Author: Megan Johnson

I, Intern: Giant Eagle

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Hey Buckeyes!

Today I’m here to talk about one of my favorite experiences throughout pharmacy school… my internship! I am currently an intern at Giant Eagle Pharmacy and have been an intern there since my first year in pharmacy school. I feel very fortunate to have had the opportunity to work for such a great company these past few years, and if you can’t tell already I absolutely love it.

There are many, many reasons why I love this internship but I believe the experience I’ve gotten over these past 3 years has helped me grow tremendously as a future pharmacist. To start, I am able to interact with various healthcare professionals daily whether it is other pharmacists, physicians, nurses, or dentists. These interactions have enabled me to build upon my communication skills and learn how to interact with other professionals more efficiently.

The part that I love most about my job however is my patients! One of the top reasons why I wanted to be a pharmacist was to help other people better their lives. In my internship, I am able to build relationships with my patients which makes what I do that much more meaningful. Having these foundations has allowed me to become more comfortable with my patients, which definitely helps when counseling them. There’s no better feeling than seeing your patient after an intervention and knowing you’ve helped to make a difference in their lives.

Along with counseling skills, I am also able to give immunizations at my job! Trust me I was nervous at first, but now it’s one of my favorite job “duties”. I am able to give immunizations regularly at work, but Giant Eagle also has many vaccination clinics where I am able to volunteer and get even more experience. I have given over 400 vaccinations in the last 2 years as an intern! Like I said, the experience at my internship is priceless.

Before starting my internship at Giant Eagle, I had no idea what an “MTM” or medication therapy management was. Luckily, Giant Eagle has a special training program for interns to learn all about them and how to perform them! MTM’s allow me interact with my patients for at least 15 minutes and review all of their medications and questions they may have about their medications. These sessions truly allow me to use the knowledge I have learned in the classroom and apply it to real life situations!

Last but not least, the relationships I have built with my pharmacists and technicians over the years are something that I will always cherish. My co-workers are absolutely amazing and they are part of the reason why my job is so wonderful! My pharmacists have been a key player in my education throughout pharmacy school. They are always quizzing me, teaching me and pushing me outside of my comfort zone to become the best that I can be. I look up to them as healthcare professionals as they have shown me how to be a successful community pharmacist.

Overall, my internship at Giant Eagle has allowed me to grow my passion for not only community pharmacy, but pharmacy as an overall profession. I am grateful for the wonderful experiences I have had while working at my internship and I believe they’ve truly helped me feel more confident as a student pharmacist. If you have any questions about internships or pharmacy school, please feel free to reach out to me at Johnson.4816@osu.edu. Until then… Go Bucks!

Operation Heart: American Heart Month

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Hey Future Buckeyes!

I know in the past we have mentioned different student organizations that you are able to join while in pharmacy school at Ohio State. One organization that I am currently in is APhA-ASP otherwise known as American Pharmacists Association Academy of Student Pharmacists. Through this organization, I have been able to find what I am passionate about and channel that passion to help others. I currently serve as a Co-Chair for Operation Heart, which is a patient care project dedicated to cardiovascular health. Through this project, I have been able to organize and volunteer at many different events in the past three years so I thought I’d show you a few 🙂

This past month (February) was American Heart Month, a month that is dedicated specifically to raise awareness about cardiovascular diseases nationwide. To show our support, Ohio State’s APhA-ASP’s Operation Heart decided to organize some events in our college reminding students, faculty, and staff why their heart health is important.

February 3rd was national Wear Red Day for Women and this year was the 14th anniversary for Wear Red Day! This day is held the first Friday of every February to raise awareness that heart disease is the number one killer of women. Students at Ohio State participated in Wear Red Day and even took a picture to share their support.

Operation Heart has also been doing blood pressure screenings throughout the month to raise awareness in the community regarding the dangers of high blood pressure and the risks associated with it. Our most recent screening was at a food bank in downtown Columbus where we all wore red to support Wear Red Day.Lastly, Operation Heart decided to show some love to the students at the college and give them all valentines, which consisted of heart “healthy” dark chocolate 🙂

Although February is recognized as American Heart Month, in my eyes every month is heart month. Cardiovascular disease is one that has affected my life personally and I hope to continue to raise awareness about. Joining this student organization has allowed me to find my passion and has given me the power to fuel it. Ohio State has over 20 student organizations just within the College of Pharmacy, so I am confident that whatever your passion is, you’ll be able to fuel it here too 🙂

As always please feel free to email me with any questions you may have at johnson.4816@osu.edu

 

Go Bucks!

