Olivia Tarpley

Review Board Questions

1. Why did you choose this research topic? At the time I was choosing a topic for this project,
this was a widely discussed issue in society and still is today. I was interested in learning
more about it to form my own opinion on the matter and I knew that I wanted to volunteer
in a hospital for my service hours so this was the perfect opportunity.
2. What interested you in this topic? My mother works in a hospital and a lot of times
after work she would come home and talk to me about the increase in overdose
patients, she’s seen over the past couple years so I became aware of the issue. I take
an interest in the physiology and psychology of the brain so I wanted to learn more
about these opioids and their effects on people and this project was a great
opportunity for that.
3. What was the most interesting aspect of your research? What intrigued me the most
was getting to see patients who needed the medication to do anything. I didn’t
realize how important this medication was to some people till I volunteered at the
hospital.
4. What insight/experience did you gain from working with your mentor? Not applicable
5. How does your chosen issue relate to your future goals? I plan on working in a hospital
when I grow up but I am not sure which avenue I would like to take yet. Getting the
chance to experience different aspects of the hospital staff’s day-to-day job was
really beneficial for me and allowed me to learn more about what I am interested in.
6. What did you learn about yourself through completing this project? I learned that there
are always to sides to a story. There are good reasons to take opioids as well as to
not take them. It isn’t just a straightforward answer just like life really. It’s all
about taking risks.\
7. How has what you learned in school prepared you for this project? School helped me to
do better research and find reliable resources as well as give a good presentation. I
took a public speaking class my first semester here and I feel that that has allowed
me to control my nerves a lot better before I give a presentation.
8. How have you grown through completing the Graduation Project? Through this project
I have learned to respect other people’s opinions more because I am definitely not
always right and a lot of people have disagreed with my opinions on opioids.
9. If you could change something about your service earning experience, what would it be?
I wish I could have talked to the patients more about their opinions on opioids for
medication but because of a lot of their physical states and the fact that I was always
busy doing something, I never had much time.