The quote above applies quite literally – more so than most – in the case of the dynamic Clarissa Shephard. Hailing from North Carolina, Shephard is a recipient of the National Institute of Health’s Computational Neuroscience Training Grant and is currently enrolled as a graduate student in the Georgia Tech Biomedical Engineering (BME) – Emory University Ph.D. Program. Through her research and experience, Shephard hopes to not only contribute keys towards deciphering the neurological complexity of perception, but to also continue the enrichment of her own perceptions bravely amidst the new of the world.

Clarissa Shephard is a GT/Emory Ph.D student and a member of the Stanley Lab researching somatosensation. (Photo: Jacob Khouri)

Shephard’s journey began with a passion for mathematics in high school and a desire to follow in the footsteps of her older brother by pursuing engineering. She attended North Carolina State University, originally intending to pursue Industrial Engineering for her undergraduate degree, but wisely transferred to the school of Biomedical Engineering and adopted a focus in bioinstrumentation. While she was there, Shephard conducted research at a neuroelectrophysiology lab at Duke, founded the North Carolina (NC) State University chapter of Alpha Eta Mu Beta, a BME honor society, and was involved in both a start-up and a non-profit. Towards the end of her junior year, Shephard was approached by one of her professors to consider pursuing academia but, at the time, industry to her seemed more alluring.

Yet, fast forward two years later and Shephard is now part of one of the most prestigious graduate biomedical programs in the world and harbors no complaints: “The NeuroLab here is great […] the faculty is great and the students are happy.” As a member of the Stanley Lab at Georgia Tech, Shephard’s research centers around somatosensation, more commonly known as sense of touch. Specifically, Shephard analyzes the changes in neural activity that occur in a rat’s brain in response to mechanical deformation of its whiskers. Because rats are typically nocturnal, each whisker’s sensitivity is highly refined and, as such, each whisker possesses a discrete representation along the pathway to the brain. But rather than focusing upon the peripheral encoding of the stimulus, Shephard focuses upon the signal processing that occurs within the higher levels of this pathway (specifically the cortico-thalamal loop) that ultimately leads to what we call perception. Shephard believes that not only will continued research in this area allow the synthesis of more refined sensory prosthetics but that it will also teach us more about sensory coding itself.

Outside of her research, Shephard has other pursuits about which she is passionate. Shephard is a part of Women in Engineering Ambassadors, a group that talks to girls in local grade schools about opportunities in engineering. She also loves biking, yoga, and baking deserts – among her favorites is the scrumptious delicacy known as volcano cake, a semi-melted chocolatey confection smothered in ice cream.

In addition to these pursuits, Shephard is muy apasionada about traveling. During her time at NC State, Shephard actually completed a minor in Spanish and studied abroad for a summer in Spain. Hoping to go back someday, she claims “a lot of people enter the workforce when they graduate but I’ll be the girl with a PhD and an airline ticket to Europe in hand.” Shephard found herself enamored by the culture, an intrigue that evolved as she caught on to the nuances of the Spanish language and that distinct rustic European charm. For anybody traveling abroad, she has two words of advice: “Try everything.” In doing so, she and her friends managed to order a massive tower of mashed potatoes off of a menu completely written in Mandarin at a restaurant in Hong Kong. They left with no regrets.

As for more general advice for up-and-coming BME students, Shephard asserts that confidence will take you places. “If you can’t convince yourself”, she says, “then how are you going to convince the world? […] To say that you made it in BME […] if you can graduate with that degree, you’re an excellent student, and you can do great things. You just have to believe in yourself.”

So, even though this world may present things known, things unknown, things yet to make themselves known, or perhaps even things that may never be known, it is confidence, akin to that which Shephard carries, that is undoubtedly a key each of us can use to unlock the doors behind which lay newer understandings of our own perceptions. I, for one, have no doubts that Mr. Huxley would agree.

The three candidates for BME Department Chair: Dr Ajit Yoganathan, Dr Ravi Bellamkonda and Dr Nancy Allbritton, respectively. (Photos: GaTech and UNC Chapel Hill)

The search is on for the new BME Wallace H. Coulter Chair in the Wallace H. Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering at Georgia Tech and Emory University. Led by a group representing Georgia Tech and Emory University, the search has turned up three candidates. Here’s a summary of their most recent activities and their research interests.