Why I Chose OSU: Megan Johnson :)

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Hey Future Buckeyes!

 

Today I wanted to talk to you about why I chose The Ohio State University for NOT only my Bachelor’s degree, but my Doctor of Pharmacy degree as well. In high school when I was trying to decide which college was best for me, I have to admit that Ohio State was not one of my top choices (I know, shocker!). Coming from a VERY small town, I was intimidated by the size of the university and the large amount of people that attended Ohio State. I did not want my college education to consist of being “just a number” with no hope of developing relationships and connections. However, my biggest fear was that I would not succeed here because I would not get the individualized experience that I wanted. I knew that I wanted to feel a sense of belonging wherever I chose and I did not think I would get that at Ohio State’s large campus. Doing what moms do best, mine convinced me to take a tour of OSU’s campus and meet with an advisor. Needless to say after a tour of the beautiful campus and talking to current students, I absolutely fell in love. I can still picture that day on campus and thinking “Wow everyone really loves it here don’t they?” I felt a sense of energy, passion, love and excitement in the air, which I still feel today.

Flash forward 7 years to my third year in the PharmD program, I can say with 100 % confidence that Ohio State University was the right fit for me. My educational experience has been nothing short of phenomenal the past 7 years! I believe that Ohio State has allowed me to find what I am passionate about, expand my comfort zones, and find that sense of belonging I was looking for. All of my apprehensions about attending OSU were put to rest within my first few weeks of undergrad. Since day one, I have felt that I am part of a community that truly cares for one another. I have developed relationships with my professors and staff and have found some of my best friends here. Ohio State has provided me with once in a lifetime opportunities such as working with world-renowned healthcare providers to study abroad trips (I’ve been to Switzerland and I’m going to London this spring :D)

Along with that, Ohio State’s PharmD program is continuously ranked in the top 10 pharmacy schools in the nation. Between our medical campus with multiple professional schools, affordable tuition, breaking edge research, endless internship opportunities, and 20+ student organizations, it’s easy to see why. Ohio State continues to amaze me every single day. Like I mentioned before, I have been provided with some amazing opportunities throughout the past 7 years. Some of these include volunteering at free health clinics, interacting with professional state level pharmacy organizations, and learning from board certified pharmacists at the James Cancer Hospital. This past month I have been on rotations at Nationwide Children’s Hospital, which is a pediatric hospital unique to Columbus. And this is just to name a few 🙂

Choosing Ohio State was easily the best decision of my life and has truly shaped me into who I am today. These are just a few reasons why I chose this amazing university and I encourage you to ask questions regarding “finding the right fit” for you! Please don’t hesitate to email me if you have any questions at Johnson.4816@osu.edu 🙂

Go bucks!

Ohio State Traditions

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Hey Future Buckeyes!

With one of our biggest rivalry games right around the corner, I figured I would give you a little insight to the most important traditions on campus!

1. Carmen Ohio

Throughout the entire year you will hear the song “Carmen Ohio”, which is our Alma Mater sang during various occasions. It is mostly sang before and after many sporting events. During the song, students lock arms and sway back and forth while singing it. The song ends with “How firm thy friendship, O-HI-O. Once you experience a stadium full of people singing it, you’ll never forget it.

  1. Brutus Buckeye

Brutus Buckeye is Ohio State’s well-known mascot. Until the 1960’s OSU did not have a mascot, but in 1965 an art student designed and introduced the first Brutus. Since then, Brutus has been stealing the hearts of the Ohio State community with his big smile and talented tricks.

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  1. O-H?!

If you’re planning on coming to Ohio State, be sure to answer O-H with an I-O! This tradition started in 1942 when U.S. navy sailors began chanting O-H-I-O-S-T-A-T-E to the tune of “Row, row, row your boat”. One of those sailors then enrolled at OSU and became a cheerleader. This student tried to teach this long chant to the crowd after a hard loss, but the chant proved to be too difficult for the crowd to keep up with. Eventually they settled for O-H-I-O, which some may say was a turning point for Ohio State Football.

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  1. TBDBITL

If you haven’t seen this before TBDBITL stands for “The best damn band in the land” Ohio State’s well-known marching band. Some even refer to the band as “The pride of the Buckeyes”. The band kicks off every game with Script Ohio followed by an unbelievable halftime show. Before each game, the band also plays at the “Skull Session” to get the crowd excited for the upcoming match. During this time coaches, players, the band and fans all get together to prepare for the game! The band is best known for their halftime show arrangements and formations such as Star-Trek, Michael Jackson, and Wizard of Oz.

