Forty Hour Service Project

To achieve gaining forty hours of service experience, I worked with the Wexner Medical Center Emergency Department and Girls on the Run, a local organization with the mission of empowering young women through wellness and exercise. Working at the wexner medical center weekly, I escorted patients and families throughout the entire hospital to ensure that they got to the correct destination within the medical center. When I worked in the Emergency department as a greeter, I cleaned the waiting area to ensure a healthy environment for the patients. In addition, I worked with the medic and the patient experience advocate to help patients and families navigate the expansive emergency department for their treatments.

While partnering with Girls on the Run, I raised funds with my sororities’ philanthropy program and volunteered at the 5k race here in Downtown Columbus. It was very moving to watch all the girls complete the first 5k with the help of the Girls on the Run coaches and teammates. Cheering them on was one of the most moving experiences during my time at Ohio State because you could see the determination on their faces to finish and just how proud they were when they did finish their first 5k race.

First Year in Review

My first year at OSU has been one of the best years of my life.  I have grown not only as a student but as a person.  I have learned how to identify my strengths and weaknesses and how to work on my weaknesses to become an even better person.  The people that I have met so far have made my time here so worth it and so fun.  The new experiences and opportunities that I have had here have been so amazing.  Exploring Columbus in and out of the class room has been so fun and I feel like I have truly learned more about the world.  My preconceived notions and expectations about college and HSS have been exceeded greatly.  College has turned out to be a place of so much opportunity and learning.  HSS has been a great way to make connections with people who share similar interests and common career goals as me.  My goals for next year are to keep up with the grades I have been getting so far and to become more involved on campus.  I would love to become a volunteer at the Wexner Medical center because I love volunteering and having patient interaction.  My last goal is to find something new on campus or in downtown Columbus every week.  I’m so excited for all of the new opportunities I can experience next semester.

Service Experience

My service experience this year was super rewarding and helped to remind me why I chose this career path in the first place.  I mostly spent my service time with children because I find it to be the most rewarding kind of service and I want to become a pediatrician one day. The majority of my service hours were spent in Buckeyes for a Cause, Buckeyethon Dance Marathon, and the organization that I am a member of, A Kid Again.  I spent 3 hours volunteering at an A Kid Again game night.  These are super fun events because A Kid Again provides game nights and other fun experiences for terminally ill children and their families to take part in while they are not in a hospital or at doctors’ visits.  This game night took place in October and was Halloween themed.  I helped to wrap the kids up like mummies and helped set up the ring toss game.  I spent the majority of my time, 15 hours, making cards and bracelets for the children in Nationwide Children’s Hospital.  It made me feel happy that one day a young girl or boy who is laying sick in a bed would receive one of my cards or bracelets and hopefully have a better day because of it.

My most memorable service experience this year has to be being part of the Buckeyethon Dance Marathon.  We raised thousands of dollars for children with pediatric cancer who are being treated at Nationwide Children’s Hospital and this meant a lot to me because of my career goal.  Overall, it was an amazing and very moving experience because we actually got to meet the children that we were helping.  Even though I was completely exhausted, and almost delirious after dancing for 12 hours it was completely worth it.  The most moving part of the whole event was when we got to speak to the kids and they got to paint our faces because it just reminds how innocent these kids are and how said it is that have to go through something so intense.

 

Upperclassmen Interview

I interviewed my RA, Paul Emenogu Ntia who happens to also be in Health Science Scholars.  He is pursuing a neuroscience major on the Premed track.  While I am a biology major and not neuroscience our journeys will be probably very similar since we are both wanting to become doctors.  Paul said that it is a very tiring journey but, he knows it will all be worth it when he finally becomes a doctor.  He knew that he wanted to become a doctor since he was five years old.  He has recently decided he would like to go into surgery rather than medicine.  Even though he majors in neuroscience, he is not sure if he wants to go into neurosurgery because it so exact and on such a small scale.  Paul prefers to work in the body cavity, so his goal is to become either a general surgeon or cardio thoracic surgeon.

