Welcome to this week's guest blogger, Haley Varnadoe of Marietta, Ohio! Haley is in her second week of studying at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore with her Joyce Ivy Summer Scholarship.
Hello everyone! My name is Haley Varnadoe and I am a soon-to-be senior at Marietta Senior High School in Marietta, Ohio. I am involved in Academic Challenge, Big Brothers Big Sisters, Model United Nations, and hold leadership roles in National Honor Society and math club. I work as a lifeguard and swim lesson instructor, and am also a competitive swimmer and triathlete. I am attending a session called Discover Hopkins at Johns Hopkins University in the big city of Baltimore, Maryland thanks to a scholarship from the Joyce Ivy Foundation.
First, let me start off by saying how different my hometown and Baltimore are. Here in Baltimore, it is very easy to get lost, overwhelmed, and confused with the massive amounts of people, traffic, and neighborhoods, the last of which number about 225. In other words, this city is huge. Now compare that to my small, rural town on the Ohio River of less than 14,000 people. There is quite a difference. That said, there is always something to do in Baltimore, which makes a nice change from what I am used to! My roommate, Regan, and I enjoy going to the Inner Harbor along with our friend Sydney. The Inner Harbor is a "touristy" place filled with great shops, restaurants, and cool places like the National Aquarium. We also ventured into Little Italy, and I can honestly say that my belly has never been more happy than it was that night. Italian desserts are the best!
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My experience here in the dorms has been exciting. My roommate is from Hawaii! We share a room together, and we share a suite which includes a mini kitchen and bathroom with two other girls who each have their own room. There are three lounges on each floor, one used for studying and two for relaxing and watching movies with friends. On the first floor there is a ping pong table along with a laundry room and full kitchen, and in the dorm directly across from us is a movie theater. Our curfews are relatively strict here. We have to be signed in each night by 11:00 and in our rooms at midnight. With so many people in the dorms to socialize with, I find this part slightly annoying because I love meeting new people. Each dorm has a 24/7 security guard along with magnetic card entry to the building, elevators/stairwell, wings, and to the locked suites that all require certain keys. Since this is an open campus in the middle of Baltimore, the security measures are necessary but do take some getting used to. Another factor present in the dorms is the diversity. Walking through the different floors and wings, you will find all kinds of different cultures, foods, and games from all over the world. It is a lot of fun to taste food from different cultures and listen to the different languages spoken throughout the dorm. Some countries represented here include Saudi Arabia, Turkey, China, Taiwan, and Japan. The RCs (resident counselors) do a great job of mingling us together during dorm activities such as capture the flag, quesadilla night, Manicure Mondays, movie nights, and outdoor games of Assassin. Tuesday nights are trivia nights, and I am proud to say that I am the McCoy Hall Harry Potter and Nickelodeon trivia champion.
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Now to the important part, my class! My course is titled Food, Nutrition, and Public Health. It is slightly different from what I imagine other Summer Scholars are doing in their programs because I only attend this one class everyday, usually from 9:30 to 3:30 with a lunch break. The course focuses on the epidemics of health related to food and nutrition in America including obesity, "food deserts" (places where affordable and healthy food is not available), mass hunger, and malnutrition. It also explores the cultural significance of food and the current deplorable state of the meat production and packaging industry. Sustainability is also a large theme in the course. We learn a lot from the Johns Hopkins Center for a Liveable Future and we took a field trip to the famous and sustainable Woodberry Kitchen here in Baltimore. Field trips happen every day, and besides Woodberry Kitchen, we have visited several organic urban gardens, an aquaponics facility, the Maryland Food Bank, and the Baltimore Museum of Industry. Soon we will visit the White House for a tour of the kitchen and garden, and we will also be visiting the famous and local Lexington Market in Baltimore. We keep very busy by learning and visiting such neat places!