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5.Script Ohio

Although it’s hard to believe, the first band to perform script Ohio was the University of Michigan during a halftime show at Ohio Stadium. The band spelled out “Ohio” in script diagonally across the field. Four years later, Ohio State’s band performed Script Ohio during a game and the rest is history! Today the band performs Script Ohio right before every football game. A senior sousaphone player tops it off with the dotting of the “I”.

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  1. Fight Songs

While most schools have one fight song, Ohio State has three. OSU has the “Buckeye Battle Cry”, “Across the Field”, and the crowd favorite “Hang on Sloopy”. These can be heard continuously throughout game days at Ohio State.

  1. Victory Bell

Previous graduating classes of Ohio State donated the Giant Victory Bell that sits in the Southeast tower of Ohio Stadium. The bell is rang by students for 15-20 minutes after a victory and can be heard up to 5 miles away!

  1. Mirror Lake

As you’ve probably heard, Ohio State’s biggest rivalry is the University of Michigan. In 1990, a group of 100 OSU students decided to jump into Mirror Lake (a manmade pond on campus) the Thursday before Ohio State played the team up North to show their support for their team. Now over 12,000 students take the cold plunge into the water during the week of Thanksgiving to show their support for the upcoming game against their biggest rivalry.

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  1. The “Long Walk”

In the heart of Ohio State’s campus sits the oval, where many students go to walk their dogs, play Frisbee, and even sunbathe. The oval is also known to be a bit romantic. Tradition says that if you take the “long walk” from one end to the other holding hands with your loved one, you’ll be together forever.

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Now you’re ready to be a buckeye! O-H!

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SPOTLIGHT: Mackenzie Harrell and NCPA

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Hey Future Buckeyes!

Mackenzie Harrell is a third year pharmacy student who is passionate about community pharmacy and currently works at Kroger pharmacy. She currently serves as the NCPA President at OSU. See below to read about one of the many events students in NCPA can attend 🙂

This past October, the National Community Pharmacists Association student chapter at Ohio State traveled to New Orleans for the 2016 Annual Conference. The conference was an opportunity for students to attend programming to learn about community pharmacy, meet students from around the country that are interested in community pharmacy and to network with pharmacists who currently work in community pharmacy setting. There were 14 Ohio State College of Pharmacy students that attended the conference. We had the opportunity to learn about many things such as how to start your own pharmacy, new services being provided by pharmacists and the importance of a community pharmacist as an accessible health care professional for patients.  It was a great opportunity for students to exchange ideas about the chapter with other student pharmacists and to learn from experiences of currently practicing pharmacists.

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We also had the opportunity to explore the city and the culture in New Orleans. We attended a pharmacy museum in the French Quarter, went on a group cemetery tour, ate many beignets and cheered on the Buckeyes with the New Orleans Ohio State Alumni Association. One of my favorite nights was when we had a chapter dinner which all students attended that included bowling with our awesome chapter advisor, Dr. Sullivan.

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We had two students win national scholarships through NCPA, Kristine Mason, 4th year student, and David Chen, third year student.

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The conference concluded with a celebration including a live Jazz band, seafood dinner, tarot card readings and dancing. I think that national conference are a great way for students to strengthen their pharmacy experiences by gaining knowledge and making connections with pharmacists around the country. Furthermore, it is a great opportunity to spend time with classmates and further our passion of being pharmacists.

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-Mackenzie Harrell

 

-Thanks for reading! As always feel free to contact me with any questions at johnson.4816@osu.edu 🙂

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Get to Know Your Ambassadors: Megan

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Hey Future Buckeyes!

My name is Megan Johnson and I am a P3 (or third year pharmacy student) here at the College of Pharmacy. I graduated with a Bachelors of Pharmaceutical Sciences degree from Ohio State in 2014 and I am so grateful that I was able to continue on to get my PharmD from one of the best universities in the world! This upcoming year I will be serving as one of the student ambassador coordinators for the college of pharmacy, so I thought I would tell you a little bit about myself.

