Imagine a life in complete silence, sentenced to ‘deaf’ – unable to hear the beautiful symphonies of Mozart, the crash of waves on a Florida beach, the incessant pounding of waterfalls, shared jokes among friends, the words “I love you” – all of the sounds that most take for granted. Now consider these: fire alarms, oven timers, last minute announcements, crucial facts in a professor’s lecture – any warning wasted on your ears. There may be some idle pleasures in silence, like...

Up until November of my sophomore year, I was just shy, nerdy little Jessica Williams. I hadn’t quite adjusted to the dramatic soap opera known as High School. Grades were my life. At another school in the county, my best friend’s new clique was in the process of forming a garage band. She informed them that I drafted song lyrics in my free time; the founder jumped on this news and invited me to be the band’s...

Disregarding the obvious language barrier, I would like to travel back to 2600 BC, the third dynasty of Egypt. There I would converse with Imhotep, an ancient polymath – the Egyptian version of a Renaissance Man. He is credited with being the first architect, engineer, and physician in early history. To me, his cardinal everlasting impact on the world is his groundbreaking work in the field of medicine. At the beginning of the history of medicine, he described the diagnosis and treatment...

For four years, from ages two to five, I went to speech therapy. Every Saturday morning, I sleepily climbed into my father’s blue Mustang Cobra with a sippy cup full of chocolate milk and a bowl of dry cereal. We would drive forty minutes down to Ft. Lauderdale and wait for our weekly appointment with Mrs. Laurie Gaylord (a graduate of WUSTL). I don’t remember much about those days, as I was so young then, but I still...

We have all learned how to walk, to speak, and to hear: these are instinctual, naturally innate skills appearing in the early stages of life. Most forget ever having learnt them at all, and thus attribute them to instinct. Only when one has children can these learning processes finally become apparent and memorable. For a few others however, the mastery of these fundamental skills is forever out of reach. They struggle to learn and perform the most basic functions, yet...

Four times a year, my family and I make the eleven-hour drive from South Florida to our beloved cabin in Copperhill, Tennessee. Each road trip, we pass through the beautiful city of Atlanta, Georgia, and I never fail to set down my novel and gaze upon the metropolis in wonder. I have always taken to urban environments with their bustling activity, abundant events, and cultural attractions; with this in mind, I am drawn toward Emory University, its proximity to Atlanta...

Passionate, intelligent,...

genuine sense of cooperation among students and lack of the usual competitive environment; the...

WashU honestly is a very cooperative and supportive environment. Before enrolling, I had assumed that it...

I would have to say either Cell Biology or Adventures in Nosology: Nature and Meaning of Disease. Cell Biology was one of the first classes I got to take beyond the required pre-med courses. I learned so much about...

Ability! is a small club of passionate individuals working to raise awareness for those with disabilities both on and off campus. The members were very friendly and sincere, and their unifying cause was one that...