Overall, my experience here has been remarkable. Before the program, I had no idea that public health was even a college major. Now I am thinking that public health is what I want to study when I go to college. I am so thankful to the Joyce Ivy Foundation for the opportunity for me to spend time here at JHU. This awesome experience has allowed me to explore my future, meet new people, and learn some amazing things inside and outside of the classroom.
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Haley
Hello everyone! My name is Haley Varnadoe and I am a soon-to-be senior at Marietta Senior High School in Marietta, Ohio. I am involved in Academic Challenge, Big Brothers Big Sisters, Model United Nations, and hold leadership roles in National Honor Society and math club. I work as a lifeguard and swim lesson instructor, and am also a competitive swimmer and triathlete. I am attending a session called Discover Hopkins at Johns Hopkins University in the big city of Baltimore, Maryland thanks to a scholarship from the Joyce Ivy Foundation.
First, let me start off by saying how different my hometown and Baltimore are. Here in Baltimore, it is very easy to get lost, overwhelmed, and confused with the massive amounts of people, traffic, and neighborhoods, the last of which number about 225. In other words, this city is huge. Now compare that to my small, rural town on the Ohio River of less than 14,000 people. There is quite a difference. That said, there is always something to do in Baltimore, which makes a nice change from what I am used to! My roommate, Regan, and I enjoy going to the Inner Harbor along with our friend Sydney. The Inner Harbor is a "touristy" place filled with great shops, restaurants, and cool places like the National Aquarium. We also ventured into Little Italy, and I can honestly say that my belly has never been more happy than it was that night. Italian desserts are the best!
Some of my favorite things I've gotten to eat in Baltimore! The top two are delicious desserts in Baltimore's Little Italy from a restaurant called Vaccaro's. The bottom picture is one of the entrees I ate when my class took a trip to the Woodberry Kitchen.
My experience here in the dorms has been exciting. My roommate is from Hawaii! We share a room together, and we share a suite which includes a mini kitchen and bathroom with two other girls who each have their own room. There are three lounges on each floor, one used for studying and two for relaxing and watching movies with friends. On the first floor there is a ping pong table along with a laundry room and full kitchen, and in the dorm directly across from us is a movie theater. Our curfews are relatively strict here. We have to be signed in each night by 11:00 and in our rooms at midnight. With so many people in the dorms to socialize with, I find this part slightly annoying because I love meeting new people. Each dorm has a 24/7 security guard along with magnetic card entry to the building, elevators/stairwell, wings, and to the locked suites that all require certain keys. Since this is an open campus in the middle of Baltimore, the security measures are necessary but do take some getting used to. Another factor present in the dorms is the diversity. Walking through the different floors and wings, you will find all kinds of different cultures, foods, and games from all over the world. It is a lot of fun to taste food from different cultures and listen to the different languages spoken throughout the dorm. Some countries represented here include Saudi Arabia, Turkey, China, Taiwan, and Japan. The RCs (resident counselors) do a great job of mingling us together during dorm activities such as capture the flag, quesadilla night, Manicure Mondays, movie nights, and outdoor games of Assassin. Tuesday nights are trivia nights, and I am proud to say that I am the McCoy Hall Harry Potter and Nickelodeon trivia champion.
Me and my roommate after a dorm-wide game of Assassin one night. We had to wear all black to play the game and felt like taking a silly picture after. It was taken on her Polaroid camera.
Overall, my experience here has been remarkable. Before the program, I had no idea that public health was even a college major. Now I am thinking that public health is what I want to study when I go to college. I am so thankful to the Joyce Ivy Foundation for the opportunity for me to spend time here at JHU. This awesome experience has allowed me to explore my future, meet new people, and learn some amazing things inside and outside of the classroom.
Loving Johns Hopkins!
Interested in learning more about the Joyce Ivy Summer Scholars program? Click here!
Ready to find out more about the offerings at Joyce Ivy partner program "Discover Hopkins" that Haley is attending right now? Click here!
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