Hello From Denver!

Hello from Denver!

My name is Brittni Lair and I am a 4^th year Biology major and Spanish minor. I hope to go to Physician Assistant School next year. I am so lucky and happy to be at Wartburg West. My mom was nervous that once I came out here I would never want to go back to Minnesota… well I think she might have been right! Denver is an amazing place and has so much to offer.

So far classes have been very interesting. In the ID course we have been discussing the history of Denver.  It is interesting learning about how Denver became the great city is it today. In the religion course we have been investigating the faith of our founding fathers.  On Monday we had the opportunity to celebrate MLK day in Denver. We had breakfast with members of the Urban Servant Corps and then walked in the MLK marade. This whole experience was great and definitely something that I would have never done on my own. It was interesting seeing the diverse people who participated in the walk. Seeing thousands of people come together to celebrate MLK day was very moving. Tomorrow we are visiting the state capitol which should be fun!

Even though we take classes two days a week, the bulk of my week is spent at the Denver Health Emergency Department.  I was lucky to get placed in one of the best level one trauma facilities in the United States. Each day I fold linens, clean rooms, get things for patients, and run errands for the nurses and technicians. My favorite part about my internship is that I get to follow the physicians and nurses around all day. I have already seen more in my three weeks here than I have in my 60+ hours of job shadowing experience. There is never a dull moment in the Emergency Department. Denver Health is the county hospital; therefore it provides care to anyone regardless of ability to pay. It took a little while to get used to the homeless, jail inmates, and people with severe substance abuse issues who come into the hospital. There are times when I can’t even believe my eyes. This experience will help my future in the medical field immensely. I have already learned a ton and can’t wait to learn more!

Aside from work and school, I have found plenty of other ways to keep me busy! There is a recreational park called Washington Park only a few blocks away from the apartment complex that I have fallen in love with. It is January and I have been running outside almost every day! That does not happen in Minnesota or Iowa. Last weekend I went to Fort Collins to visit my cousins. We went to a brewery and watched the Broncos game. Fort Collins is gorgeous! Yesterday, a group of 6 of us went to   The Balistreri Vineyards with two Wartburg West alumni. We got to taste over 20 different wines and got a tour as well. It was a lot of fun! The winery is brand-new and has a great banquet hall for weddings.  It is definitely a place I would recommend going.  Then last night my roommate Katy and I were lucky enough to go to a concert. We saw Scotty McCreery, The Band Perry, and Brad Paisley at the Pepsi Center. It was nice because we hopped on the light rail about 3 blocks away from our apartment and it brought us right to the Pepsi Center. The concert was AMAZING!!! One of the highlights was that Tim Tebow showed up! You can about imagine how exciting that was for all the people at the show. Before we came out to Denver, Katy had said her goal was to see Tim Tebow. Little did she know that it would actually happen! Those are just a couple of highlights from the past week. Other than that, I have been to the Public Library, numerous good restaurants and bars, to the 16^th Street Mall, to Cherry Creek mall, and much more. There is an endless amount of things to do in the Denver area. I am so happy that I am out here! I hope everyone is staying warm back home! J

Brittni Lair