Ajit Yoganathan

Dr. Ajit Yoganathan is the Wallace H. Coulter Distinguished Faculty Chair and Associate Chair for Research in the Wallace H. Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering as well as a Regents’ Professor at the Georgia Institute of Technology and Emory University. Last year, Yoganathan was a Pritzker Lecturer for the Biomedical Engineering Society. In 2010, he became the founding Editor-in-Chief of Cardiovascular Engineering and Technology, a journal of the Biomedical Engineering Society, and in 2009 he founded APICA Cardiovascular Inc.

From Dr. Yoganathan’s research abstract for his research seminar: “Using state-of-the-art fluid dynamic measurement techniques, Dr. Yoganathan and his group have developed methods to enable the optimization of replacement heart valve designs. Novel techniques in the assessment of native heart valve function have provided clinicians with improved tools to assess disease severity and helped identify effective treatment options. For the treatment of congenital heart defects, the development of novel computational modeling tools to simulate surgical procedures and their fluid dynamics outcome has provided clinicians with new ways to plan for treatments for individual patients to increase the probability of success.”

Ravi Bellamkonda

Dr. Ravi Bellamkonda is the Associate Vice President for Research at Georgia Institute of Technology and the Carol Ann and David D. Flanagan Professor of Biomedical Engineering and a GCC Distinguished Scholar. Last year, he was elected a BMES Fellow and the Vice-President at Large of the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering. Since 2010, he has been the lead executive sponsor and founding professor for different programs including Flashpoint, Large Proposal Support System, GT-FIRE Innovation Program, and NSF ICorps. Since 2003, he has served on the department’s faculty recruiting committee.

From Dr. Bellamkonda’s research abstract for his research seminar: “In this talk, nano fiber based scaffolds that modulate Schwann cell migration to enhance peripheral nerve regeneration across critically sized nerve defects will be discussed.

Interestingly, the ability to modulate cell migration has important implications for the treatment of invasive gliomas of the brain. I will discuss the implications of both anti-invasive and pro-invasive strategies for the management of brain tumors.  I will demonstrate that the combination anti-invasive, nano carriers and conventional chemotherapy can significantly enhance the efficacy of chemotherapy in aggressive rodent models of invasive glioma.”

Nancy Allbritton

Dr. Nancy Allbritton, among other positions, is a Professor and Chair of the Joint Department of Biomedical Engineering School of Medicine at the University of North Carolina in the Chapel Hill College of Engineering. Last year, she joined the Analytical Chemistry Editorial Advisory Board. In 2011, she became a Chair for the Curriculum in Applied Sciences and Engineering in the College of Arts and Sciences, and in 2010 she became a fellow of the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering.

From Dr. Allbritton’s research abstract for her research seminar: “We are currently developing integrated micro-analytical platforms in both array and microfluidic formats to address critical preclinical and clinical needs in accurately monitoring drug action and identifying the patient who will respond to new therapies aimed at modulating signal transduction pathways. In order to manipulate individual cells, the lab has also pioneered the development of novel micro-fabricated devices to enable the analysis and isolation of cells… Numerous applications of these micro-fabricated devices are being pursued, including efficient cloning of mouse stem cells, purification of cancer stem cells from patient samples and isolation of tumor-targeted lymphocytes for cancer immunotherapy.”

I regret not signing up for this class with people I know.

Thinks BME is a great idea for Medical School. It’s not.

Now I just want pie after working out Buckingham Pi Group problems.

OMG when did March get here?

Just realizing that finals are coming up

Apply for internship as a Junior BME. Freshman gets the job instead.

Ooh, it’s frog time in 3110.

The professors think we are smart people.

Decompressing in the computer lab after a long day not just a few steps down the hall.

Machine Shop: never open when I need it to be.

Slept in ’til noon, only got 6 hours of sleep…

I get all wistful watching the kids in 2300 start freaking out right about now.

Finish four years in one of the hardest engineering majors. Now, I’m realizing you can’t get a job.

I always get excited during Dead Week because that’s when Paul starts sending out his daily haikus.

Can we get ladders so we can use the top half of the whiteboards in the PBL rooms?

I’m an ME. I got all your jobs! BOOM

No idea what’s happening… guess I’ll integrate until the equation looks familiar <– me in Lee’s class

First time multiplying by (2/2) revolutionizes the ease of solving a problem.

