The event “the Pandemic is a Portal” was hosted by the College of Arts and Sciences over zoom on November 23 from 4-6 pm. The speakers were Frank Snowden, a Professor of history at Yale University, and Marc Bamuthi Joseph, a spoken word artist/poet. The panel talked about how humanities (history and art) and activism can play a crucial role in helping communities heal from health issues like COVID and/or social issues like racism. This event related to international affairs because it explored issues that are global. For example, COVID-19 has affected the whole world. Some places more severely than other places. The event helped open my eyes to how history, specifically medical history, is relevant to health issues. For example, COVID has impacted black and brown communities more. Historically, and presently, black and brown communities have less access to quality healthcare. This discussion relates to my personal and professional life. To address the issues described above, communities and people in authority positions need to have an honest talk. Over the summer, I got tested for COVID. While at the hospital, the nurses accused me of being related to two other Somali patients who didn’t even have the same last name as me. They might have wanted to limit the amount of tests given to single household, but I believe they would not have assumed two white patients to be related. That experience ruined hospitals for me, and I lost trust with medical professionals. They made an already stressful process traumatic and I know this feeling is hared by many BIPOC. To ever truly rebuild fractured communities, we must look at who’s doing the fracturing and why.

I attended the Current Events Catch Up (Academic) event on Sunday (10/25) evening from 7-8 pm. The event was over zoom and there were about 25 participants. Samantha, the host, used kahoot and everyone competed in answering 6 questions about recent news events. The news events included the beheading and Islamophobia in France, End Sars Movement in Nigeria, endangered Loas Fogs reproduction, and Home economics. One story I connected to was the incident in France. For years, I’ve talked to many muslims, some who have been to France,  and the consensus was that it wasn’t a safe place for muslims. The beheading was a terrible incident, and I understand French people are angry, but they should also be angry about the two muslim women who were attacked in France. These type of incidents shouldn’t be brushed under the rug because when a marginalized group feels like they’re constantly being attacked (bans of religious clothing and rise of hate crimes), there is bound to be a reaction. Unfortunately, this reaction was violent, but the problem should be seen as a whole and not just an isolated incident. This event related to International Affairs because it talked about events around the world. The Current Events Catch up was fun and made me realize that I consume more new than I thought.

I attended an event hosted by the School of Music. The speaker was Alex E. Chávez, an assistant professor of anthropology at the University of Notre Dame. His lecture was on Sep. 28 at 4 PM over a zoom video. The topic he spoke about was how Mexican migrants are expressing their voice through performance. He gave the example of the musical genre huapango arribeño. The lecture discussed how Mexican migrant’s use of music to gain recognition has political implications, especially regarding transnational migration. This event relates to International Affairs because immigration and migration is a hot topic around the world. A question I had after the event was do Mexican migrants experience have similarities with other migrants or immigrants? I also thought about how oppressed groups often make art (music, books, movies, etc.) that helps them communicate their experience. This event didn’t change my beliefs, but it did allow me to learn about a perspective I haven’t heard too much about. This event intersected with my personal life. I’m interested in anthropology, specifically cultural anthropology, and it was nice to learn about a new topic. Overall, the event was very informative and well though out.

If I were to pursue undergraduate research, I would like to focus on Water Technology. Water Technology research helps promote innovations and inventions that solve and combat water issues. I haven’t looked too much into research, so I don’t know how I would start. After watching the presentation from Joselle, I would either try to find research opportunities at OSU or institutions nearby. The potential challenges I face is navigating the space and getting letters of recommendation. I do well in my courses,  but I haven’t made any personal connections with a professor in STEM fields. Since my STEM courses are predominantly white men, I never feel comfortable putting myself out there, but I’m going to try, next semester, to push myself out of my comfort zone. I have made a few connections with professors in my general ed courses but I don’t know if that will have the same impact compared to STEM professors.  Water Technology relates to international affairs because countries all over the world are trying to find a solution to the global water crisis. Billions of people do not have steady access to clean water, or any water for that matter. This leads to diseases, dead crops, chronic dehydration,  etc. These issues could be solved by innovative technology that treats water and makes it accessible.

COVID-19 has greatly affected my life and the lives of my family. This global pandemic has stopped me from living the life I planned this summer. I work at the Columbus Metropolitan Library, but COVID-19 caused the company to furlough over 600 employees (including me).  I still have my job, but I’m currently not being paid which has made me give up on hobbies that I planned to learn this summer. For example, I wanted to learn how to sew, but without a steady income I can’t buy the materials and sewing machine that I wanted. I also planned on saving money this summer to buy a car in the fall but now that all has to be postponed. Another aspect of my life that was negatively affected is my mental health. It’s been hard to find motivation to work on my classes or be productive at all. It feels like the days are all blending together and I don’t really sense the passing of time. I’ve always been a homebody, but I would die for the chance to go to the movies theater, swimming, or the amusement park, etc. I understand the importance of staying home, but I hope that we can go back to something resembling normal before summer ends. I think that Ohio’s response to COVID-19 has been okay, nothing extraordinary or terrible. The state took action quickly compared to others, but I’m worried that opening up too soon might lead to a sharp increase in cases.

I attended the lecture titled “Disease X: An Anthropological History” given by Dr. Kelley Sams. The event was on Feb. 3 from 11:00AM – 12:00PM at Scott Lab. The lecture was about how people and media react to pandemic and how it affects preparedness and global health policy. The diseases that were discussed included Disease X, Ebola, Influenza, and Coronavirus. The lecture relates to International Affairs because it discussed institutions such as the World Health Organization and talked about how pandemics affect different nations. The lecture was about Disease X, potential pathogens, but Dr. Sams spent a good portion talking about the Coronavirus due to the breakout in China recently. She talked about how the media is feeding into fear tactics and alienating a group of people. She compared it to the misinformation surrounding Ebola a few years ago and how that stopped people from receiving treatment. This talk help show me that the coronavirus isn’t as bad as the news is making it out to be. Yes, there are a lot of diagnoses and fatalities in a short time, but compared to influenza deaths in America it’s minuscule. The talk didn’t really connect to my academic and professional life, but I definitely will apply some of the lessons I learned in my personal life.

I volunteered at the Highlights Kids’ Run that was held downtown on October 19. The Highlights Kids’ Run is hosted by the Columbus Marathon and Nationwide Children’s Hospital and this is the 4th year of the event. We took the COTA bus downtown and helped out from 9:30 am-1:30 pm. Our group wasn’t too big. At most, we had 8 people. For the first few hours we helped with setting up the marathon by picking up and moving tables, setting up traffic cones along the field, etc. After the marathon was set up, we were assigned to play games with the kids. It was fun playing games and seeing how serious some of the kids got over tag. After the games were done, the race began from 12:30 – 1:30 pm. In my opinion, this event doesn’t relate to international affairs but, instead, local affairs. It’s important to help out your local community and be engaged with the youth. The event made me think about volunteering with kids more because it was fun. I’ve always wanted to volunteer with children, especially at a hospital or school, because they’re so genuine and honest. I plan on looking into volunteering at Nationwide Children’s Hospital or OSU Wexner Medical Center.