I attended a meeting for OUAB (Ohio Union Activities Board); I just recently got in to the club, so it was a very exciting, but a nerve racking moment for me. Before college started, my sister and I were talking about what student organizations I should join (she went to OSU so she is familiar with various clubs), and she thought OUAB would be a good fit for me because I was really involved with planning events for the students in my high school. When college started, I looked more into joining it; there was an application process and interview process, which was stressful for me because it was my first type of interview like this for college.  The interview was intense, but the people were really nice and right after that I realized how much I wanted to be in this organization. I found out I got in one weekend, and the first meeting was the following week. I was really excited that the first meeting was so soon after getting in. 

The first meeting was overwhelming but fun and really reassuring. I went alone because none of my friends applied to OUAB. It was really fun because all the new members met before the actual meeting and the Vice President told us how the meetings would usually run. When we got to the meeting, they clapped us in and we all introduced ourselves. I talked to a bunch of people that I think are really cool and I am excited to get to know them better. It was very fast paced, which I liked because it wasn’t like we were just sitting around doing nothing. OUAB has specific committees, so we split apart into our committees, which was great because we got to know each other. This also had some overwhelming components because we had the Kinjaz performance coming up in a few days, so we had to talk about that a lot and then we brainstormed other ideas. It overwhelmed me because I realized how many events OUAB puts on and how much work goes into creating them; however, it got me excited for the events to come. 

I think there are many benefits of joining a student organization. It doesn’t matter if it is an academic, cultural, chill, athletic, or any other type of organization because there are benefits to any. The one benefit I think comes out of any organization is a sense of community. This university is so big with a countless number of people that join organizations. They come from all different backgrounds and it is nice to meet new people who come together for some similar purpose. It also makes the college transition when you have this type of support system. For example, for OUAB there is the large community with everyone and then the separate communities one each committee. Some other benefits are developing a new hobby, growing as an individual, developing skills, and making yourself busy. 

Student leaders are extremely important in different student organizations, and especially in OUAB. It is interesting to see how much they do to make these events actually happen at OSU and to create such a welcoming, positive atmosphere for all the new members. I could see myself being a leader in this org in the future because it is really easy to get involved by volunteering for the events and picking up leadership positions for each as well. This club meets every Tuesday for around 2 hours; it is a time commitment, however, I feel like my time management skills have gotten better with trying to balance school with extracurriculars and social life. I will try to finish all my work on Mondays or before the meeting so I can get sleep on Tuesday.

I am really glad I joined OUAB and saw it at the involvement fair. The involvement fair was overwhelming for me because it was confusing on trying to find what clubs would be good for me; however, having so many organizations is also good because that means there is almost something that anyone at OSU would like to join. I definitely encourage people to join orgs and especially OUAB next year because it has already had a huge impact on me. The pictures below are of the Kinjaz performance- the first event I volunteered for- which was amazing. 

I went to the MSLC in Cockins Hall 132 to get some help for STATS 1350. I was kind of nervous at first because I had never been to the MSLC before nor gotten help for my classes in college yet. I feel like people always think getting help means you are not smart, and there is a negative correlation with seeking help. This is what I thought until sophomore year of high school; however, sophomore year I really needed help with my classes and after I sought help from my teachers, it benefited me a lot. Ever since then I have not hesitated to get help even for the smallest things like clarification of a term to the largest things like a whole topic.
I think seeking help is very important for success in college. My older sister who has been through college and my upperclassmen friends have all told me that going to office hours or tutoring helps a lot in making sure you understand the content in class to the best of your ability. Self-learning or doing things all by yourself may seem good at first but at one point an obstacle is bound to happen that may limit your level of understanding and getting help would be very advantageous at that point.
I asked one question about margin of error and my tutor helped me a lot. She answered my question and then went in depth about the main idea of margin of error and showed me a couple examples as well. She also helped me with clarifying what the term lurking variable meant and how it was used with other statistics terminology. Since I learned the things I was struggling with, I can now help my other friends in my class if they are struggling with the same or similar things.
The tutor that helped me was very friendly and approachable, and I felt no hesitation to ask her my math questions. I am very thankful OSU has a great support system like this.
In the near future I may want to become a tutor for the subjects I feel like I have a good understanding of. For example, I feel like understand biology really well and I enjoy learning about it as well, so I could maybe become a tutor for people who need help with biology or the general sciences. When my friends are not comprehending a topic as well and if I understand it, I try to help them because in that way it benefits both of us. Teaching someone assists the person trying to understand the content and it reiterates it in the teachers mind as well. Additionally, I have gone by this rule for a while: If you can teach someone else the material, that means you have a deep understanding of the information.
After this valuable experience at MSLC, I am sure that I will go back very soon whenever I need assistance with anything in my classes. I will also try the other tutoring locations for my other subjects and I am sure I will receive help similar to the help I got at the MSLC.