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Artifact 3

My third artifact is Summit which was directed and attended by members of the Mount Leadership Society. Summit was held at the end of September this year at the Ohio Union. It involved a keynote speaker and many other discussion leaders who ran sessions surrounding the topic of citizenship.

One reason why I found Summit so meaningful was that it was one of the first times that I was in the same room together with the new first years, my class, and the third and fourth years that I had mostly only ever seen over Zoom. Summit provided us with opportunities to get to speak to each other about important topics and get to learn from one another. I remember having one discussion group in the afternoon that left me so amazed by how well-spoken some of my peers were, which inspired me to want to become a more confident and eloquent speaker myself.

I also loved Summit because of the exposure I got to other professors at the university and their thoughts. After 3 semesters of heavy math and science classes, I have realized that I miss many classes housed in the humanities like social studies. Even though I only got to spend a few short sessions with different humanities professors here, I walked away very inspired by all that they had to say and found myself wanting every class I attended in college to feel like that. This has made me consider adding another minor, such as one in history, that will allow me to continue discussing topics outside of STEM that peak my interest and broaden my education here at Ohio State.

G.O.A.L.S.

While I feel like I accomplished a lot during my first year at Ohio State, there is still so much more that I’d like to do with the rest of my time here. Now that I have decided on majoring in Industrial and Systems Engineering, I would love to dive deeper into that field and continue to learn more about how I can combine my interests in both engineering and business into a career that I’m passionate about. I would also love to maximize the time I have here by developing stronger relationships with my classmates, club members, professors, and friends, and make up for the time we lost last year due to the pandemic.

  • Global Awareness: One thing I want to do in my college years is study abroad. I’ve always enjoyed learning about history and cultures, especially in Europe, and I would love to have the opportunity to spend a few months immersing myself in a community I’ve grown up learning about. I think that being surrounded by a different way of life could help inspire me to reconsider the things I take as given in life and open my mind to new ideas.
  • Original Inquiry: College is the time to explore new hobbies, and one new hobby that I’ve picked up is writing. It’s so far been just a few poems and short pieces, but I’d love to push myself to use my time here to continue writing and see if it could become more than just a hobby someday.
  • Academic Enrichment: Over the next 3 years, I’d like to strive to keep my GPA up and continue to perform well in all of my classes, even if some challenge me more than others. I would also like to translate what I’ve learned in the classroom into multiple internships over the next few years. I feel that these experiences could help enhance and further what I’ve learned in my coursework.
  • Leadership Development: As a Service Committee Chair in the Mount Leadership Society Scholars Program, I intend to spend the rest of this year developing my skills as a leader, both in smaller committee settings and at larger events in which I can improve my public speaking skills. I would also love to be an officer in my IISE club during my junior and senior year.
  • Service Engagement: This year, as part of my Year of Service through Mount Scholars, I have committed to volunteering for 75 hours at NNEMAP Food Pantry right here in Columbus. So far I have served 13 hours, and this service has already proven to be very meaningful to me. I hope that even after my Year of Service comes to an end that I continue to volunteer and give back to the Columbus community through the other organizations that I am involved with at OSU, such as Buckeyethon.

Artifact 2

For my second artifact, I want to share about my experience as a Lead Builder in Mount Legacy Week. Mount Legacy Week is an event that gives all first-year members of the Mount Leadership Society Scholars Program the chance to carry out two impactful service projects with local agencies. Each member joins one of six teams that focus on different topics, and the group that I was most excited to join was Team Environment. Within each team, there are two Lead Builders that help lead the group throughout each phase of the project, and I was immediately drawn to this position. 

As a Lead Builder, I have been given the opportunity to help lead a team of nearly 20 people in creating two-environmentally focused service projects. Although there is still a month left until our actual service event, I have already recognized my growth as a leader from serving in this position. Over the last two months, I have helped host weekly Zoom meetings with my team, designated tasks to team members, contacted various service agencies, and navigated the challenges of planning a service event in the uncertainty of a pandemic. 

To succeed in each of these undertakings, I had to draw on what I’ve learned about effective leadership in my scholars class, and to channel this into my own style of leadership. Over the planning stages, my team and I quickly discovered that some tasks in a project are unappealing and unlikely to garner any volunteers. Rather than forcing someone to take the lead on one certain assignment, I volunteered to do so myself. As a leader, I believe it’s important to show your team members that you would never ask them to take on a role that you would not also be willing to take on yourself. I have found that leading by example helps develop a mutual respect among team members, as no one is left feeling as if they are being taken advantage of. 

Additionally, throughout the course of this project, I have learned more about why I enjoy being a leader; I’ve realized that I thrive when being entrusted with extra responsibility, that I deeply appreciate the connections I make with my fellow team members, and that I love being highly involved in projects for which I am passionate about. While I will still serve in this leadership role for another month, I am already extremely grateful for all the opportunities it’s granted me, and I look forward to all else it has to offer. 

 

Career

As a sophomore in college, I have a better idea of my professional goals compared to when I enrolled in college. When I first came to OSU, I started in the Fisher College of Business, but I was interested in doing engineering as well. With the guidance of my academic advisors, I switched into the College of Engineering as a Chemical Engineering major and picked up a business minor. However, after a semester in chemical engineering, I realized that I wasn’t exactly passionate about molecules and chemical reactions, so I switched into Industrial and Systems Engineering. 

As an Industrial and Systems Engineering major, I can easily see myself incorporating my interests in engineering and business into my career. My current professional goals involve using my degree to work in supply chain management and logistics, and eventually transitioning into a management position in my company. I also anticipate my career going in directions I can’t predict right now, which is why I’d like to spend my time in college studying a range of subjects that could be useful later in my career. 

