Year in Review

Over the past two years at Ohio State, I have tried my best to fully immerse myself in the global culture that this school provides to its students. Coming from a high school that was severely lacking in diversity, I have become increasingly aware of different cultures, traditions, ideas, and beliefs during my time here. In addition to gaining global awareness through my interactions with faculty, peers, and friends, I have also tried to take advantage of the numerous courses that revolve around world issues and cultural studies. For example, one of my favorite classes that I have ever taken was an international studies course on terrorism. In this class, we discussed different terrorist groups that have formed over the past 50 years and the effect they have had on different regions of the world. Many of the issues presented in this class were topics that I had never even heard of before, proving that this course really opened my eyes to numerous struggles that people all around the globe endure on a daily basis. In addition to just this class, I am planning to take other courses focusing on global studies during the rest of my time here. Specifically, I am planning to take a German class that studies the Holocaust through film as well as a class that focuses on the history of modern Europe. I am very excited for both of these courses, as I believe that increasing global awareness is an essential part of being a well-rounded and knowledgeable citizen.

During my time at Ohio State, I have taken several science courses that have had a laboratory component to them. Though the experiments performed were always guided by a manual or by an instructor, working in any laboratory setting requires students to creatively think for themselves and utilize their problem-solving skills. Moreover, these fundamental courses have prepared me so that I am now ready to conduct my first individual research project. This summer, I will be working in a molecular pharmacology lab at the University of Pittsburgh. As an undergraduate student researcher, I will be working under my assigned faculty advisor to create an independent research project that I will then showcase to my peers at the end of the summer. I am so excited for this experience, and I am hoping that after this summer, I will be able to continue my undergraduate research career here on campus by working under the direction of one of Ohio State’s world-renowned faculty members.

As an honors student here at Ohio State, my academics are one of the most important aspects of my life. I have always been one to love learning, and this passion of mine has led me to choose an academically rigorous curriculum here on campus. Specifically, I am a Chemistry major with an intent on someday going to graduate school to get my doctorate. While courses required for my major are definitely challenging and have at times made me make sacrifices in other parts of my life, I am proud to say that I have thus-far succeeded in all of my in-class endeavors. The academic success that I have had up to this point has made me extremely confident in my abilities, and I am now certain that I will be able to meet the intellectual expectations of any career that I choose. While I am not certain of exactly what I want to do when I am older, I know that it will revolve around my love for academia in some way.

As someone who has always had a passion for education, this year I finally had the opportunity to be on the other side of the classroom as a teaching assistant. For the past two semesters, I have had both the privilege and responsibility of being an instructor for a chemistry lab. Every week, I led a classroom of approximately 25 students through an experiment, hosted office hours to provide students that were struggling with time to ask me questions, and attended a staff meeting where we discussed the best ways to lead students through their general chemistry course. This experience has definitely been time-consuming and at times very challenging, yet I would venture to say this has been one of the greatest endeavors in my undergraduate career. As a teaching assistant over the past year, I have developed as a person in more ways than I thought possible. No longer am I scared of public speaking, and I am now extremely confident in both my problem-solving abilities and ability to communicate difficult information effectively. In addition to this amazing leadership development experience, I also took on the role of Academic Chair for my sorority this past year. In this position, I am in charge of making sure all the members of my chapter meet our academic standards by providing them with study resources and incentives. More importantly, when members of my sorority fail to meet our academic requirements, it is my responsibility to meet with them and come up with a plan to get them back on track.

Over the past two years here, I have been involved in many service-oriented experiences. Most importantly, I am proud of my philanthropic work that I have participated in through my sorority. My sorority focuses on instilling confidence within all members of our society, and in order to help turn this goal into reality, we do a lot of hands-on work with two different organizations. To begin, four times each semester, we host Girl Scout events where girls between the ages of 6-10 come to our chapter house to participate in a fun activity. I love volunteering my time to participate in these events, as we focus on instilling confidence within each of the young girls. In addition to Girl Scouts of America, my sorority also does a lot of philanthropic work with Prevent Child Abuse America. Every March, we host our annual Slapshot tournament, which is an ice hockey tournament in which all proceeds go to organizations that work to reconcile the effects of child abuse. Being a part of this event is such an amazing experience, as it is a fun way to give back to the community. For my next two years here, I plan to continue to participate in these two events, and hopefully even increase the responsibility of my role within them.

G.O.A.L.S.

