It's official - now I understand why I didn't see that many posts from 2nd year students on this blog last year. Upon returning from summer, 2nd years have been doing any number of the following things:
- Taking a full load of electives for the first time
- Working on their Applied Management Research (AMR), Business Creation Option (BCO), or a special project that in effect serves as a master's thesis
- Diving back into the recruiting cycle
- Maximizing what could be their last year in Los Angeles by hiking, going to the beach, or enjoying the wide variety of multi-cultural options available in the city
Given how quickly a schedule can fill up, it's extremely easy to look down one minute... and look up the next and realize the quarter is almost over!
I'm going to focus on two aspects of the fall quarter so far - my AMR project and the additional schedule freedom you have as a 2nd year to take advantage of Los Angeles.
Applied Management Research Project
As a quick overview, AMR is a requirement for 2nd year students. As mentioned above, there are 3 options for students to fulfill the requirement. They can choose Business Creation Option and help start a business; they can choose a special project (lots of options exist here); or they can go the route that the majority of students do, and participate in the AMR Field Study. For more info about AMR in general, check out the AMR website.
My team is doing the AMR Field Study option.
Here's everyone! From left to right, our team consists of Bo Pulito, Lindsay Todd, Devin Scott, Briana Kelly, and myself.
Our team formed last spring prior to the end of year one. AMR teams have the option of bidding on projects with companies that come to Anderson looking for help on a specific issue, or sourcing their own project.
Lindsay sourced our team's project through a family connection. Our team is working with a pair of doctors that have a relationship with the Ministry of Health in Ethiopia. We've been tasked with determining if an oncology unit at a hospital in Hawassa, a city in southeast Ethiopia, can be financially self-sufficient from grant and aid money.
Our team will be going to Ethiopia in late December / early January to conduct primary research. We will start in the capital, Addis Ababa, where we will visit the oncology unit at the hospital located there. After spending a few days meeting with doctors and government officials, we'll head to the city of Hawassa.
The picture above is of the oncology unit at the hospital in Hawassa. It was constructed through grant and aid money. Ethiopia currently has 3 oncologists for a country of 90 million people, or 1 for every 30 million people. In comparison, according to one research source, the U.S. currently has 3.5 - 4 oncologists for every 100,000 people.
As great strides in the battle against communicable diseases such as AIDS, malaria, etc. have been made in developing and lower income countries like Ethiopia, people have begun living longer. With the longer life-span, many of these countries have been experiencing an explosion in non-communicable medical issues such as cancer and diabetes.
As such, it's important for facilities to be in place to offer appropriate levels of service. Our project will have a significant impact, because being able to determine if the oncology unit can be financially self-sufficient will allow the staff to avoid worrying about the unit shutting down if the grant and aid money eventually goes away.
Stay tuned for future updates on how our project progresses!
Life in Los Angeles
In addition to AMR, one of the things I've been most excited about as a 2nd year student is taking advantage of life in LA. In my 1st year, I felt that most of my time was spent on and around campus for various reasons.
This year with a more flexible schedule, I've been able to take advantage of all that LA has to offer.
The first thing I've done is spend A LOT more time at the beach. Pretty much every weekend a group of Anderson students and Sig-O's heads down to the beach to hang out, catch some rays, and play some beach volleyball. There's no better way to decompress and chill out then by going to the beach with your friends!
Additionally, I've taken advantage of the music scene in Los Angeles to start seeing a lot more live music. This fall I've been to Empire of the Sun, St. Lucia, Capital Cities, Two Door Cinema Club, and Local Natives.
Los Angeles has some phenomenal venues in which to take in live music which allows you to combine enjoyment of the outdoors with listening to some great music.
Now that I've had a chance to catch you up on a bit of what's going on, I'm off to bid for my classes for Winter Quarter!
Until next time,
~Kyle Forrest, follow me on Twitter and follow UCLAMBA