The engineering pathway has always felt natural for Kathleen especially considering that she is following in the footsteps of her father, grandfather, and uncles. As a child, she says she received magnets and telescopes as presents, which helped foster her love of the sciences. A self-proclaimed “nerdy kid,” Kathleen loved biology and math, immensely enjoying studying for the math section of the SATs. During her undergraduate education in the Wallace H. Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering at Emory University and Georgia Tech, she also came to care for the physics-related side of BME, which is what, along with her childhood love of all things space-related, steered her to her next goal.

She applied for a NASA internship. “I was denied, of course,” Kathleen recounts. She applied a second time as a junior. “And I was denied again.” And although she was hesitant, with her friends’ support Kathleen applied a third time during her senior year. Two weeks before the end of the school year, she received her NASA acceptance email. She was elated. Fondly recalling the moment during the interview, Kathleen starts tearing up, revealing, “It really meant a lot to me to finally get in.” This also aided her objective of breaking the ME-BME stigma that Mechanical Engineering majors can do anything BMEs can do, but not vice versa. She recalls going to career fairs early on, and feeling annoyed that although BMEs took many similar engineering courses, they were considered unqualified for the ME jobs. Her acceptance to a mechanical engineering position at NASA dispelled that notion.

That summer, Kathleen worked in the fluid propulsion division in Huntsville, Alabama, where she learned how to use the lumped parameter model, a mathematical model that relies on resistance, capacitance and inertance of a fluid. MATLAB proved invaluable to Kathleen’s model as, at some point, she was working with 600 by 600 matrices. Then, the simulations were compared to the experimental data, which determined the exact compliance, the response of the liquid to pressure, of several of the engine’s components. In the future, this will help reduce undesirable vehicle instability in NASA’s Space Launch System vehicles.

For graduate school, Kathleen chose the ME program because she wanted to broaden her knowledge base and learn more about the engineering classes she didn’t get to take as an undergraduate, like heat transfer. Currently, she is also a graduate research assistant in Dr. Ku’s biofluid dynamics lab, which she thoroughly enjoys. She is beginning her thesis project, which includes researching, designing, and testing a space-filling implant for patients that need physical reconstruction after events such as trauma or cancer. She is also looking forward to “learning about everything else that’s happening in the lab and getting exposure” to all it has to offer.

Kathleen’s advice is to work in as many areas as you can and not limit yourself to only one possibility. Since coming to Tech, she has developed her abilities in areas she didn’t previously feel comfortable in. Kathleen strengthened her public speaking skills by becoming one of Tech’s tour guides and a BME Ambassador for prospective students. She also received a business administration certificate in operations management to widen her insight of the industrial side of engineering.  As Kathleen’s story imparts, “Persistence will get you pretty far.”

The homepage of WorkReadyGrad.com, developed by a Georgia Tech CS Senior Design team.

As society continues to make major advancements in science and technology, it is often easy to lose sight of the foundation of each of these: innovation. Today, universities race to become the “top school” through the achievements of their students, from their contributions to the discovery of new ideas and inventions to their leadership in businesses. Accordingly, a common question that is asked by both current and prospective students and faculty alike is, “Where does my school stand in the advancement of innovation?” It is first necessary to give innovation a definition. Innovation in its most basic form is an idea. And the question then becomes, how does the university cultivate ideas from the student population? The Georgia Institute of Technology continues to be one of the top universities in the country in every aspect of innovation, encouraging and funding start-up companies, making co-ops easily available, and offering monetary prizes to students who strive to push innovation in their major.

