For my diversity experience, I went to a First Year Success Session about building community through dialogue. One of the reasons I decided to go to Ohio State was because of the impressive diversity the campus has to offer. When I went on tours, I saw so many different kinds of people, which was refreshing to see coming from a high school with minimal diversity, at best. In addition, it was an all-girls high school. So there was even less diversity than in a co-ed school.

Honestly, one of the main reasons why I decided to go to this session was because they were serving brunch. I’m on a budget, so being welcomed with a table filled with eggs, bacon, cinnamon rolls, and waffles was enough to grab my attention for the hour. I do think that the brunch setting was fitting. In high school, my English teacher told us that whenever there was a scene in a book about a meal between a group of people, it represented those different people coming together. Meals represent community.

We started off by finding similarities we had with others without using words. As we all mimed our different interests, anyone who walked in would be confused by twenty people wagging invisible tails, mouthing their hometowns, and rowing an imaginary boat. It was a really great ice breaker. I met some great people who loved dogs as much as I do and we had a great conversation.

The leader of the group started to give us talking points for our small groups. From gender and sexual orientation to race we covered ways that we define ourselves. Then the moderator noted that we are always members of a community. It may not be the same community that our neighbor is a part of, but we have a community to come home to. She also stressed the importance of respect for other communities. Obviously, we need to respect our differences. Cliche as it may be, our differences are what make humanity beautiful.

Contrastingly, we found out that most of humanity is the same. We were asked about our first week on campus. I loved hearing other people’s experiences. Surprisingly, we all told the same stories about getting lost on campus, being confused at Connecting Grounds, and being bombarded at the involvement fair. It was through this experience that I saw concrete examples of how similar we all are. Although the twenty of us came from different backgrounds, we all were complete messes our first week here. I loved hearing other people’s experiences because it made the thousands of faces at Ohio State seem less scary if we all felt the same way that first week.

I walked away from this session with a full belly and some food for thought. I grew up in a white middle class family. I went to private school from kindergarten until I graduated high school. I have been sheltered my entire life. If I had not gone to Ohio State, I would not have had the unique experience of meeting so many people and celebrating their backgrounds and communities.

This past week, I attended a First Year Success Session about STEM classes at the Wilce Student Health Center. These sessions have been extremely helpful. From sexual health to mental health, the program offers a such a wide variety that is bound to fit any person’s needs. Personally, I’m set to go to a session about anxiety next month which I’m sure will give me helpful advice on how to cope with anxiety.

When I found out about this session about STEM classes, I was thrilled. In high school, I was encouraged to take pretty much only STEM classes. And as a result, I had bags under my eyes, I was irritable about the amount of work I had to do, and the lack of creativity involved in my work made me frustrated because I had no outlet to express my emotions. So, I figured this session would help me deal with that stress and really give me an idea of what I signed up for when I chose to major in Math.

The first half of the session was beyond stressful. The session leader pointed out basic differences between STEM classes and non-STEM classes that make STEM classes harder. For example, STEM classes require more logic and reasoning. So instead of memorizing facts and figures, STEM classes ask you to take concepts that work together and solve a problem. I definitely saw this when I took my calc midterm. The main goal of the question was to graph a function that wasn’t given. I had to use math skills that I’ve gained over the past four or five years to solve that problem. I’ve always loved that math builds off of old concepts you’ve learned, so this fact wasn’t new to me.

Then the lecturer brought up that STEM classes often demand a higher workload. And I can definitely vouch for that. In my calculus class, we are often given 2-3 long homework assignments a week where I’m given little to no homework in my visual and performing arts GE. Again, I knew this in the back of my mind but I just chose not to think about it. Plus, usually the work I was doing I found somewhat enjoyable so I don’t mind the extra workload. But when I procrastinate (a lot), that workload adds up quickly and I often find myself surrounded by numbers and problems up to my ears.

This seminar was informative, but also intimidating. In a way, it woke me up to show me how hard I’m going to have to work both in college and after college when I (hopefully) get a job as an actuary. It put into perspective how focused I’m going to have to be and how much discipline I’ll need to have. I don’t regret choosing a STEM major and now I understand why there is such a high demand of STEM jobs in the workforce today, which will only grow in the future. I respect those who choose a STEM major but also those who don’t because they have creative outlets I can only imagine of possessing.

For my campus resource experience, I decided to go to a fitness class at the RPAC. Specifically, I went to the Cycle and Yoga Power Hour class. It was honestly really hard to convince myself to wake up early to go to this class. Given, the class was at 11, but I usually wake up at 10:30 on Saturday mornings.

I was excited to try something new. I had never been to a fitness class before, let alone a cycling class. I was nervous too, being a rookie to fitness classes. When we got to the RPAC, there was a long line of mostly women who looked like they went to a couple cycling classes a week. I don’t. So, I was feeling pretty intimidated.