We also talked about how he is preparing for the application process for medical school.  He is currently enrolled in a Kaplan review course to prepare for the MCAT and takes a practice test every weekend.  Paul also said that he is scheduled to take the actual test in June and then start the application for all of the medical schools that he wants to apply to.  His dream school is either University of Chicago or University of Miami in Florida medical schools.  His final remark was that even though it can get stressful just to stick with it because it will all work out in the end.

Final Strategic Plan

After this first semester at The Ohio State University, the passion I feel for my future career path is stronger than ever.  Honestly I cannot see myself doing anything other than becoming a pediatrician, which makes me work even harder in my classes to achieve this goal.  My major courses for biology and pre-med prerequisites will prepare me for the MCAT and future testing for medical school.  My understanding of my backup plan is much clearer. Even though it is not my dream, my backup plan of becoming a PA seems just as exciting as becoming a pediatrician, even with its different requirements. With the use of the health science major expo and the meeting with the director of admissions for Ohio State Medical School, I have a concrete plan of how to achieve all of the experiences and goals needed for the application for medical school.

In order to stay mentally and physically healthy in the midst of all of this studying, I plan to make healthy choices when eating around campus.  In addition, working out with friends is a release of stress that I have found to be enjoyable this semester that I will continue with during my time here. It is a mental break from all of the work, while strengthening yourself physically and strengthening social relationships. The utilization of office hours, especially for chemistry has lead me to be very successful thus far because it gave me insight on how my professor thinks and then how he will test the material presented in lecture. I would love to continue to grow academically and socially next semester.  Branching out and making new connections this semester has been very influential to my success thus far and I hope to make even more connections next semester.

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About Me

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Hi! My name is Emily Cushing.  I am a freshman from Syosset, NY majoring in Biology on the Pre-Medicine track.  After Ohio State, I plan on entering the medical field as a pediatrician after obtaining my MD.  I cannot wait to be involved on campus as much as I was involved in high school.  In school, I was the vice-president of my A cappella club, lead soloist in my chamber choir and literary editor for my school blog. I went to All-County numerous times for voice and was honored to be selected for the All-State Choir.  In addition to singing, I also volunteered at my local children’s hospital for two years, which was an amazing experience that actually led me in the direction of becoming a pediatrician.   This year I had the pleasure of being a medical records scanner for the Medical Oncology Associates of Long Island doctors office.  I’m thrilled to be in the Health Science Scholars program where I am sure that my passion for medicine will continue to grow. When I am not studying, I enjoy going to the beach and going to the movies with friends.

Year in Review

[ “Year in Review”  is where you should reflect on the past year and show how you have evolved as a person and as a student.  You may want to focus on your growth in a particular area (as a leader, scholar, researcher, etc.) or you may want to talk about your overall experience over the past year.  For more information, go to: http://honors-scholars.osu.edu/e-portfolio. Delete these instructions and add your own post.]

G.O.A.L.S.

[ “G.O.A.L.S.” is a place where students write about how their planned, current, and future activities may fit into the Honors & Scholars G.O.A.L.S.: Global Awareness, Original Inquiry, Academic Enrichment, Leadership Development, and Service Engagement. For more information, go to: http://honors-scholars.osu.edu/e-portfolio. Delete these instructions and add your own post.

Global Awareness: Students cultivate and develop their appreciation for diversity and each individual’s unique differences. For example, consider course work, study abroad, involvement in cultural organizations or activities, etc .
Original Inquiry: Honors & Scholars students understand the research process by engaging in experiences ranging from in-class scholarly endeavors to creative inquiry projects to independent experiences with top researchers across campus and in the global community. For example, consider research, creative productions or performances, advanced course work, etc.
Academic Enrichment: Honors & Scholars students pursue academic excellence through rigorous curricular experiences beyond the university norm both in and out of the classroom.
Leadership Development: Honors & Scholars students develop leadership skills that can be demonstrated in the classroom, in the community, in their co-curricular activities, and in their future roles in society.
Service Engagement: Honors & Scholars students commit to service to the community.]

Career

[“Career” is where you can collect information about your experiences and skills that will apply to your future career.  Like your resume, this is information that will evolve over time and should be continually updated.   For more information, go to: http://honors-scholars.osu.edu/e-portfolio. Delete these instructions and add your own post.]