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I have 3 older sisters (4 girls… my poor dad!) who inspire me every day. I’m also an aunt to an adorable niece. I grew up in a small town known as Wellington,Ohio which is about 2 hours north of Columbus. I am a country girl at heart, so everyone was surprised when I chose one of the biggest universities to attend. It turns out this big city was the perfect fit for me. Growing up, I was very involved in 4-H which sparked my love for animals. I raised and showed pigs at our county fair for over 12 years. When I wasn’t outside, you could find me in the gym playing volleyball, basketball, and softball. If you can’t tell already, I am a HUGE sports person. I get season tickets every year to watch my buckeyes play football in the ‘Shoe on Saturdays. I’m also a diehard Cleveland sports fan. I can FINALLY say we won a championship 🙂

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Some of my hobbies include: baking, crafting, working out, hiking, fishing, swimming, reading, watching Netflix, camping, and my most recent hobby is archery. The thing I love the most however, is enjoying time with those I love. I am a very happy, go lucky type of girl. I am extremely optimistic and believe everything happens for a reason.

I was once told, “You’ll never work a day in your life if you do something that you love.” I believe that my something is pharmacy. My passion for the profession sparked when I attended a Pharmacy Camp at The University of Toledo my Junior Year in high school. There I was able to shadow multiple pharmacists and see how much of an impact pharmacists have on their community. My oldest sister and her husband are both pharmacists that have inspired me throughout their unique journeys in the profession. Over the years I have had wonderful opportunities to shadow them and tag along on various pharmacy events. Through their experiences, I have seen that the profession of pharmacy can be anything you want it to be. This is what excites me about our profession. There are multiple settings that a pharmacist may work in or create, and the opportunities are endless.

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The reason I chose to attend Ohio State for Pharmacy school is because of the vast array of opportunities that are available here. During undergrad at OSU I was able to continue to pursue my passions. I played club volleyball, joined an environmental scholars group, performed pharmacy research, and have had the time of my life. During my last two years at Ohio State I’ve found myself falling even more in love with this university (which I didn’t think was possible). Ohio State never fails to exceed my expectations! As a pharmacy student I am a member of APhA-ASP, NCPA, SSHP, and I also serve as a mentor for incoming first year pharmacy students. Throughout the past few years I have had amazing experiences with the college including rotations, a study abroad trip, and different events they’ve put on. I can’t wait to tell you more in my posts to follow!

I hope to be hearing from some of you soon! Please feel free to email me at johnson.4816@osu.edu.  🙂

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White Coat Ceremony

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Congratulations! You are now on your way to becoming a PharmD, but first you need something very important… Your White Coat! The white coat ceremony symbolizes your passage into the profession of pharmacy. It is one of the most important milestones in your career, as it celebrates all the hard work you’ve done up to this point.

As an incoming P1 you may be a little nervous about this upcoming ceremony, but I assure you there is nothing to be nervous about 🙂 For this event, you should wear professional attire such as a nice dress or slacks and a dress shirt. I recommend inviting those who mean the most to you such as parents, grandparents, family, and loved ones as this is a big step in your professional career and I’m sure they’d love to take part! For those celebrating from afar, the ceremony is recorded live so they can watch online.

The ceremony will start with a few speeches from various pharmacists and students explaining the importance of the day and congratulating you on your achievements. Following that, you will be receiving your white coat from your mentor (who you will meet soon 🙂 ). After all students receive their white coat, you will then recite the Oath of a Pharmacist, which is a professional oath to the field of pharmacy.

With that, I’ll end with HUGE congratulations to you all! I am so excited for you to join our wonderful profession and see all of the amazing opportunities Ohio State College of Pharmacy has to offer you. Have fun, don’t forget to take pictures, and GO BUCKS!

Sincerely,

Megan

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Volunteer Opportunities as a Pharmacy Student: Helping Hands

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As a student pharmacist at Ohio State University, you are required to complete a certain number of community health service hours. Each year in professional school, this number increases by 10 hours. As a first year pharmacy student you will be required to complete 10 hours throughout the year. There are multiple sites throughout Columbus that welcome Ohio State students so the opportunities to volunteer are endless!

Throughout my past three years at Ohio State, one of my favorite places to volunteer as a pharmacy student is Helping Hands. Helping Hands is a free clinic in Columbus that provides medical care and social services to un-insured or under-insured adults who meet certain federal poverty guidelines. The clinic is open on Thursday and Friday nights throughout the year.

At this clinic, pharmacy students have many opportunities to impact a patient’s health. Pharmacy students are able to do medication reconciliations with patients to get an updated list of their medications, allergies, and how they are taking their medicines. Pharmacy students also help in the dispensing process of prescriptions and then counsel the patients as needed under the supervision of a pharmacist. At this site, you are able to see the patient all the way through the entire process from signing in, seeing the doctor, and then giving the patient their prescription. Working alongside a pharmacist you are guaranteed to learn many different things throughout this process! In my first year I learned counseling points on common medications and also how to counsel patients properly. I am so grateful that Columbus has such an amazing site for pharmacy students to learn and volunteer at! So when you’re looking for your first volunteering site make sure you check out Helping Hands 🙂

As always please feel free to email me with any questions at Johnson.4816@osu.edu.

