Spring Break is Almost Here!

Spring break is right around the corner! Only 4 more days of school, 1 midterm, and 3 assignments to go until I'm off for a week. Every year I go on a family vacation during break: two years ago it was Houston & New Orleans, last year we went to Portland, and this year my parents, sister, and I will be heading down to Puerto Vallarta for a few days. This is going to be my first trip to Mexico so I'm pretty excited! I'm also looking forward to spending some time with the Fam; now that my sister and I are older, and no longer live in the parental's nest it's became increasingly harder to find a time where all of us can get together. This is also my first spring break not having an exam, paper, or project due immediately after I return. It will be nice not worrying too much about school over break. Unfortunately, I have an O-chem and physics exam the following week so won't be completely off the hook.  Hopefully I'll get some beach and pool-side studying done while lounging in Mexico (No guarantees though)! I obviously don't have any pictures to show for this trip yet, but I'll make sure to take plenty and share them on my blog! Instead, I'll post a picture of what I'm leaving behind while on break plus some photos from previous spring breaks. It's funny that as I leave, there are gonna be tons of tourists flooding Santa Barbara to vacation here. I'm lucky to live in a place where many people only get to visit while on vacation, such as the people on this cruise ship.

The Cruise Ship that regularly passes through Santa Barbara

     

Downtown Houston 2 years Ago                        

My Sister and I in New Orleans

Hanging out on Bourbon St. in New Orleans 

My Sister and I in Portland Last Year

Portland 

Japanese Garden in Portland 

Morning Rituals

Sunset is cool and all, but sunrise is something that is much less frequently talked about. Santa Barbara is one of the few places where it's possible to see the sun rise and set over the ocean because of the direction it faces. Lately I've been waking up early to catch the sunrise during my morning runs. It's nice starting my days off like this especially since the mornings have been so warm lately. One of the best parts about sunrise is that I'm able to avoid the crowds; as you can imagine there's very few people awake at this time, especially in a college town. The photos below were taken during one of my recent morning runs in Isla Vista!

Admitted!

One admittance letter down with one more to go! I'm stoked on my first acceptance letter after five months of waiting! If I end up going to UCSB I would be majoring in pharmacology with an emphasis in neurobiology and behavior. From what I hear this is a pretty rigorous major, but I've looked into the upper division classes and it seems like something I'm extremely interested in. I'm still waiting to hear back from UCLA and unfortunately am going to have to wait until the end of April. UCLA is notorious for waiting till the very last day possible to inform their applicants. Lets hope UCLA, like UCSB, brings me good news!

Hidden Treasures of the Humanities Building

Newly Built Humanities Building on East Campus

The Humanities Building is one of my favorite buildings on campus. It just got finished being built under a year ago and came equipped with some cool attractions. Though I've never had a class in here I still find time to wonder through every now and again for a couple different reasons. The Atkinson Gallery is the first of these reasons. Every month a new artist's collection cycles through this gallery. Currently Maria Rendon's artwork from her Missing Rib collection is on display. The photos below are a preview of the gallery, but I recommend checking it out for yourself to see her artwork up close.

Another perk of this building are the views once you step outside. The photo below, of the mountains, was taken from the patio of the Atkinson Gallery. If you face the other way there is a great view of the harbor. When I have a gap between classes or need a break from studying this is usually where I like to come relax for a bit.

The artist who's work is currently
 on display in the Atkinson Gallery 

Accidental Virtue is the piece spanning an entire wall of the gallery 

View of the mountains from the Atkinson Gallery patio

Accidental Virtue

Bovine Malaise 

Tea with a Professor

As Co-President of the SBCC Honors Program one of the new things my counterparts and I decided to implement this year was “Tea with a Professor.” This is an opportunity for students to sit down with one of the Honors Program professors and get to know them outside of the classroom. I should also mention that this is a great time to meet other students. In addition to snacks, the Honors Program also pays for students’ drink of choice from the Buzzshack (Tea is great and all, but I’m more of a coffee guy myself). This week, political science teacher, Dr. Manou Eskandari was the guest professor and in a couple weeks, philosophy professor, Dr. Marc Bobro will be joining us. Out of the many events the Honors Program hosts throughout the year this is one of my favorites! I would like to encourage interested students to check out all the great things this program has to offer. Here is the link to the website for anyone wanting to learn more about the 

SBCC Honors Program http://www.sbcc.edu/honors/.

Tea with a Professor meets at the West Campus Snack Shop 1-2 times a month. If you ever see me out there please stop by to say hello and join us for free drinks, snacks, and great conversation!

Last weeks Tea with a Professor with Dr. Eskandari 

Transfer Update!

The Inverted Fountain at UCLA

Now that my college apps for Fall 2015 transfer are submitted all I can do is stand by and wait to hear back from the schools I applied to; I should hopefully hear back by late April. I had originally planned on applying to several private and public schools across the country, but after further consideration that list of schools drastically shrunk. I couldn't justify paying out of state or private school tuition when there are awesome public schools in California (my home state) so I ended up crossing those off my list. Then it came down to deciding what in-state public schools I would like to transfer to. Since I'm wanting to get involved in undergraduate research I set my sights on one of the UC's. Out of all the Ca. Universities I ended up applying to UCLA and UCSB based on the programs offered for my desired major and the location of each school. I applied to UCLA as a psychobiology major and UCSB as a pharmacology major with an emphasis in neurobiology and behavior.

It's comforting to know that I'm guaranteed admission to UCSB because of the Transfer Admission Guarantee (TAG) program through SBCC. The TAG program ensures acceptance to a wide range of schools usually on the basis of GPA and the number of units completed. UCLA doesn't have a TAG agreement with SBCC, but by completing the SBCC Honors Program I became eligible for UCLA's Transfer Alliance Program (TAP). Being TAP certified grants me priority consideration for admission to UCLA in addition to a few other benefits. It's no guarantee but hopefully I've done what it takes to get admitted! I'll make sure to keep everyone updated on the status of my apps along with my decision process down the line...

Me Exploring the area around the UCSB Lagoon