Some classes I’ve taken so far that have helped me in my professional goals include an accounting class, my initial engineering classes where I was able to develop and market a product with a team of my classmates, and also a business operations and supply chain class which helped me discover my interest in supply chain management. 

Some future coursework I’m excited for include the classes I will take for the ISE major. This semester I’m taking my first official ISE class and I’ve already really enjoyed applying my knowledge in math, science, and engineering towards a topic I’m interested in. I’m also excited to take the rest of my business minor classes, like finance and marketing. I’m also considering adding a history minor. Although it may not seem to directly apply to my current professional goals, I believe it’s important to have a great understanding of our history, and I think these could be classes that help me later in life even if I’m not entirely sure how at the moment. 

I am also involved in extracurriculars that are supporting my professional goals. I am a member of the Institute of Industrial and Systems Engineers which has enabled me to connect and network with ISE majors and alumni, get resume feedback, and gain more exposure to the variety of opportunities available to people with my major. I am also a Teaching Assistant for BUSMGT 3130, which has allowed me to develop greater mastery of business operations and supply chain management and has helped me network with professors and students in the Fisher College of Business. Additionally, as a Service Committee Chair in the Mount Leadership Society Scholars Program, I have gained more leadership and project management experience which can be useful in any career I pursue. 

I have been fortunate to have the mentorship of my academic advisors, alumni in Mount, upperclassmen in my major and clubs, and family friends who have helped me identify my professional goals and given me advice on how to best reach them.

Artifact 1

For my first artifact, I chose to focus on my Girl Scout Gold Award project. To earn this award, I planted a butterfly garden behind my old elementary school to help the monarch butterfly population and to also educate the students there about the importance of taking care of the environment. Over my 80+ hour project, I collaborated with various community leaders and garden centers to make my garden a success. After completing the hard work of planting the garden, my favorite part was having the opportunity to share my project with the students at the school. Every week, I met with the kids in the afterschool program. They were always very excited to help me water the plants and to learn more about caterpillars and butterflies. I also even got the chance to speak to two second grade classes about the threat that pesticides pose to milkweed, and how important it is for each of us to do our part in preserving nature.

Over the course of my project, I grew as both a problem solver and as a leader. While I was thorough in planning out my project, some factors outside of my control meant that things didn’t always go to plan. To stay on track, I learned the importance of being adaptable and of taking advantage of the opportunities that are available to you, even if they aren’t the ones that you expected. By working alongside authority figures in my community, I also developed a greater sense of confidence in my communication skills and my professionalism. In addition, I developed more leadership skills when speaking with the younger students, as I made sure to always be a positive role model for them and to use my project as a platform to encourage them to take an interest in nature. Although I took a lot away from my Gold Award in terms of personal growth, I am most proud of the way in which it allowed me to give back to my school and community, and also help preserve the monarch butterfly population.

About Me

Hi! My name is Leah Horan, and I am a freshman at The Ohio State University. I am currently majoring in Industrial and Systems Engineering and am pursuing a minor in business.

While attending Centerville High School, I was very dedicated in all my areas of involvement. In the classroom, I distinguished myself as a National Merit Commended Scholar, earned the Ohio Seal of Biliteracy for Spanish, and was selected as a Presidential Scholar Candidate. When I wasn’t studying, I played a variety of sports such as soccer, swim, and track, worked three different jobs, and served 100+ hours at a local hospital and other organizations. I also earned my Girl Scout Gold Award by planting a butterfly garden at my elementary school and helped to educate students about environmental conservation, in addition to being a recipient of the Rotary Youth Leadership Award.

In college, while continuing to be very committed to my studies, I am also pursuing growth in all spheres of my life. By fulling involving myself in the Mount Leadership Society Scholars Program where I am a member of the Service Committee, I strive to improve as a better leader, teammate, and advocate for positive change. I hope that by developing strong character and achieving balance in my life that I will be better suited to apply my education to a life of meaningful work in whatever career I decide, with the intent of creating a lasting, purposeful impact.

Year in Review

Although the past two semesters flew by, over the last year I feel that I have grown a lot as a student, leader, and member of the Buckeye community.

Within the last 9 months, I have switched my major four times. I initially started in the Fisher College of Business but quickly realized I was also very interested in a career in engineering. After entering the College of Engineering, I learned more about Industrial and Systems Engineering, which I realized would allow me to combine my interests in both business and engineering. Although I switched majors quite a few times, it gave me the clarity to identify Industrial and Systems Engineering as the career path that I would like to pursue over the next three years. 

Additionally, I found that I developed greater leadership skills this year. As part of my scholars program, the Mount Leadership Society, I helped lead a team of 18 of my peers in planning two service events. This included running weekly Zoom meetings within our team, contacting service agencies, and hosting a virtual service event. This experience helped me gain more confidence in my ability to organize and lead a group of people and improve upon my communication skills. I also became DICE certified over the last year, and with this knowledge I believe that I will be able to be more inclusive and fair in my future leadership roles. 

Despite the restrictions on social gatherings this year, I feel like I have grown the most as a member of the Buckeye community. Within my scholars program especially, I have found myself surrounded by people with great character and energy who inspire me to pursue my own ambitions. I have also found a greater connection to OSU by working at Curl Market, where I get to work alongside dozens of other students and make connections with a diverse group of fellow Buckeyes. While the limitations placed by the pandemic did bring some disappointments over the past year, I believe I am leaving this school year as a more confident, capable, and optimistic person, and I am excited to see what the next three years will bring.