 

Go Bucks!

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Study Abroad: Switzerland!

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Gruetzi (hello) fellow buckeyes!

Over spring break I had the amazing opportunity to study abroad in Switzerland with the College of Pharmacy. The college offers these study abroad opportunities every year to not only doctor of pharmacy students, but undergraduate students as well. The trips are mainly focused on learning about the practice of pharmacy in other countries and comparing those to pharmacy in America. Along with actually going abroad, students are required to participate in a 7-week course where they learn about the country they are visiting. During my trip, I was able to visit many different parts of Switzerland and France.

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The first day of my trip, we had a guided tour of Zurich with a wonderful tour guide! He showed us all of the different parts of the city, the University of Zurich, the best place to buy chocolate, and he even took us up a mountain on the Swiss Alps. After the mountain excursion, our group took a boat tour around Zurich, where we were able to see every part of the city!

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The next few days we traveled to Geneva where we visited the World Health Organization and the University of Geneva. At these sites we were able to meet with pharmacists and pharmacy students to discuss the field of pharmacy. It was very interesting to see the differences in our views of pharmacy, but also the similarities we share!

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The next day we visited the University of Basel in Switzerland where multiple pharmacy students greeted us. After lunch, their faculty gave presentations on their university, their pharmacy program, and the research that they were conducting in the practice of pharmacy. At this site we learned a lot about medication adherence and safety and how their pharmacists deal with these issues.

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On Thursday we visited the EDQM, which is almost the equivalent to the FDA here in the United States. They gave a presentation on the EDQM and how they monitor drugs and facilitate clinical trials in Europe. After the presentation, we were given a tour of their facility. After our visit to EDQM, we had some free time to explore Strasberg, France. This city is otherwise known as “La Petite France” because of all of the history that it holds. Along with exploring the city, we also explored the wonderful food including crepes and gelato 🙂

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My favorite part of the trip was to Chateau De Chillon located on Lake Geneva in Montreux. We were able to explore this beautiful castle and see all of the history that it holds. It was absolutely breathtaking!

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I could go on for hours talking about my wonderful experience abroad, but I hope this gave you a good insight to what it entails. This is just one of the many opportunities Ohio State offers its pharmacy students and another reason why I love Ohio State! If you have any questions, please feel free to email me at Johnson.4816@osu.edu 🙂

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NCPA Conference

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Hey Buckeyes!

This past October I had the opportunity to travel to National Harbor, Maryland with 15+ classmates to attend the National Community Pharmacists Association (NCPA) Annual Convention. I had never been to a conference for both pharmacists and students so I had no idea what to expect. The conference lasted for 5 days and yes; I was lucky enough to attend all of those days!

The majority of each day, we spent at the Gaylord National Convention center attending meetings, educational programming (which we got school credit for), general sessions, and lunches which were sponsored by various drug companies. Not only did I gain a ton of pharmaceutical knowledge, but also I was able to interact with both pharmacists and pharmacy students from other states. This provided me the opportunity to work on my networking skills and gain new friends. It was great to bounce ideas off of each other and compare the differences in pharmacy from state to state.

ncpa conference 2            The other half of the conference included the trade exposition, which was about 2 days long. Over 100 companies were represented at the exposition and had booths set up. This was a great experience because I was able to interact with drug reps, banks, pharmacists, and other professionals. They also provided free merchandise 🙂 Each night the conference held various networking events and dinner with entertainment. On the last night we had Jason Alexander from Seinfeld pay us a visit and perform some of his famous acts. Needless to say we had a blast! On the nights that entertainment wasn’t provided, I was able to explore Washington DC with my classmates. It was great to interact with everyone outside of the classroom and get to know them on a more personal level.

ncpa conference

Overall, I would highly recommend attending a national conference to any pharmacy student. I was able to gain networking skills, new friends, pharmacy knowledge, and have a fun! It was definitely the “middle of the semester pick me up” that I needed as I came back home more motivated than ever. Not only do I encourage you to join student organizations, but get involved and attend these events! They will provide you with lifelong memories and a newfound passion for the profession 🙂

Please feel free to email me with any questions at johnson.4816@osu.edu

As Always, Go Bucks!

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