Week 1 Storytelling: Dr. Biggs and the Pre-Med

      There was once a pre-med student that was studying Organic Chemistry II in the depths of the silent library during finals week at the University of Oklahoma. The student could hardly keep his eyes open and the organic molecules in the organic chemistry textbook began to dance on the pages. Finally the student had given in to his desire to sleep and laid his head in the nook of his textbook and closed his eyes.

(Photo of Organic Chemistry II mechanisms taken by myself 2014)

       The student awoke the next morning with minutes to spare before his class began that day and he dreaded his upcoming final in five days. The student grabbed his textbook and looked at it with dismay. The student could not stop blaming the teacher for his lack of understanding and complained to everyone around him that he did not need to know any of this material for medical school. The student could not contain himself anymore and while walking down the south oval with his group of friends he jokingly called out to his professor, “Dr. Biggs will you not make this final easy so that your students may pass?”

      Then, in the blink of an eye, the student looked up and saw Dr. Biggs blocking his path. Dr. Biggs said, “Is it my fault that you sleep and talk with your friends in class? Do you think that you can make an A in this course by studying the weekend before a test on Monday? I cannot help you unless you make an effort to help yourself and your grade. You must take the initiative to bring about your desired goal and not depend on others to hand it to you.”

 When Dr. Biggs left the student realized that she was right. The student gathered his notes and textbook and headed to the library. He studied intensely and practiced problems repeatedly and on the day of the test he was able to answer nearly every question correctly. The student left that semester with an unforgettable lesson learned.

The path to success is hindered when you depend on others to make you successful. 

The best way to be successful is to take the initiative and make your own path.

 

(My friend and I studying for our Organic Chemistry II final taken by myself 2014)

 Author's Note: This story stems from a tale titled "Hercules and the Wagoner" in The Aesop for Children by Milo Winter. This story focused around a man whose wagon was stuck in a rut and his first action was to call to Hercules for help, and not attempt to solve the problem himself at all. Hercules then comes and tells the man to try to resolve the situation himself, because Hercules would not help him until he made an effort to help himself. The man then pushed on the wagon and with the help of his horses was able to get the wagon out of the rut without the help of Hercules. As I was reading this story it reminded me of things I have heard students say in difficult science courses, even though they make little attempt to study the materials. I followed a similar storyline with the plot focusing around a pre-med student and how the student must first try to succeed on their own, instead of hoping for an easy exam from the professor and how they would be surprised at the outcome.

Bibliography:

"Hercules and the Wagoner" by Milo Winter, from page 17 of The Aesop for Children (2006). Web Source:   Gutenberg Ebooks.