One of the big names mentioned when innovation is discussed at Georgia Tech is Stephen Fleming, the Vice President and Executive Director of the Enterprise Innovation Institute. When asked, “What is the focus of innovation toward students at Georgia Tech?” Fleming immediately compared the goal of innovation geared toward students with drown proofing, a retired Yellow Jacket tradition that taught students to swim. Fleming stated, “Look at drown proofing. This made sure that every Georgia Tech graduate would not die in the water; we want to give this confidence to current Georgia Tech students in their entrepreneurship skills.” Fleming put a heavy emphasis on value of gaining this experience, even for students who do not aspire to start their own companies. He mentioned many current programs associated with Georgia Tech that focus on giving undergraduate students an opportunity to get their feet wet in the business world. The most recent of these groups is Flashpoint. Fleming defined Flashpoint by saying, “Flashpoint is pretty intense, and the idea is, within one semester with a combination of lectures, mentoring, and exercises that you have to go…do off campus, we can get you to the point where you understand the business model for your startup, and if you choose to raise money you are ready to raise money.” Fleming went on to discuss other aspects of innovation at Tech, focusing on the development of massively online open courses (MOOC’s). Anyone — tuition-paying Tech student or otherwise — can view these classes. In essence, MOOC’s offer an option to nontraditional students who are not located on campus.  Fleming posed the question of whether or not it is advisable to decompose a semester’s worth of classes into an online learning mechanism. These classes have already begun at Georgia Tech, with Professor Tucker of the College of Computing teaching a Computational Finance class with over forty thousand students. There are other online classes sponsored by Coursera, totaling over one hundred twenty thousand students. Fleming stated, “If we’re providing something that we are willing to put the Georgia Tech brand on — say that this is Georgia Tech education — people will be willing to join.” Class sizes will constantly be fluctuating, as Georgia Tech is not anticipating 40,000+ students for every class, but is rather providing a flexible, non-traditional education for students who cannot, or prefer not to attend a traditional university.

Professors often participate in the rise of innovation around campus because they are role models to students. Professor Ravi Bellamkonda, a professor in the Wallace H. Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering at Georgia Tech and Emory University and the Co-Chair of the Innovation Team within Tech’s 20-Year Strategic Plan, has striven to push innovation at Georgia Tech. Like Fleming, Bellamkonda has provided students with increased opportunities to join startups and interact with companies in a meaningful way. He stated, “Industries come just for you [students]. We would like to think it’s because of our research and how fantastic we are, but they come for our students.” That being said, industries are moving forward as students do. The next generations of workers no longer want to work for a company for 30 years; they want to pursue new opportunities to get raises and to climb the ranks. Bellamkonda connected the idea of running a start-up to the rise of smaller incentives such as the InVenture Prize, saying, “This is where an idea can be flushed out.” The InVenture Prize is a faculty-led innovation competition for undergraduate students at Georgia Tech. Students can work independently or in teams to develop and present inventions, which will be judged by experts. Bellamkonda went on to discuss his support for the 20-Year Plan for Innovation at Georgia Tech and focused heavily on the experimental X-Degree. The X-Degree would give students an opportunity to “customize” their degrees with the guidance of the faculty. They would receive a non-traditional certification for their competencies rather than traditional grades and degrees. This would allow students to strategically plan and streamline their time spent at Georgia Tech.

Now that innovation and the current state of innovation at Tech have been defined, the question turns to how students will become involved in these innovative programs. It is often difficult for students to find out about certain projects and competitions. In many cases, a student may learn about these events from their friends after the deadline has passed or during a period of time in which the student is already too busy to participate. To provide greater transparency around available resources for students to maximize their Tech experience, a new technology — originally built by a CS Senior Design team last spring is being developed called WorkReadyGrad (www.workreadygrad.com). If students can be introduced early on to a system that facilitates easy discovery of these innovative projects such as co-ops and incentive-based competitions, their entire decision-making process at Georgia Tech could change dramatically. How can a student truly discover what they are passionate about if they never experience it? WorkReadyGrad helps students explore the careers pursued by alumni and identifies the most relevant resources both on campus and online (MOOC’s, for example) that empowers students to set and reach for their career aspirations. (The beta version of their tool will be released on April, so be on the lookout for its announcement!)

Innovation at Georgia Tech is constantly on the rise and gives opportunities to students to take control of their own futures. When students can harness and expand innovation on campus, it empowers them to become successful in whichever arena they pursue after graduation, whether that’s working at an established company or launching their own. Georgia Tech’s constant and growing focus on innovation, from startup incubators to business competitions and MOOC’s, are all part of a fabric that provides amazing opportunities to Georgia Tech students the types of experiences that will last with them many years after graduation.

This year’s conference had 200 students and alumni from universities all over the Southeast and over 80 program representatives from 60 schools and test preparation programs. Tickets for attendance were sold out well ahead of the event date. Prestigious medical colleges such as the Emory University School of Medicine and the Vanderbilt University School of Medicine were represented, but medical programs were not the only ones in attendance. There were also programs representing nursing, optometry, dentistry, pharmacy, and much more.

