Do.

Columbus has countless opportunities to network with service organizations. I had the honor of being nominated as one of the Sunny 95 Outstanding Women of the year. This provided me the chance to attend a celebration event with the 19 other inspirational women in my community. From this experience I gained connections with multiple organizations which each of the women worked with. Some of the connections I gained are even members of the OSU community. I am very grateful for this experience and plan on attending this event annually.

20 Outstanding Women of 2016

Go.

This semester I attended a Girl Scout Gold Award ceremony. The Girl Scout Gold Award is the highest achievement that Girl Scouts can get. I earned my Gold in high school but did not have time to attend the ceremony until this semester. It was an amazing experience to go learn about all of the projects being completed by those in my community. I earned my Gold award through my dedication to Special Olympics and learned about other projects such as clothing drives, Deaf culture awareness, and honoring veterans. I look forward to continuing to learn about the projects being completed to help those in need in my community and being inspired to get involved in new organizations.

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Eat.

Food is an important part of every culture. This semester I learned how to make Fufu, a traditional Liberian dish, with my boyfriend’s family. Fufu is a dish made of meat stew with a plantain base. This dish is a staple food in the Bassa tribe which his family is a part of. I really enjoyed the ability to taste the different cultures food and connect with his family through preparing this meal. I found the texture of the plantain odd but overall it tasted very good. I look forward to embracing new cultures through trying new foods.

Year in Review

I have changed a great deal over the past two semesters. I came into college wide eyed and with no idea what to expect from my college. This summer I was very naive and was mistakenly convinced that I was completely independent. I did not know what to expect about starting college as a member of the Health Science Scholars Program. I did, however, come in thinking that I would be very isolated within Health Science Scholars. I thought that my peers would be much smarter than me, more experienced in the health field, and hard to relate to. My experience with Health Science Scholars surprised me by introducing me to a community filled with relatable peers each coming from widely different walks of life. Living on a floor with my fellow Health Science Scholars helped me to quickly make friends and learn about that health areas that each of my peers are drawn to. This exposed me to many areas in medicine and major which I can consider when discerning my academic and career goals. In my second year as a Health Science Scholar I hope to connect on a deeper level with my peers and gain knowledge pertaining to the health field. I also hope to attend more Scholars events and use them as opportunities to network. Finally, I hope to engage with incoming health science scholars. This will give me the opportunity to provide mentorship and support to the buckeye community and share my passion for helping others.

 

My most memorable service experience this semester has been working with Recreation Unlimited. Recreation Unlimited is a camp that provides care for campers with special needs year round. During the school year they operate two weekends a month and they run camps all summer. The first weekend that I volunteered with my RA was a youth respite weekend. It was an incredible experience for me. This same camp I attended in middle school and I met most of my best friends there that summer. Seeing this camp through the eyes of a counselor was incredible. We were the hands, feet, and support system for each of our campers. We helped them navigate social situations, eat, and provide personal care. I had an amazing time and have come back almost every camp weekend since that I first volunteered at camp last November. I now have been employed by Recreation Unlimited and am looking forward to spending my entire summer at camp. I have learned how to balance taking care of myself as while simultaneously caring for a group of up to five campers, each with significant needs. This experience has inspired me to seek a career in this field and adjust my academic path accordingly. I am currently changing my academic path to include a double major of neuroscience and special education. Through this education I hope to prepare myself to enter the field of neuropsychology. In this career I plan on continuing to work with the special needs community in any capacity possible.

Strategic Life Plan

 

My time in the Health Science Scholars seminar has taught me many lessons which aided me in the development of my plans for the future. Through an analysis of my vision for the rest of my life, the FOCUS assessment, my personal health and wellness, visiting office hours, researching majors, and interviewing an upperclassman I have formulated goals for my future academically, professionally, and personally. In analyzing the future I want to attain I realized many important qualities I need within my future. I reaffirmed my desire to have a large family and a career in the medical field. Additionally, I noted the importance that volunteering with the Special Olympics and MDA carries in my life and committed to continuing to work with them. To help determine what specific occupation I want to peruse, I completed the FOCUS assessment. This quiz distinguished my most influence qualities as helping others and asking questions. These qualities cause me to lean toward a profession performing medical diagnostics. After further investigating potential majors, I have declared a pre-neuroscience major with Psychology as a backup major to help me reach this career goal. In taking advantage of resources on campus, I also learned that I need to ask for personal and academic help more frequently in order to succeed. My tendency to take on too much has been clear this semester which I hope to improve on. Finally, I will use the knowledge I gained from interviewing an upper classman and formulating my resume to shape my academic career. My resume revealed my areas of strength professionally, while the interview showed an exemplary path to academic and professional success which will guide me in finding my own success. I am very grateful for the opportunities HSS granted which led to these realizations.

-MDA Muscle Walk at the Shoe

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Ohio State

Special Olympics State Event

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Year in Review

[ “Year in Review”  is where you should reflect on the past year and show how you have evolved as a person and as a student.  You may want to focus on your growth in a particular area (as a leader, scholar, researcher, etc.) or you may want to talk about your overall experience over the past year.  For more information, go to: http://honors-scholars.osu.edu/e-portfolio. Delete these instructions and add your own post.]

G.O.A.L.S.

[ “G.O.A.L.S.” is a place where students write about how their planned, current, and future activities may fit into the Honors & Scholars G.O.A.L.S.: Global Awareness, Original Inquiry, Academic Enrichment, Leadership Development, and Service Engagement. For more information, go to: http://honors-scholars.osu.edu/e-portfolio. Delete these instructions and add your own post.

Global Awareness: Students cultivate and develop their appreciation for diversity and each individual’s unique differences. For example, consider course work, study abroad, involvement in cultural organizations or activities, etc .
Original Inquiry: Honors & Scholars students understand the research process by engaging in experiences ranging from in-class scholarly endeavors to creative inquiry projects to independent experiences with top researchers across campus and in the global community. For example, consider research, creative productions or performances, advanced course work, etc.
Academic Enrichment: Honors & Scholars students pursue academic excellence through rigorous curricular experiences beyond the university norm both in and out of the classroom.
Leadership Development: Honors & Scholars students develop leadership skills that can be demonstrated in the classroom, in the community, in their co-curricular activities, and in their future roles in society.
Service Engagement: Honors & Scholars students commit to service to the community.]

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.]