I was fortunate to be 1 of 12 abstracts chosen for a conference in California (Minority Trainee Research Forum). I was actually a part of the scientific summer program that hosted the conference since 7th grade through most of college. Every summer, I worked in laboratories all over the US and Canada to develop skills that pretty much got me where I am today. It is an amazing program that has grown over the years to help minority students excel in Science, Technology, Engineering, Medicine, and Math. I do recommend anyone interested to take a look at the website and apply. It has dramatically changed my life and I will definitely do a post about TMARC/PSTP (now called STEMPREP) in the coming week.
Either way, the conference ran from March 9-12th, and everything is covered. So let me begin my full coverage.
Travel, Presentation and Lodging
The wonderful thing about this conference is that EVERYTHING is paid for you. Once you are accepted, you get a number to call a travel agent to book your flight. Once you arrive there is a bus to get you to the hotel. You are then always put up in an amazing hotel. This year we stayed downtown in the Westgate Hotel. Food is then catered for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Breakfast and lunch in the hotel, and dinner in different top restaurants around the city. Overall the presentations were great, I learned a lot and connected with great people. It added even more fuel to my fire.. and I am excited to see where each of our paths lead us.
Cabrillo National Monument (Passport Stamp)
I got another stamp in my Passport for National Parks (Find our more about this Passport in my past post)… YAY! Go me!! It was pretty cool to already see my passport taking me to new exciting places. What was even better is that my friend who now lives in San Diego also go a passport and it was his first going to the Cabrillo National Monument. We had a blast checking out the view and taking pics. I definitely recommend this location on your next trip to San Diego. Read more about Cabrillo National Monument in my post.
Sunset Cliffs
After a day of presentations, I ended with going to Sunset Cliffs. Initially I was not sure what to expect as I was just told it was something worth seeing. As the sun was setting I realized just why so many people recommend the cliffs, and why so many people were gathered on the cliffs the day I was there. It was a beautiful picturesque view with couples and friends all around. Just check out the photos we took on our phones, now multiply that by 20 to imagine how gorgeous it all really was.
Torrey Pines
On a trip out to La Jolla, my friend took me for a hike through Torrey Pines. It was actually such a beautiful area to run, walk, hang out or do whatever. Quite a few people were there especially families. It took you up a hill, then ultimately led you down to the beach. While I did not get in the water it my friend wasted no time rushing in (I wasn’t trying to freeze and drown all at the same time… I can’t swim.. but it is on my bucket list.) I was a bit out of shape, but I made it through the short run. Enjoyed the view and of course took pics. Check them out.
Floatation/Isolation Tank
Another bucket list item from 2015 checked off. I had a 2 hour great experience floating in water. Instead of rewriting what I wrote.. check out this post about my experience in the tank. It is definitely worth reading about and doing. Read my post here.
Ate Baby Octopus
After getting my first taste of fish tacos… I also had a chance to try baby octopus. I was a bit resistant at first.. but you know me.. I may not like it.. but I definitely will try it #YOLO So with that I dipped my baby octopus and began chewing away. The legs were rather crunchy… it wasn’t horrible… but it was just took too long for me to chew it to swallow the body and head. Would I order it for myself.. most likely not.. but if someone else orders I may eat one or two. It wasn’t bad… just wasn’t mind blowing.
Saw President Obama Land at Phoenix Airport
Just as I got off the plane (luckily just before President Obama), they cleared the runway for the president. No flights are allowed to land or depart while Air Force One is arriving or departing.. I thought this was kind of cool. So everyone gathered around to see the airplane marked United States of America land.. and I was one of them. Sadly, the plane taxied to a different area to let off the president.. but still… one step closed to meeting the man in the White House. lol
