Life in WiE

This week, we are featuring a guest post from the fantastic Sara Stacy! Sara is part of the Women in Engineering Learning Community.

A little under a year ago, I was getting ready to go off to my dream school: The Ohio State University. I knew it was a big campus with a huge undergraduate population from visits, but I was still overwhelmed when I first got here. On a campus with over 60,000 students, it can be easy to feel like just another number. It can also be difficult to find a place of belonging on a campus so big. That is why just under one year ago, I decided to apply to live in a learning community. By being in the Women in Engineering Learning Community, I have found a small network of people on this large campus that have made it feel a little more like home.

My time in WiE began with an early arrival program called WiE LEAP (Women in Engineering Learning Community Early Arrival Program). All of the girls in my LC got to arrive three days before everyone else and participate in both engineering related and non-engineering related activities. We built cardboard boats that we got to race in the RPAC class pool, we got to paint mugs at a local pottery shop, and we got a backstage tour of the Columbus Zoo with a zoo engineer. We were also paired with our WiE mentors, who are sophomores living in the LC there to guide the freshman through the early arrival program and their first year. Mentors also plan programs every month for the WiE residents, which are always lots of fun and a great way to further get to know the other WiE residents.

The Women in Engineering LC is currently housed with Engineering House. This living arrangement is the best thing I could have asked for. To find a study group for a difficult class that I’m in, I don’t even have to step outside of my room! The people I’m living with have also similar schedules and workloads, which means everyone around me understands the struggles that come with transitioning to college and taking the difficult engineering prerequisites. I have made some amazing friends in both WiE and Engineering House this year, and I’ve had some of the best times of my life with those people.

My favorite event so far was a trip to Kings Island where we got a backstage tour of some of the rides and got the opportunity to talk to one of the park’s engineers. It was around Halloween, so the park was set up with Halloween decorations and plenty of haunted mazes. More recently, the mentors organized a trip to see the lights at the Columbus Zoo, which was a great event to get to know the other girls in WiE a little better.

WiE

Another part of being in WiE is that all members are required to take a semester long weekly seminar. It might seem tedious to have to take yet another class just to be a part of the LC, but in my opinion, it was worth it. We had presentations on things like study habits, stress management, Engineering Career Services, all of which have really helped with the transition into engineering at Ohio State. We also got to do some fun things with the class, like yoga and going to the planetarium in Smith Lab (although I will be honest, I might have taken a nap during the visit to the planetarium. Those chairs are comfortable!).

The best part about being in WiE is knowing that I am in a community of people who are going through the same ups and downs as me, and that there is a network of people there to help me deal with those difficulties. To be successful in engineering, or in any major for that matter, you don’t need to be a member of a LC, but I would wager that it definitely helps to live with people with the same interests and classes as you. If you aren’t a woman or in engineering, go ahead and check out some of the other LCs here at OSU. There is definitely one out there for everyone, and they can all boast that they have done amazing things for their residents. I know mine has done amazing things for me, and that’s why I’m happy to say that I will be returning as a mentor next year to hopefully help give more women an experience that was just as fulfilling as mine!

Wise Words From a SLIC’ster

The renewal season for housing at Ohio State is upon us. Did you know you could participate in a learning community during your second-year as well?!?!?

One of the premier learning community options for second-year students is the Sophomore Learning and Involvement Community. The community is housed in the lovely Residence on 10th, and focuses on leadership, service and career/major development for second-year students.

This year, the LC is focused on The Last Lecture by Randy Pausch. Students received the book when they came to campus in the fall, and have had the opportunity to listen to “Last Lecture’s” from various faculty and staff across the university. Below, one SLIC’ster, Kush Doshi, shares his experience with The Last Lecture and SLIC.

The way the Sophomore Living and Involvement Community has shaped my ideas and thoughts as a person has been phenomenal. The Last Lecture aspect in the learning community has changed my life, believe it or not, and I am certainly not exaggerating the truth. The Last Lecture (perhaps the most important one that shaped the way I thought or will think throughout the rest of college) was when Dr. J came to speak. Dr. Javaune Adams-Gaston is the Vice President of Student Life, and is thoroughly active on campus and she came to speak about what her last lecture in life to her students would be. Dr. J spoke about perhaps the most important characteristic in life, especially now that college is playing a role in our lives…finding your true passion. She talked about how sometimes, students come to college studying things they are perhaps pushed to do rather than things they actually want to study. These students may or may not succeed academically, but they will certainly will not be happy. If you find your true passion, you can be truly happy.

I soaked the words in initially, not giving it much thought. However, I began to question whether I was doing my major, Neuroscience, because my parents wanted me to do it or because I wanted to do it. The deciding factor came when Dr. J made us do a quick exercise. She told us to close our eyes and think about what makes each of us happy. I closed my eyes and I thought and I thought and I thought. Not a single subject or matter about neuroscience popped into my head. What I thought about were two words: people and medicine. I wanted to pursue medicine, but I wanted to work with and study people. I opened my eyes. So, why was I doing neuroscience? She asked in a soft voice “What did you guys see?” A girl to my right answered: “Helping people makes me happy so I’m doing Public Health. A boy to my left answered: “Finding a cure to a disease makes me happy so I’m majoring in biology.” I couldn’t answer the question because what made me happy couldn’t be defined by my major.

SLIC Last Lecture_Dr J 2

 

Throughout the rest of the lecture I was stunned. I had an epiphany in this Last Lecture, the one that would change the course of my life. Eventually, I would talk to Dr. J again and she would steer me in the right direction. Eventually I changed my major to Public Health and I couldn’t be happier. However, would I have ever changed my major if there wasn’t this Last Lecture? Perhaps not, but it’s thanks to SLIC that I have found a new passion. My story is just one of many. However, these experiences that SLIC provides to students are invaluable and I would highly recommend for every student to attend them. For me, just going to one of these events changed my major, imagine what this experience could do for others.

Let’s Talk About Learning Communities

In a learning community (we affectionately call them LC’s), students live together on a residence hall floor and are grouped together based upon a common major, interest (art, leadership, etc) or theme. In many of our learning communities, students take a class together, and faculty are often in the residence hall environment engaging with students.

A main reason learning communities are so great at Ohio State is because you have a community as soon as you step on campus. You are surrounded by people who have something in common with you, which saves the awkward “what do you like?” conversations. We also have found that students in our LC’s have a higher GPA than their peers, feel more connected to the university, and are better able to balance their academic/personal lives at Ohio State. Who wouldn’t want all of that?!?!

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Don’t they look like a great group?

There are a multitude of great things happening in learning communities at Ohio State. This blog will highlight many of these opportunities and experiences, coming directly from the students in the LC’s. We are proud of our learning communities in Residence Life, and we know sharing is caring. This blog will serve as our way to share.