Sophomore Reflection

The 2019-2020 academic school year was anything but normal, but the most abnormal part of it all was obviously the coronavirus pandemic that forced the classes to turn to remote learning for the second half of the spring semester. This was a very drastic change because the in-person aspect of classes is very significant, and therefore greatly missed in online classes. I was fortunate to have teachers that are passionate about their courses that provided an ample amount of resources for me to still succeed this spring. The fall semester was also filled with many big surprises. The football season is always a very fun time of year, and my family was even able to make it to a game. I made it through my Organic Chemistry courses with the help of many hard hours spent studying, and I started with the first of three semesters of Biochemistry courses. I was also able to make it onto the Dean’s List both semesters. In the Autumn semester I enrolled in Biochem 2900H, which is a course that pairs Biochemistry majors with a research lab for the Spring semester. I was paired with Dr Vicki Wysocki’s lab, and spent several months working with her and the rest of her research group. It was a great opportunity for me to see how a research lab is operated, and it gave me insight into what a daily schedule would look like if I were to pursue a career in research. Freshman year I lived in Barrett House with all of the other freshmen in Biological Sciences Scholars. I became very good friends with essentially all of the people on my floor, and a group of eight of us lived together in Park-Stradley Hall on south campus during our sophomore year. It was very nice because I share majors and thus classes with several of my close friends so it makes studying as a group very easily. On top of this, all of the guys that I lived with were also in Bio Sci Scholars so it made it easy going together to meetings and being reminded of upcoming events. Last summer, I volunteered once a week at Aultman hospital in Canton as well as did landscaping work for people in my neighborhood. It was a good way to gain experience in a hospital setting as well in a business setting where I was dealing with people everyday about the jobs on their yards. This summer, now, I am currently working at West Medical, Inc., gaining more experience inside a primary car doctor’s office. No one could have ever expected that coronavirus would be nearly as impactful as it was, but I believe that it can be looked as a learning opportunity. I hope to be able to return to meeting in-person for classes in the fall, but I will always very fondly remember sophomore year regardless.

Vision Statement

My goal when enrolling in The Ohio State University was to further my education while also creating relationships with fellow students as well as faculty members. My first two years in college have greatly exceeded any expectations I could have possibly had for myself. It does not seem like very long ago that I was trying to decide where I wanted to attend college, and I can confidently say I made the right decision. I went to small Catholic schools for grade school for grade school and high school, so I was not sure how the transition to a large, public school such as Ohio State. Luckily, it is a great school in that it offers all the opportunities of a big school while still allowing the students to find small clubs or groups that more specifically cater to their interests. In my next two years, I want to primarily continue to focus on my classes while also excelling outside of the classroom. I believe there is great value to getting involved with extracurriculars on campus. Not only is it a great way to escape from the at times overwhelming academic side of things, it can also introduce you to an abundance of new people that you would most likely not have met otherwise. Throughout high school, I was involved in many different service groups and I have carried that over in my undergraduate career. This is a major factor that aided me in my decision to start on the pre-med track. I have always been greatly fascinated by the medical field and the occupation of a medical doctor I believe best encompasses my values as a human. I enjoy working with people and communicating with peers/co-workers on a task rather than working by myself. I have always made an effort of respecting everyone and all of their values and beliefs, and that is why, no matter where I go with my further education and eventually my career, I wish to continue to work on my people skills while experiencing and learning as much as I can in the process.

Semester in Review

This semester has been a rollercoaster ride with all kinds of ups and downs, but all in all, I have learned and grown a lot from it. I live in a quad in Barrett House, and I came in not knowing my roommates. Living in such small quarters was an adjustment for me, but I quickly got used to it and now actually really enjoy living with a bunch of good friends. As is the case with most college freshmen, classes were a bit overwhelming right off the bat. It came as a surprise how much more work is required for college courses than the typical high school class. After meeting with my advisor and going to office hours, I finally saw that it is all very possible to do well in, and I started getting better grades. Outside of classes, I have been regularly attending Biological Sciences Scholars events, remaining an active member of Health Points, as well participating the running club from time to time. Over the course of the year, I have become more familiar with my surroundings and gotten more comfortable with all of the resources that are available to me. This semester has definitely been one of the most influential experiences of my life, and I truly believe the changes that I have gone through have made me a better person.

G.O.A.L.S.

Global Awareness: I believe in order for people to truly respect other’s cultures, they must diversify themselves and educate themselves about all the cultures of the world. I consider myself a very open and accepting person, so now I am consequently trying to better educate myself about the world around me. I have been taking Spanish classes since middle school, and am planning on enrolling in Spanish 1103 in the spring semester. I am still considering picking up a minor in Spanish for multiple reasons. I already have two Spanish credits so it would not require too much more work in order to reach the limit for a minor, and a minor in a foreign language can open up a lot of windows for working with Hispanic people or in a heavily Spanish-populated area. Throughout grade school and high school I did not have much of an option as to what language I would want to take, but Spanish has its benefits over other languages as far as practicality goes. Spanish is the second most spoken language in the world, and has huge influences all over the United States. It is also a plan of mine to study abroad for some period of time before my undergrad time at Ohio State is up. I enjoy travelling very much, and if I can combine travelling with schoolwork towards graduation as in a study abroad experience, then I am all for it. This will also be a good opportunity to gain some knowledge and respect for educational systems around the world. I was an active member of the Spanish club at my high school because I enjoy learning more about the language and the culture of Spanish-speaking countries. Over the summer, I took a trip to Punta Cana, Dominican Republic. This as my first time leaving the country, and it was a huge eye-opening experience for me because not only was there considerably more poverty, the entre way of life is different. When speaking to any server on the resort, we used Spanish because none of them were very fluent in English. I actually enjoyed this very much too because I knew a great deal of Spanish, and it was cool being able to use it in a real-world situation. I believe Global Awareness is pivotal in order to fully reach a level of understanding for all people, as well as the betterment of your own education.

