Horse Ranch and Laboratory in Sao Paulo, Brazil

 During my winter break in grade eleven and twelve, I visited my mother's home country and interned in a horse club which also had a laboratory. I spent more than thirty hours assisting with ongoing laboratory research. I observed researches done on blood and urine samples and I even helped in the organization of one blood sample to be tested. Secondly, I helped a veterinarian attend clinical examinations and treatments of horses both in the horse club and in the surrounding ranches for twelve hours.   

    

Dance Club

I was a member of my schools Dance Club last year. We worked on basic dance techniques and afterwards with partners we started working on dance figures for the latin dance, Bachata. We spent hours working on our dance figures throughout the year and did our best in each of our performances. We represented our school in three dance festivals. These festivals took place at ENKA Schools, Uskudar American Academy, and at Saint Pulcherie French High School. This club contributed to my team work skills and I enjoyed each and every moment of it. I participated in this club for approximately 2 hours each week.

Veterinary Clinic Experience

My CAS activity has contributed in making me receive new experiences and broad ideas about my future. I always had in mind veterinary medicine as a plan for university. The reason I volunteer at a veterinary clinic is to get a full idea of what it would be like to become a veterinarian and because I enjoy it. I have volunteered for approximately 40 hour during my IB DP program. I Went to the clinic on the weekends when they were accepting me as an observer because I'm not an official intern they couldn't allow me to volunteer every weekends. I have seen the enjoyable moments and yet again the difficulties of being a veterinarian. Some of the difficulties were: dealing with stubborn pet owners, telling the pet owners that their pet will need surgery or telling them that the pet has an incurable disease and has to be put to sleep. The responsibility of having a life in ones hands is great and very pressuring. The satisfaction of seen an animal getting better and saving its life and the happy expression on the owners faces is priceless. I hope to be as good as a doctor as the doctors in the veterinary clinic that I have volunteered.

I got the opportunity to observe common procedures such as: vaccination, taking X-rays and ear and gum cleansing, and eleven surgeries. In the first surgery that I have observed, I was frightened that I would be nauseated or I would get too emotional. Thankfully none of them happened. I have come to realize the major animal health problems veterinarians are asked to solve, as well as the increasing rate of endangerment several species are facing. I had a great experience during the time in the veterinary clinic and hope to receive many more experiences.