The conference lasted over 8 hours at the Global Learning Center in Technology Square. Registration and breakfast began at 8:15 AM, and students and representatives mingled for an hour before all attendees participated in a keynote panel with Dean Stephanie Ray of the Office of Diversity Programs at Georgia Tech and with Dr. Jane Ellis of Emory University and Emory Regional Perinatal Center at Grady Memorial Hospital. The two decorated speakers discussed the conference’s topic: “Disparities in Healthcare.” The candid discourse touched upon many of the core problems in healthcare in the United States and addressed challenges that future health professionals would need to face. After the hour long keynote panel, the conference attendees dispersed to attend workshops and mock interviews throughout the day. The next four hours were split into three sessions of workshops with an hour in between for a networking lunch. The ten workshops available for students to attend ranged in topic from “Women in Medicine” to “Changes in Healthcare” and were led by current medical students as well as school representatives and health professionals.

During the workshop period, mock interviews were also being held by school representatives. These one-to-one, half-hour interviews were directed by a school representative who often was an active member of his/her respective program’s admission board and allowed attendees to experience a realistic interview scenario.

After the workshops and mock interviews, a two hour open fair of the 60 programs in attendance occurred with two special suture lab sessions led by Dr. Benjamin Holton from Stamps Health Services.

At the open fair, free admission was granted to anyone who wanted to participate in the fair, and many students who were unable to obtain tickets to the conference itself took full advantage of the open fair to walk around and talk to the many representatives. All of the representatives were amiable and open to anyone who approached their tables and were quick to offer advice on how to apply to their schools or improve a student’s resume.

At the end of the conference and fair at 4:00 PM, students left with a collection of handouts and a head full of information on how best to become a successful health professional. As Noah Brunk, an aspiring surgeon, said, “This year’s conference supplied us with a ton of new knowledge about how to become a better pre-medicine student, and I feel much more prepared now with everything that I’ve just learned.”

Watch “My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic” to relieve symptoms (Photo: fanpop.com)

Students affected by the disease are reported to be experiencing a multitude of symptoms. Older students, particularly third and fourth year students, are known to be the most symptomatic, probably due to extended exposure. Younger students appear to display milder characteristics of the disease, but it has been shown to accelerate quickly. Early symptoms of the disease include drowsiness, irritability, and a desire to drink coffee. With extended exposure, the symptom list grows to include difficulties paying attention, odd smell, and fixation on meaningless Internet websites, such as Reddit. Those in the latest stages of the disease showcase severe weight gain, insomnia, alcoholism, and a propensity to take on multiple tasks simultaneously. Certain sub-groups of those with the disease, who have been classified as Preliminary Medical (Pre-Med) subjects, have been fast-tracked to hospital settings for displaying troubling symptoms such as aimlessly wandering combined with muttering strange chemical formulas and reaction mechanisms, depressive episodes stemming from grades, and an almost obsessive behavior related to research. Non-infected students are urged to avoid anyone who may display these symptoms at all costs.

Public health officials and research scientists are working around the clock in attempts to find a treatment for the disease, but any progress so far has been dubbed futile with a single exception. Early treatments suggest that watching the children’s cartoon “My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic” effectively eliminates a majority of the symptoms exhibited by current patients. A public health official, who has chosen to remain anonymous, says, “watching colorful horses singing songs and learning about honesty, kindness, generosity, loyalty, and laughter is curing these students of their malaise.” Individuals from the Center for Disease Control and the National Institute of Health will be holding closed door sessions with university officials to discuss relevant updates and possible courses of action to control the outbreak from spreading to other majors within the Georgia Institute of Technology campus.

In the meantime, students are advised to remain cautious. Some students, not wanting to risk infection, have already switched to other majors, with Business Administration and Biology being popular choices. Students, particularly those in 3000 level classes or Senior Design, are at most risk for contracting the disease. Students are also urged to avoid large study groups, and to retreat to their rooms and minimize contact with other BME students. If a student is suspected of having the disease, they are advised to eat a tub of ice cream and watch reality television until they feel like confident members of a vibrant intellectual community again.

The semester is winding down and everyone is wrapping up their last round of tests. We start bidding farewell to our Spring 2013 graduates, wishing everyone best of luck in their future ventures, may they involve graduate school, professional school, or industry. Similarly, the Pioneer is making plans for the next semester, generating content to start the Fall 2013 semester with a novel flare.