Service Engagement: I fully believe in the purpose and importance of service in the community. There are many people that do not have all the same blessings or necessities to live a quality life, and it is our job to help those in need. I went to a Catholic high school, and service was a major pillar over the course of my 4 years there. I was also a member of National Honor Society, which required a certain amount of service hours per semester so service became a very regular thing for me. I was not solely doing these service and volunteering opportunities to meet requirements, I also enjoy the gratifying feeling that comes with helping others in service. This is part of what truly defines a scholar. Of course, I am in the Biological Sciences Scholars program so service opportunities are frequently available. I have yet to attend any of these events, but 10 total hours of service are required by the end of the semester. Some of the other clubs I am involved in, such as Health Points club, have volunteering opportunities close to once a week so the requirement should not be hard to meet. I know that as I gain more college experience, more chances to commit to service will appear and will help me in my road ahead.

Career

I am a Biochemistry major, and I am currently working towards a minor in Medical Humanities. I am on the pre-med track so my goal is to get accepted into medical school after my undergraduate graduation. I believe that a Medical Humanities minor will offer me with the tools to better interact with all types of people in a health care setting. My dad is a DO and has had a major influence on me throughout school with my interest in medicine. I volunteered once a week at Aultman hospital in Canton last summer, and I am now employed at West Medical, which is a doctors office by my house so I have gained some experience as to what a day in the life of a physician is like. I would say the area of medicine that interests me the most as of now is family medicine. Although this is not the most intense division, I want to be able to build a relationship with my patients, as well as help families grow and stay healthy. I am very personable, and would be easy to talk to for all kind of people. I also was involved in research this past spring, which is a career path that would also greatly interest me if I do not end up going to medical school. No matter where my schooling takes me in my career, I have faith that I will have the endurance to take on any task, as well as the experience necessary to do it well.

 

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1WYEMPMiX_lPEifh90y2x4BTs3Vza8u3QxxKgcM9P7sY/edit

 

 

Artifacts

During this shortened last semester of Spring 2020, I had the privilege of working in Dr Vicki Wysocki’s biochemistry research lab. I got the position by enrolling in Biochem 2900H which is a course that helps undergraduate students get paired with biochem research labs. While in the lab, I carried out many different jobs, most of which were directly under the supervision off Dr Angela Di Capua. The goal of the subgroup that I was a part of was to determine the effects of salmonella bacteria in the gut on metabolites. We used techniques such as Metabolomics and liquid chromatography on the fecal samples after extracting the samples from mice. I learned a great deal about how a lab operates on a day-to-day basis, and I was able to see material that I had learned in the classroom in action. Although my current plan is to attend medical school, I enjoyed getting this experience so as to broaden my horizon and explore all of my possible pathways after graduating. I am very fortunate to have gotten this opportunity and I hope to continue my work in Dr Wysocki’s lab in the fall.

About Me

Hello! My name is Patrick Scheatzle and I am a freshman at the Ohio State University from Canton, Ohio. My major is Biochemistry and I am on the pre-med track. I am actively involved in several on campus student-run organizations, such as running club, Health Points, and the ukulele club, as well as possibly joining the Chemistry and Biochemistry club in the future. Health Points is a pre-med club that offers good insight into how I should go about my next couple of years in order to best prepare myself for medical school. I am also a member of the Biological Sciences Scholars Program. This has been a great opportunity for me because it allows me to live and work next to all kinds of different people that share similar interests and similar majors as me. I plan to get involved in some form of research during my undergraduate career at Ohio State. I hope this E-Portfolio offers a little light into what I am doing, and everything I plan to accomplish in the future.

Year in Review

The 2019-2020 academic school year was anything but normal, but the most abnormal part of it all was obviously the coronavirus pandemic that forced the classes to turn to remote learning for the second half of the spring semester. This was a very drastic change because the in-person aspect of classes is very significant, and therefore greatly missed in online classes. I was fortunate to have teachers that are passionate about their courses that provided an ample amount of resources for me to still succeed this spring. The fall semester was also filled with many big surprises. The football season is always a very fun time of year, and my family was even able to make it to a game. I made it through my Organic Chemistry courses with the help of many hard hours spent studying, and I started with the first of three semesters of Biochemistry courses. I was also able to make it onto the Dean’s List both semesters. In the Autumn semester I enrolled in Biochem 2900H, which is a course that pairs Biochemistry majors with a research lab for the Spring semester. I was paired with Dr Vicki Wysocki’s lab, and spent several months working with her and the rest of her research group. It was a great opportunity for me to see how a research lab is operated, and it gave me insight into what a daily schedule would look like if I were to pursue a career in research. Freshman year I lived in Barrett House with all of the other freshmen in Biological Sciences Scholars. I became very good friends with essentially all of the people on my floor, and a group of eight of us lived together in Park-Stradley Hall on south campus during our sophomore year. It was very nice because I share majors and thus classes with several of my close friends so it makes studying as a group very easily. On top of this, all of the guys that I lived with were also in Bio Sci Scholars so it made it easy going together to meetings and being reminded of upcoming events. Last summer, I volunteered once a week at Aultman hospital in Canton as well as did landscaping work for people in my neighborhood. It was a good way to gain experience in a hospital setting as well in a business setting where I was dealing with people everyday about the jobs on their yards. This summer, now, I am currently working at West Medical, Inc., gaining more experience inside a primary car doctor’s office. No one could have ever expected that coronavirus would be nearly as impactful as it was, but I believe that it can be looked as a learning opportunity. I hope to be able to return to meeting in-person for classes in the fall, but I will always very fondly remember sophomore year regardless.