You get the award for best username, ha ha.
If you search this site, you'll see about a gazillion of those page 217 essays, and they might give you good ideas. There is a big controversy over whether they mean p. 217 out of a life story or out of one's story up until now.
...that made it possible to test babies for the likelihood of... ---> got any other ideas for the discovery you will make? This one refers to a controversial subject that might strike a nerve with some readers. No big deal, though! I think it is great.
I also like the way you began this essay; many people start with an ellipsis (...), but the first few words you chose are especially cool.
We race over to the fast food joint and stuff our faces full of deliciously fresh burgers, a luxury I haven't enjoyed since living in California. We get back into her car, bellies now full and caught up with the past twenty years, and head over to the university.
This part is a little dull and weird, creating the image of stuffing ("deliciously fresh?") burgers into your face. This writing is so good, I know you can come up with a better use for this part!
:-)