In this issue of the Pioneer, we share with you the benefits of an internship experience through a feature on a recent NASA summer intern. We bring you a feature on the Pre-Health Conference and Fair hosted by the American Medical Student Association that filled the Georgia Tech Global Learning Center with Professional Health School booths and respective school administration. For a deeper insight into graduate school, we bring you a feature on Clarissa Shephard where we dive into her experiences in the field of neuroscience.  Additionally, we bring you a new research series. This installment discusses information on tissue engineering in the Biotechnology Quad and what skills would be helpful to succeed in the field. We also bring you a unique feature on a pandemic ravaging the BME department. Stay strong biomedical engineers!

For more regular updates on the happenings of the biotechnology community, feel free to like our page on Facebook at www.facebook.com/gtpioneer and follow us on Twitter at twitter.com/pioneergt. Additionally, take a glance at more online content on our site at thepioneer.gatech.edu. As always, feel free to contact us by e-mail at thepioneer@gatech.edu.

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With warm regards,

Harish M. Srinimukesh

Editor-in-Chief

Pioneer

What to do with your summers really depends on where you are in your academic career! Sometimes you really just need a break. On those summers, it is nice to get away and do something relaxing. I studied abroad one summer and worked for my father one summer. Neither of those things were the least bit related to BME, but looking back I am very happy that I did them! Research and interning are two other viable options that many of us do during the summers.  If you are in a rush to graduate, taking extra classes during the summer may be your ticket to graduation!

How does BME change from freshman year to senior year? Do you start to be more of a “BME” person?

As the years pass by, we BME-ers do certainly grow closer together. Taking so many classes together and spending quality time in Whitaker allows ample opportunity for friendship and community to develop.  In regards to your first question, your first two years are full of core classes. The last two are really more BME focused. You will take a lot of really hard, but enjoyable classes! The skills you learn in those classes are the ones that employers pay us the big money for out in the real world!

What is a good way to get to know people to recommend me for jobs/schools/etc.?

The best I have for you here is just to talk to your professors! Go to their office hours, email them, and if you want to get some major brownie points invite them for coffee. There are two convenient cafes right next to the Whitaker building. Professors are awfully busy, but they do love coffee!

Do you have any words of encouragement? It’s been a rough semester…

Oh man, I’m sorry to hear that! I’m no motivational speaker, but I’ll give it a go…Tech is a hard school. You will be challenged here. You will have to work harder than you have ever worked before. It is easy to get your head bogged down with all of the things that are asked of you, but let me tell you something – IT GETS BETTER!

You may have a rough week, month, or even semester, but at the end of it all you will look back and be incredibly proud of the hard work you put into it. The pain and hardships all pass, and once you have fought your way through you will know things that 99% of the population do not. You are learning the art of medicine. You are working to change the world and give people the gift of life!

I like to think that if I have the ability and opportunity to do good for someone; then I also have the moral obligation to do it! Studying here and learning BME will equip you with a unique set of skills that you will use for the rest of your life to help others. You are a good person, and pursuing a noble career. Keep up the good work!

Finally, I’d like to leave you with two quotes that always help me to stay on track. BME is known as the jack-of-all-trades. You are not specializing in one academic pursuit, you are learning a set of skills that will prepare you for a future as a leader. It is hard, but I know you can do it. In the words of Robert Heinlein, “A human being should be able to change a diaper, plan an invasion, butcher a hog, conn a ship, design a building, write a sonnet, balance accounts, build a wall, set a bone, comfort the dying, take orders, give orders, cooperate, act alone, solve equations, analyze a new problem, pitch manure, program a computer, cook a tasty meal, fight efficiently, die gallantly. Specialization is for insects.”

Stick with it. All of your hard work will pay off!

“Whatever you are, be a good one”

What is the best way to get through finals week unscathed?

The key is to study early and study often.  The earlier you can begin working on reviewing finals material, the less stressed dead week will be for you.  Keep a good set of notes going throughout the semester and never throw out class material such as quizzes, tests or even homework.  Make review sheets and put all the information that could be on the test on those sheets.  Even if this seems like a lot of information, rewriting and reviewing material in this manner will certainly help you remember more come test time.  Most importantly SLEEP. Getting adequate sleep and eating well, both in the week leading up to finals and during finals week, is essential and will increase your performance significantly.

Registration is coming up, I need help!!

AEMB is offering registration help sessions during the first week of registration.  Stop by for advice from classmates who have been in your position and avoid registration headaches!  Keep an eye open for an email regarding the hours for which help will be provided.