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Year in Review

Sophomore Year Review 2018-2019:

I spent this school year narrowing down what I wanted to do professionally. Having entered as pre-med, I took this year to explore my options and discovered a field in optometry is really what I want. This year I also completed all but two of the prerequisite classes for Optometry school and finished my chemistry series with labs. Though these classes were difficult, it is exciting that they are done because it means I am much closer to my graduate program and career. Besides these courses, I officially declared my minor in Modern Greek. This year was full of big moments of me establishing my path at school and figuring out what classes I need to achieve the future I want and confirming that I want a life in a medical profession. Furthermore, I completed my second year volunteering at The James hospital and I have made many friends through the program that I would not have met otherwise. Besides the James, this year I found myself experiencing more volunteer and service hours through my sorority and my church along with the Health Sciences Scholars program. I became a volunteer Sunday School teacher at my church and participated in service events such as Rise Against Hunger. Also, this year I had the opportunity of being an HSS Seminar Class TA which I really enjoyed. It was fun being able to offer my advice and experience to help the new HSS members in their first semester at school. Overall, my sophomore year provided me with a stable foundation in my academics and career and, though, the beginning of the year involved stress and uncertainty, I found my way and will continue to grow and learn from my experiences this year and further myself to be successful in my future.

 

Freshman Year Review 2017-2018:

This past year, I learned how to improve my social and studying skills, and I learned what I will need to do to be more successful. I spent this past school year developing myself as a person and adapting to a completely new environment and lifestyle than what I was previously used to. Though somewhat scary and unsettling at times, I think it has been an amazing learning experience and I am proud of how I handled it. Nonetheless, second semester I struggled in some of my classes, but this led me to become more dedicated and required me to face my bad habits in order for me to improve. When they tell you college is a completely different playing field than high school, it is hard to understand what that means until you really are immersed in college life and experience it first hand which was what this year entailed from me. It was a great learning opportunity and I hope to further my knowledge in academics and life skills here at Ohio State.

G.O.A.L.S.

The Ohio State Honors and Scholars Program encourages its students to embrace diversity in any aspect, and the program cultivates learning communities in order to allow students to experience diverse situations both academically and socially. This Honors and Scholars program helps students gain involvement in out G.O.A.L.S.: Global Awareness, Original Inquiry, Academic Enrichment, Leadership Development, and Service Engagement.

 

Global Awareness

To me, Global Awareness is learning about diverse cultures in order to gain a better understanding of communities worldwide. In an attempt to gain global awareness, I plan to do a study abroad the summer after my sophomore year in Copenhagen, Denmark where I will get to explore a different culture and way of life for 6 weeks. Furthermore, I plan on taking more sociology and folklore classes to see how society and tradition change in different regions of the world.

 

Original Inquiry

Original Inquiry is my drive to conduct research and explore the health field in a more impactful way. My Biology 1113 had research incorporated into the lab where we spent the semester studying bacteriophages, and my Greek Folklore class required me to conduct an interview and write a research paper based on a specific Greek tradition which gave me experiences in two different research perspectives. I hope to gain the opportunity to research in a lab at some point in my undergraduate career.

 

Academic Enrichment

Academic Enrichment is my passion for learning and taking on the challenges that a prehealth coursework involves. As a Health Sciences major, I am able to garner knowledge in the health field but also its business aspect. Though I have not yet chosen a minor, I am interested in Neuroscience as it is extremely interesting to me and will give me the challenge I need to succeed. I had the chance to interview my TA from our seminar class, Kelly Dubay, who just answered some questions for me and gave me much appreciated advice. I am currently pre-optometry and that was how Kelly started her undergrad but later switched to pre-med. We talked about what we both liked and respected about the Optometry field and her opinions on why she preferred medicine. Furthermore, she was obviously very in love with her major- Neuroscience- which got me thinking about the opportunity to minor in Neuroscience. Kelly gave me advice on classes, when to take them and how to do well in them, and overall reassured me that I was doing fine and have plenty of time to decide what my options for my future are.

 

Leadership Development

Leadership Development is how I apply myself in the different organizations on campus in order to better my education outside the classroom. Freshman year I was a member of Medlife on campus where we focused on Medicine and Education abroad, I am part of a Greek culture club– Sigma Epsilon Phi– in which I connect with people who share my culture and we focused our efforts on providing for our philanthropy, and I am a member of Kappa Alpha Theta. I have been an active member in each since my freshman year. Fall semester of my Sophomore year I became a TA for the HSS Seminar class and this allowed me to have a leadership role within my scholar’s community.

 

Service and Engagement

Service and Engagement are how I give back to my community. Both Sigma Epsilon Phi and my sorority Kappa Alpha Theta provide short-term service opportunities, but for two years now I have volunteered in the Restful Nights program at The James  Cancer Hospital. My work as a Restful Nights volunteer at The James is extremely meaningful to me and gives me the feeling that I am actually contributing to my community. I plan on continuing this position during the rest of my four years at Ohio State because the Restful Nights program gives me the opportunity to connect with patients by giving them my time and the chance for them to have someone to talk to during their stay at the hospital.

 

Artifacts

The service project I have completed is as a Restful Nights Volunteer at The James Hospital. I have over 70 hours of service with the organization and have enjoyed my two years at The James immensely. Restful Nights is a volunteer program at The James in which the other volunteers and I take a cart filled with free amenities to each floor and offer the items to patients and spend time talking with patients to brighten their day even for just a short time. The Restful Nights program is one of the few volunteer programs that offers the opportunity to experience patient interactions. We are entrusted with entering patients rooms and their personal space to not only offer them small products to make them feel acknowledged and comfortable, but this program gives us a chance to talk with patients, listen to their stories, and spend time with them and offer them company while they must stay at the hospital. As a Restful Nights volunteer at The James, I have learned the value of listening to someone as they speak and how appreciated you can be by just being present. I’ve learned to truly read social cues and how to communicate with strangers; each time I volunteer I see a new face and strike up conversations with patients and am given the gift of being a support system for total strangers. The patients at The James are always so appreciative of our presence and participation in the program, and it makes me feel like I am truly giving back to my community.

About Me

I’m Anna Konstantinidis, a second-year undergraduate student in the School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences, and I am a Health Sciences major and Modern Greek minor at The Ohio State University. I’m from Lewis Center, Ohio, yet I spent most of my time in Powell, Ohio where I attended Village Academy High School. The medical field has always been an interest of mine and the volunteer experience I had in my high school clubs and organizations at facilities like the Ronald McDonald House encouraged me to pursue an education in the health field. I love being involved in extracurriculars, and I have become a part of many organizations at The Ohio State University. I am a member of the sorority Kappa Alpha Theta, the Greek culture club Sigma Epsilon Phi, and I am involved in other organizations on campus such as Med-Life and the Pre-Optometry Club. When not in class, I enjoy spending my time baking, reading novels, staying active, and spending time with my family and friends. A primary career goal of mine is to attend optometry school and become an optometrist, but for now, I am excited to see how The Ohio State University shapes my life from this point forward.