Call Me a Writer

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This is a picture of my first published article in a professional magazine. I was a part of the journalism program throughout all four years of high school, and this year I took my first internship with a publishing company. I have written many articles for their various publications, my favorite times being interviewing passionate professionals in Columbus. I enjoy hearing their stories and getting the opportunity to tell them to the public.

Le Français

revised french composition

This is my French term paper for my spring semester French grammar class. For the paper, we were asked to write about a time in our lives where we saw ourselves differently. I wrote about my spring break trip to Cocoa Beach, Florida, with H2o. H2o is a campus church. I truly learned about Jesus during this trip and was baptized in the Atlantic Ocean on March 20. So, this paper shows two major aspects of my life–Jesus and my love for the French language.

Dressed to the Nines, Planned to Perfection

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This winter, I had the privilege to help plan and organize the formal for my women’s scholarship housing program. I love organization and planning, I am far from a go-with-the-flow type. And, the evening was perfect. I was honored when my peers thanked me for the work I put into everything and it made the meetings and decorating worth it when I knew everyone had a special evening. This was another event that pushed me to consider administration because of my love for involvement with college students and organizing events for them that will enrich lives.

Apresentação em grupo

Portuguese Presentation

In the past few weeks, I was required to collaborate with three other students to create a 15-minute group presentation for my Portuguese class. This was my first semester taking the language and the whole project was in Portuguese. This artifact is the copy of our group powerpoint, in which we discussed a fictional interview with supermodel, Gisele Bundchen. The project evaluated our speaking and writing skills, as well as abilities to work with others.

Group projects are often challenging, however, I was surprised by the dedication and effort that my other group members provided. Going into the assignment, I was at first daunted by the amount of time we would be speaking in front of the class and the fact that I had to heavily rely on others. But, this turned out to be the best experience I have ever had with a group project and I learned that I enjoy leading and organizing groups, especially when others also put in effort. Looking forward, I anticipate that I will try to lead more projects in the future and hope to continue working with other enthusiastic students.

Performing at Ohio Stadium

This artifact is a video of the OSU Football Halftime show on Nov. 21 against Michigan State. I am a member of the University Chorus and was privileged to perform with the OSU Marching Band for this show. I selected this artifact because singing is a passion that I have continued to make time for throughout my life. I have been singing since I was in elementary school and joined the chorus at OSU this semester. After not being a part of any musical groups last year, I recognized that I needed to include music in my regular schedule.

I think having a recreational activity that you do for yourself strengthens your identity and provides an outlet for creativity and enjoyment of life outside of work. Collaborating with the band and the sports department required adaptability. We had to recognize different leadership while getting to see the behind the scenes work that goes into every performance for the halftime shows. There is a level of patience that must be developed to try and try again in order to strive for the excellence that makes each performance memorable and high quality. Singing in this show taught me to be patient and flexible, and gave me a little experience of working on a large-scale project with several hundred people. I will never forget the joy and amazement I felt walking onto the field at Ohio Stadium with 140 other singers, all proud to be Buckeyes.

Reflecting on Year Two

At the beginning of the 2015 school year, I started STEP, which is the Second-Year Transformational Experience Program for those who live on campus their second year at OSU. We were required to complete a Strengthsfinder test, and spent time discussing our different strong personality traits. I think I have become more confident in who I am as a person after participating in STEP, the International Affairs Scholars Program, and living in the Alumnae Scholarship Housing program.

My strengths test showed that I am a person who takes ideas and turns them into reality. I like taking action, meeting new people, and telling stories, sharing everything I learn with others. I have seen myself grow and mature in the past year professionally and with personal relationships. I did not expect to complete my first internship this year, but I did, spending five months writing for an independent publishing company. Commuting every week and taking the time to learn things in a different, professional setting introduced me to life after graduation. I learned how to communicate with many people of different careers, ages, and backgrounds.

This year, I have had more people open up to me and tell me their life story than I ever anticipated. Sometimes I asked people to share, and other times they started without any prompting. While I was on a spring break trip with my church group, one student I didn’t know very well told me the entire story of his life for three hours. After these recurring experiences and the work with my internship, I have been prompted to consider incorporating counseling or advising into my future career. I know that I want to work with people throughout the day and continuously interact with new individuals. Throughout various interactions I had the joy of meeting people who inspired me. I met a woman named Beatrice this year who has been traveling the world for her undergraduate degree, studying in Paris, at OSU, and then Cambridge. Meeting people of high achievement, with amazing goals for their lives encourages me to continue to follow my passions and dreams.

