to:

https://phoenixmed.arizona.edu/podcasts , Episode 17 – Crisis Leadership: Innovating Treatment Protocols to Battle COVID-19

 

References:

Stevens, Michelle. (2000, December). Plant Guide Plant Materials Plant Fact Sheet/Guide Coordination Page National Plant Data Center INDIAN HEMP Apocynum cannabinum L. United States Department of Agriculture- Natural Resources Conservation Service. https://plants.sc.egov.usda.gov/plantguide/pdf/cs_apca.pdf

March 11, 2021

Hello there, and welcome back! These past two weeks have been a bit rough as midterms approached but I'm back and ready to go. Today I would like to talk about my research proposal. It's taken some thinking and re-thinking but I think it's finally getting clear as to where it is going. 

My topic: Beneficial Properties of the Most Toxic Plants in Arizona

I selected this topic because I would like to know which plants in my community are toxic to me and my loved ones but also to find out what kind of benefits they might bring about. Just like people, there might be something good about them. This topic is of significant importance because some plants might be beneficial to humans regardless of their toxicity. Specifying their benefits to humanity will help preserve plants that would otherwise be discarded and or destroyed by human habitants. It is important to educate the public so they can make more informed decisions regarding the plants on their properties. By educating the public, we can stop or slow down the destruction of commonly known toxic plants in our community.

I plan on doing this research by literature review. There is a vast amount of information available from published journals that can guide the research. The information will be compiled and focused on the five most toxic plants that are currently in Arizona. State Toxic Plants Types Native or non-native Toxic to Humans, Pets, or Both and their medicinal properties, if any.

Can a plant be both toxic and beneficial?

Thru this research, I expect to find which flowers and bushes are toxic, domestic or wild, as well as if they hold any beneficial properties. I expect to find more research explaining the effects on animals but not be as much research explaining the effects on humans.