About Me

[Your “About Me” is an introduction and should provide insight into who you are as a person and a learner.  This should include a picture of you that is appropriate in a professional/academic context. This information should be continually updated.  For more information, go to: http://honors-scholars.osu.edu/e-portfolio.  Delete these instructions and add your own post.]

Year in Review

I began my sophomore year with the drive to succeed. I knew that this year would be essential not only for creating a strong GPA, solidifying friends, and perfecting extracurricular involvement, but also for creating a stable base for my future academic endeavors. After a full summer of volunteering at Riverside Methodist Hospital, working as a Patient Support Assistant at Riverside, and helping out with neuroscience orientations for incoming freshman, I was ready for a new semester. My autumn semester began with the class that I had heard so much about (in a negative way), Organic Chemistry. Not living up to it’s “hype,” Organic Chemistry lecture and lab proved to be very enjoyable once I realized how crucial organic chemistry is in the production of many of the products that we use everyday. Combined with physics, cognitive neuroscience, and a writing course, autumn semester was veritably intellectually and mentally challenging, but it was definitely a challenge that I  enjoyed overcoming.

Getting off to a solid start in classes, I was especially excited to start up the fall season of OSU Club Baseball. Having spent many hours in the summer working out in the gym and going on runs/sprinting, I was ready to see my improved velocity break the gun come practice. Additionally, each autumn is when we run Club Baseball tryouts. Tryouts come with a new group of incoming freshman who will most likely spend the next four year in the Club Baseball family. With that said, I always look forward to helping run the tryouts so that I can scout out/interact with potential prospects that are both quality ballplayers on the field and decent people off the field as well. I’ll say that I couldn’t be happier with then newest group of Club Baseball players.

In addition to the exciting things happening at Ohio State, life outside was full of good news and vibrancy as well. My older brother Michael, landed his first actuarial job in Greensboro North Carolina, and to the sound of things, he’ll be moving up the ranks at a rapid pace. In addition, I’m willing to bet that I’ll have a sister in law by the end of summer. My sister Mary, who’s a senior at Upper Arlington, has wound down her college search to OSU, Miami, and Ohio Wesleyan, and has the potential to play field hockey competitively. Additionally, my father is still doing great after suffering an ischemic stroke in the MCA 2 autumns ago. Also, It’s always great to stop in and say hi to my mom at the Student Health Center, where she’s always making sure people leave her office with a pearly white smile. Finally, I look forward to interacting with my new cousin expected to drop foot on this earth later in April.

Towards the end of the autumn semester, I was very honored and thankful for being delegated as leader of the Neuroscience I-CAN program through the Neuroscience Ambassadors. Handed one of the largest leadership positions I’ve ever held has truly been a blessing. With this position has come great improvements in my ability to not only understand what it means to be a leader, but to actually carry out that role, and make a group that’s enjoyable for every member. This spring semester has consisted of non-stop coordination with high school teachers from schools around Ohio and surrounding states. Having completed two trips already, one to Walnut Hills High School and Indian Hill High School, we hope to get one more in before the semester comes to a close. The outlook of this program is especially exciting as we hope to begin to bring in more money via grants/external sources and hopefully expand this program. Next semester, we’re hoping to visit high schools in Washington DC. This program is truly embodying our focus to motivate high school students to partake in STEM fields, with an emphasis on advancing the constantly evolving field of neuroscience. In the process, we hope to draw in the best students from high schools around the Midwest.

This year’s spring break in Tampa was especially eventful with my family and Club Baseball team (also family). From speedboat dolphin watching and deep sea fishing, to football on the beach and taking in rays while playing the best game ever created on the diamond, my spring break proved to be one of the best. BUT, you can never let the Florida sun catch you off guard. Staying back an extra day with family, I decided to spend my last day relaxing on the beach. Two and a half hours was all it took–that is, two and a half hours, no sunscreen, and a UV index of 10. When my family and I headed up from Clearwater Beach to make it back for dinner and the UMBC vs. Virginia game, it was then when I began going through extreme, uncontrolled shivering. Fast forward through a miserable night having to get my tomato red body up for constant bathroom breaks (due to the sheer amount of fluid my dad was making me drink), I woke up in the morning in a new world of hurt. Taking a glance into the mirror, I leered at the most repulsive view I had ever laid my eyes on. Driving home 15 hours in the car, we arrived at Upper Arlington Urgent Care. To my luck, the doctor had never see sun blisters as bad or as large as what was all over my stomach and chest. Being referred to the OSU burn clinic for a literal “skinning” of my chest and stomach proved to be the most painful day of my life. Need I say, sunscreen is a must.

Anyway, as I finish up this Spring semester’s lineup of Biochemistry, Physics, and Physiology, I’m finalizing my final Neuro I-CAN trip of the semester, pitching pretty much every weekend for Club Baseball, and am enjoying getting together with my Bible Study group each week. I await a summer of Organic Chemistry 2 and lab 2,  volunteering, and studying for the MCAT. Regardless of where I am and what I’m doing, I try to enjoy life to its fullest; I couldn’t ask for a better university, for better friends, or for a better family, and I can’t wait to witness God’s plan play out for me and for those around me in these upcoming years.