To begin, during my time at Ohio State, I want to go on a mission trip so that I can experience a new culture while gaining experience in the global healthcare field. Starting from a very young age, I took Spanish in school, and I immediately became determined to one day speak the language fluently. I continued to take Spanish classes up through my senior year in high school and transitioned into college feeling as though I had mastered the language. While I am grateful for learning Spanish in a classroom setting, I am more interested in using my communication skills in a real-world setting. Specifically, I hope to someday combine my interest in medicine with my Spanish proficiency by working as a doctor in a developing nation in South America. In order to prepare for my career aspirations, I hope I get the opportunity over the next 4 years to go on a mission trip to a Spanish-speaking country and help to provide basic medical care to needy individuals in both hospitals and free health clinics.

In addition, I want to work in a lab and hopefully conduct my own research over the next four years. Specifically, I am interested in working in a lab that has some connection to medicine. My cousin is currently working to earn his PhD at Ohio State, and he has a lab that uses mice to study potential cures for muscular dystrophy. He has already offered me a position in this lab, and I am planning on starting there next semester. I intend to gain experience in his lab for a little and then possibly consider alternative research options later on in my undergraduate career. Regardless of what kind of lab I end up working in, I hope to eventually be able to organize my own research project concerning something that I am truly passionate about.

Furthermore, I plan to take challenging classes both inside and outside my field of interest so that I develop into a well-rounded individual. In my academic plan, I have laid out a potential schedule for the next 4 years that includes many upper-division classes both in the STEM field and the humanities. Because I am majoring in biology, I have to take many challenging classes in chemistry, physics, microbiology, and molecular genetics. In addition, I have chosen to pursue a minor in development studies. By selecting a minor that is a part of the the international studies field, I will also need to take several high-level classes in anthropology and sociology, proving that I plan to academically enrich myself in various areas of study.

Moreover, during my time at Ohio State, I am interested in joining the Ohio Union Activities Board, an organization which would give me the opportunity to be the voice of the students here on campus. This student organization provides programs and events to students at OSU, and thus would allow me to make many important decisions regarding social life here on campus. I plan to apply to this organization next fall, and I think that my previous leadership experience will allow me to excel in this position. Furthermore, I hope that if I am accepted into this group, it will provide me with the opportunity to develop both personally and professionally.

Finally, at some point during my time on campus, I want to be a volunteer at the Ohio State University hospital so that I can help others in need and also gain experience in the healthcare system. Starting the summer after my sophomore year in high school, I began volunteering in the pediatric ward at a local hospital. I thought that this was a great way to acquire the volunteer hours needed to apply for college and also get a feeling for how medicine operates in the real world. Because I thoroughly enjoyed this experience, I am interested in continuing with this type of volunteer work here at college.

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.]

Artifacts

Unequal Childhoods Chapter 1-v9wous

My artifact is a chapter from a book we read in my sociology class. This book discusses the implications of child-development in regards to the family you grow up in. In other words, it proves that children from different socioeconomic backgrounds are raised differently, ultimately helping to reproduce of poverty in society.

Growing up in a white, middle-class family, I was blind to the challenges that working-class parents face on a daily basis. I had never thought about how their financial shortcomings affect their ability to raise a child the same way in which my parents raised me. While I was cultivated through participation in extracurricular activities, this book explains that children from working-class families don’t have these same opportunities. This disparity both interested and upset me, and I realized how fortunate I was to have grown up in the family that I did. After reading this book, I have a newfound sense of gratitude for my own situation, and I also have a stronger desire to help those that are less-fortunate.

About Me

My name is Halle Adair, and I am an honors student at the Ohio State University. Because I am an out-of-state student and therefore knew very few people coming to school this year, my transition to college was very nerve-racking. However, I am a very outgoing person, I have therefore found it relatively easy to find a group of friends that help make such a big school feel a little bit smaller. In just the past two months, I have become fully integrated in the Ohio State community and am beyond happy to call this campus my home away from home.

Academically-speaking, I am a biology major on a pre-med track. For as long as I can remember, I have excelled in the STEM field and have dreamed of one day becoming a doctor. This goal of mine primarily stems from my interest in global health; in fact, this past summer I went on a mission trip to Mexico where I worked in numerous hospitals and clinics, helping to provide medical care to the nation’s most disadvantaged people. Not only did this experience confirm that medicine is the right path for me, but it also sparked my interest in both traveling and volunteering. Since this trip, I have a newfound passion for different cultures and have also become determined to speak Spanish fluently. Moreover, this eye-opening experience has made me want to study abroad during my time at Ohio State and has even encouraged me to consider joining the Peace Corps after I graduate.

While my passion obviously lies within the science fields, I still have an appreciation for the liberal arts. I love to read in my free time, and I my humanities classes extremely interesting. Because my interests lie beyond just the STEM field, I consider myself to be an all-around good student, and I believe that my multifaceted skills will allow me to succeed both in here at Ohio State and afterwards in my career.