Among the numerous amazing experiences of this year, during my first semester, I experienced my first conflict with my roommate and I didn’t know how to solve the problem. She woke me up every night and I knew that her sleep schedule wouldn’t change so I tried to fix the problem myself by moving out. By the time we reached Christmas break, we hadn’t spoken in months, but I decided to talk to her and see if we could figure out a better system. I came back after break and we have since been on better terms and talk regularly. It was a big moment in teaching me about the powers of communication and how to work through issues with others.

Thinking back to my first year at Ohio State, it is unbelievable to see the amount that I have changed in a year. I am so happy to have made so many memories in my first two years and look forward to what the next two years of my undergraduate degree bring.

G.O.A.L.S.

Global Awareness: 

I want to travel for the rest of my life. I know that the study abroad opportunities offered to me through OSU during my undergraduate are designed with care and are great opportunities to learn about different cultures around the world and meet new people. I love meeting new people and relating to them. I will be traveling to Brazil for the OSU Brazil Global May program this summer, and then heading to France in June. I am currently a Strategic Communications and Romance Studies double major, studying French, Portuguese, and Italian. I hope to go on to work for a company like the Clinton Global Initiative, for example, so that I am able to use my abilities and passion for people to improve the lives of others around the world. This could be through developing education programs or helping to increase awareness and sponsorship for the company; the possibilities are endless. If I had never been outside of the United States, I would not be the woman I am today. I have a continuous need to learn about other people and other ways of living that help me reflect on my own views and continue maturing. After participating in the study abroad to India last year with the International Affairs program and other studies, I do believe my world view has expanded and I continue to grow and learn more.

Original Inquiry: 

This spring, I completed an independent internship at a local publishing company. I worked there 11 hours a week and learned about the different work and organizations behind publications. I wrote a lot of pieces for several magazines and completed event schedules. This was my first step into a more professional career versus my campus jobs. I first met the company at the fall career fair and completed my third job interview.

I have also participated in various research studies in the school of Communications at OSU. I remember one this year focused on relationships, another focused on advertisements, and several on the effects of social media on self-perception.

 

Academic Enrichment: 

I have a 3.95 GPA, as it states on my resume, and am currently ranked as a third year. I have taken classes at OSU, studied abroad, and continue to expand my limits and abilities. I made the decision to double major in Romance Studies and Strategic Communications this year, which means I am currently learning French and Portuguese, and will start Italian next year. I have discovered unexpected challenges behind learning three different languages at the same time and trying to think in one, but writing vocabulary of another. But, I love learning, even when it’s challenging.

 

Leadership Development: 

This year I was elected president of a student organization for wellness and the membership chair of a service organization. I have held two jobs, an internship, and I am a leader in my scholarship house. I was also selected for membership in the 2016-2017 Global Leadership Initiative. Throughout the past two years at Ohio State, I have grown as a writer and in my communication skills with others. I have developed a confidence in my abilities and interpersonal skills. Being a part of the scholars program helped introduce me to campus and other bright students passionate about academics and global affairs. Together we helped each other develop and learned about cultures from our own discussions of backgrounds. I am proud that we have all grown into leaders on campus, and proud to say that I am a member of this select group of individuals.

Service Engagement:

This year, I joined the college version of Rotary International, Rotaracts. Rotaracts is a student service organization that participates in various projects throughout the year, such as serving at Faith Mission, Habitat Restore, and the Star House. We help with different homeless shelters, and volunteer for Columbus sports races. We also write letter and make crafts for the children of St. Jude’s hospital. I was recently elected the membership and marketing chair for next year, and I am excited to serve in leadership and continue to be involved in the Columbus community. I hope to encourage more students to participate and serve their surrounding community and those in need.

Rotaract Tree Plant

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Rotaracts Tree Plant

On Saturday, September 12, I volunteered for the first time with a student organization I joined this year, called Rotaracts. This is a picture of me and another girl in the group planting a tree in Goodale Park, with two men volunteering, who work for Coca-Cola. I chose to include this picture because it was my first time volunteering with this new organization, and it was a great and memorable experience. I have since volunteered with Rotaracts many times this semester, serving lunch to the homeless, working at a Habitat for Humanity Restore, and assisting runners in the local 15k.

With each service opportunity, I gain different experience and learn new information, but the day at the park remains one of my favorites. We were able to shadow a landscaper and help label almost all of the trees in the park with new nameplates. He told us about the scientific names of trees and I developed a new appreciation for the care that went into the design of the park. One thing I think I continue to learn is that sometimes the greatest experiences come when you least expect them. I did not think I would enjoy learning about trees as much as I did that day. I also practiced listening more that morning and gained knowledge by asking good questions about a subject of which I had little knowledge. These are skills that can be useful in nearly any situation, especially in my field, which is communications.