Blog post written by Alejandro Albarracín González
If you’ve ever wondered what a week in the life of an international student at UM-Dearborn is like, then look no further. I’m an international student from Spain, entering my senior year here at the university. I’m getting my undergraduate degree in microbiology, which means I have plenty of classwork and research going on during the week, while still trying to make time for student organization activities and other campus life stuff.
Here’s what a typical week in my life looked like last semester.
Monday
On Mondays, I only had one class, Virology with Professor Christopher Alteri. It was a very advanced class where I learned a lot — so advanced, in fact, that the class was composed of both graduate and undergraduate students!
In the afternoon, I would usually meet with the Student Activities Board (SAB), a student organization that I am a part of, to talk about upcoming events. We try to make sure that these events are either free or budget-friendly for students. Last semester, we took over fifty students to Ann Arbor’s Big House, participated in escape rooms, and hosted Family Feud events.
Right after, I headed to the greenhouse in the Natural Sciences Building, where I work watering and repotting plants and observing toads (though this might be more of a hobby).
Later, I had a meeting with my team for the university’s Digital Storytelling program, led by Professor Marie Waung. This project, created by the Office of Holistic Excellence, helps students tell their stories through short movies.
To end the day, I met with the Alternative Breaks team. This fantastic volunteer program connects students with opportunities to help local communities during the semester break. For Spring break, we went to Chicago to help make paths and clean at a community farm.
Tuesday
On Tuesday, I had two classes: organic chemistry (orgo) followed by intro to psychology.
After both classes were done, I would go to Professor Jie Fan’s office in the Science Faculty Center to talk about my current research. As a student taking credited research, I presented him with literature reviews, protocol updates, and experiment results on a weekly basis. The project I was working on examined the effect of Tau proteins on brain cells.
When I got back home, I played some music, studied orgo, and fed my pet gecko Mochi.
Wednesday
On Wednesday, I had virology again in the morning. Then, I had a microbial genetics class followed by a physiology lab — a nearly 4-hour lab on microbiology where we worked on basic lab techniques to apply what we had learnt in class.
This week, I had an organic chemistry exam after lab, so I spent the rest of the day prepping for and taking the exam.
Thursday
Thursday started with my organic chemistry class. During this week, I had a meeting with the Diplomacy committee of RAICEX afterwards (a Spanish Government-led initiative to create a network of all Spanish scientists abroad), where we worked on proposing initiatives for this year.
After that, I had Introduction to Psychology. Then I held my weekly office hours for the Digital Storytelling project in Wolverine Commons, located on the second floor of the Renick University Center (best work spot for group projects!)
Since I finished early, I called my family in Spain and talked to them for HOURS. I only get to call them when I finish early because of the time difference!
Friday
Fridays were my no-class days. I usually spent the day at the SAB office at the Renick University Center with my friend Adam. We would do our office work and homework throughout the day.
That Friday, I had the chance to attend an info session for University of Michigan students on some graduate programs at other universities. As UM-Dearborn students, we have opportunities to learn about programs at information sessions organized by Ann Arbor; they are open to all three campuses!
After that, I went to the SAB office and worked until 5 p.m., then attended a meeting for the iGEM team initiative — a club we are working on opening on campus. iGEM is a synthetic biology competition where student-led teams work on open-access research projects of their choice over the summer.
Finally, I went back home and enjoyed a movie, Jason and the Argonauts. Who doesn’t like rewatching an old movie?
Over the Weekend
I worked on some essays for graduate scholarships, finalized the organization of an event in Ann Arbor with ECUSA (Spanish Scientists in the USA, a non-profit for Spanish-speaking scientists' networking and community outreach programs), and prepared my suitcase to go to Chicago with my Alternative Break peers.