G.O.A.L.S.

Global Awareness: Every Tuesday night during the school year, and a few days a week in the summer, I volunteer at Riverside Methodist hospital. Also at Riverside, I was fortunate enough to obtain a PCA job for the summer. As it has been up to this point, every day that I have walked through Riverside’s doors, I have not only been assigned a new set of tasks, but have encountered new people from every background. People come from all over to receive the best available care. Care is so much more than prescribing the correct treatment. The best way to show care is through your actions. By taking the time out of my schedule to get a glimpse into the stories of patients, coworkers, and volunteers,  I have truly gained invaluable and rewarding friendships, skills, and wisdom. My time at Riverside has taught me to treat others as you would like to be treated. Another way that I embody global awareness is through traveling to high schools across the midwest to teach neuroscience to high school students. Doing so has brought to light that while students may be attending the same high school, they come from many different walks of life, experience growth in different ways, and grow at their own rates. Other outreach opportunities such as throwing Christmas parties at Stowe Mission (located in a rough part of Columbus), handing out candy at Whetstone nursing home over the holidays, and simply being a student at one of the largest Universities has exposed me to people of more backgrounds than I could have ever imagined. With that, I have learned to love the different personalities, skills, and knowledge that each person brings to the table.

Original Inquiry: As an honors student majoring in neuroscience on the pre-med track, I am surrounded each day with very intelligent people, I am inundated with course work, and am in an environment of competition. However, within this environment, there is unlimited potential for growth, opportunity and success. As a result, the drive I started school with has kindled into a California wildfire to apply my newly gained knowledge. I hope that one day, I will be able to apply my knowledge/discoveries into curing patients. From freshman year honors biology where I performed research on endophytic effects on plants in response to environmental stressors to teaching neuroscience to high school students in a multi-state area, I can’t wait to continue to learn new knowledge, apply it, and see how the future plays out.

Academic Enrichment: The fun part about neuroscience is that it seems as if you take the “weed-out” class of every science major. Therefore, I like to say that the neuroscience curriculum is a compilation of “weedouts” for the first two years. It is not until those first two years are done in which you can then start getting into those more enjoyable 4000-5000+ level neuroscience classes. By the time I finish my second year, I will be able to say that I’ve take both honors biologies (general honors science weedout), both inorganic chemistries(science exploration weedout) and organic chemistries (every other science major weedout) and labs (those who crack under pressure weedout), physiology (health science, aka, aspiring nurse weedout), physics 1 and 2 (physics/everyone weedout), behavioral neuroscience and neuroscience 3000 (psychology+neuro weedout), and biochemistry (weeding out those who thought they saw the light at the end of the tunnel). Of course I enjoyed spanish (definitely my favorite non-science class) and honors GE courses (actually the most difficult classes at the university as the honors GE professors love taking little power trips) along the way. Need I say, I have been plenty “enriched” during my first two years of college.

Leadership Development: Since I’ve arrived at college, my leadership skills have grown substantially. Beginning freshman year, I’ll admit that I was a little timid, and to be blunt, incompetent in many areas of life. One of the greatest aspects about college is that it forces you to become fully autonomous in everything that you do. That’s not to say that you shouldn’t receive help or motivation along the way, but rather that you learn to get things done in a timely manner. People like to follow people who get things done, but who like to have fun along the way. Gaining leadership positions such as a neuroscience ambassador, OWL coordinator, community commitment site coordinator, and I-CAN Program director are a testament to the growth in my leadership abilities. As I’d somewhat agree with Michael Scott from the office, “Would I rather be feared or loved? Easy, both. I want people to be afraid of how much they love me,” it’s definitely important to gain both respect and friendship from your peers to be a strong leader. Making confident decisions that are best for the group and being trustworthy to every member are two of the most important aspects of being a leader.

Service Engagement: My entire life, I have striven to give back to others just as Christ did for us. I believe there is no greater way to give back to the less fortunate than to give your own time. Money is nice and will certainly help supply basic needs; however, once those supplies run out, the people receiving aid are back to being in need again. This is why I believe people are truly cared for when you give them your time. This is what shows that you actually care. People can write a check and not think twice; however, time is limited, and it is how we spend our time that shows others what you value. When that time is spent on others, they can see that you truly care for them and that there actually is hope in humanity. My service engagement that portrays this idea includes: Neuroscience I-CAN educational outreach to high school students, Riverside Methodist Hospital volunteer, Habitat for Humanity re-store, Stowe Mission Christmas parties and food pantry, Special Olympics volunteer for Nisonger dentistry, YWCA meal preparer and server, Youth Baseball Camp coach, Food drive for mid-Ohio food bank, and Whetstone Nursing home volunteer.

 

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.]

Artifacts

[Artifacts are the items you consider to be representative of your academic interests and achievements. For each entry, include both an artifact and a detailed annotation.  An annotation is a reflective description of the artifact that attempts to communicate its significance.  For more information, go to: http://honors-scholars.osu.edu/e-portfolio. Delete these instructions and add your own post.]