The class started off pretty hard. The instructor showed us the different positions we would be in throughout the class, my favorite being the one where you sit and take a breather. That being said, the beginning was the hardest part. We did pushups on the handlebars of the bike, which was my least favorite part for obvious reasons. Sometimes I would feel myself get winded and I took a second to collect myself. When I did this, I saw other people in the class in the same position as me. We’re all out of shape! Even my friend who goes to the gym six times a week was dripping in sweat like the rest of us. The instructor led us to the top of a mountain. Yeah, a mountain. Not a hill. But the instructor was so inspirational, telling us how proud we should be that we made it to the top. So even though I wanted to curl up on a ball on the floor, I rode down the hill and we finished the cycling part of the class, finally.

I’ve always been a fan of yoga. I think it’s a really great way to unwind and calm your thoughts. Needless to say, I was excited to relax after cycling up a mountain. But that wasn’t the kind of yoga we did. In hindsight, it was pretty simple positions that we did, but my legs were noodles that I could barely stand on, let alone do downward facing dog on. I felt my body shake with how hard it was working. But again, I looked around at the class and we were all struggling.

When it was finally all over, I treated myself to coffee and an acai bowl. I deserved it. My friend and I just sat for two hours recovering. But we both felt so accomplished. We had a killer workout that we would feel for days afterwards. I’m grateful that Ohio State provides students the opportunity to improve their health by giving them access to impressive fitness amenities, like fitness classes and high-end gyms like the RPAC and the North Rec. When I was in high school, I didn’t have access to any of these, so I had no outlet for my stress or frustration. That’s why I’m even more appreciative of campus resources like the gyms and I definitely plan on taking advantage of every service they have to offer me.

I went to the informational meeting for the Ohio Union Activities Board on August 28. I was really excited to learn more about this organization because they host the biggest events on campus. Anyone who goes to Ohio State knows that the OUAB is responsible for putting on the most impressive events on campus, like bringing Terry Crews last year. Even though I wasn’t even a student yet, I was so impressed that they were able to bring someone with such a big name to Columbus, Ohio. I also appreciated that they didn’t just bring Terry Crews to campus for the heck of it, but to preach a good message about masculinity.

I like that the OUAB organizes events that are both fun and educational. It’d be easy to book a monotone doctor to lecture for an hour, but they put the time and effort into ensuring that people actually want to go to their events. Their job isn’t easy, and I was curious to see if I could help.

I was actually pretty nervous to go to this meeting. It had been less than 2 weeks since I moved in and I didn’t know a lot of people. I went by myself, which just heightened my nerves but I was excited to meet people who held the same interest as me. I knew that OUAB was a huge time commitment, but I was curious to see if I could do it. At the meeting, they explained who they

are and what they do. I was interested in OUAB, but the time commitment was just too great. 

I love all the different options Ohio State offers towards student involvement. This was the first meeting I went to, but since then I’ve discovered other clubs that have sparked an interest in me, like STEM Outreach, One Love OSU, and OSU Democrats. So though OUAB was too much for me to handle right now, I am definitely interested in becoming heavily involved in one of these clubs.

I think the 1300+ student organizations on campus encourage student involvement. Although this one club didn’t work out, I was able to find a handful of other clubs that interested me. I also appreciated that the clubs mentioned above cater to some of my different interests: STEM, activism, and politics. Ohio State wants to cater well-rounded graduates and I think that the 1300+ student organizations do just that. It allows students to meet people with the same interests and become more educated about the student body make up of OSU.

I can see how the sheer amount of student orgs can be intimidating, though. When I was looking for clubs to join, I had to put aside close to a half an hour of my time just to see what the different clubs were. Also, being a freshmen in general can be uncomfortable. I’m surrounded by people who are further along in their career than I am, whether they are the head of a student org or being hired for internships. I know I need to use their experiences to my advantage: ask them questions and learn as much as I can about what my future may look like at OSU. Hopefully joining these clubs will allow me to do just that.

This past week I went to the Mathematics and Statistics Learning Center. I have my first midterm in Calculus I coming up in a few days, and I thought this would be a great experience to expose myself to one of the different resources available to me to help me succeed in Calculus I.

At first I was nervous; I didn’t know the process or if one-on-one tutoring would be available. I had to push myself to go because I needed help but I was at first too afraid to ask for it. In high school, I was the one usually helping others with homework, so it felt uncomfortable to be the one asking for help. I think there is definitely a stigma around asking for help. Society conditions us to think that the smartest and strongest are the most independent; they’re successful because they put in the hard work by

themselves. In reality, the smartest are the ones who recognize that they can’t hold the earth on their shoulders by themself. They acknowledge the fact that there are people smarter than they are and they seek their guidance. This stigma can be especially damaging to first year college students. If students aren’t encouraged to ask for help, then they’ll never gain the guidance they need to be successful.

At first I didn’t see the point in going to an academic resource on campus. Now, I see that this forces us to ask for help. It eliminates the stigma because it shows us that asking for help doesn’t make us weak. When I walked into the MSLC, I was surprised at how many students were there, asking for help. Then, I was put at ease. I realized that I wasn’t alone in my search for help. I appreciate being given the opportunity to squash the stigma surrounding asking questions and being confused. These are part of the process of asking for help, and we become more intelligent when we allow ourselves to be confused.

At the MSLC, I sat at a table with two other students who were also studying for our upcoming midterm. I’m grateful that I was given access to experienced tutors and fellow classmates to help me. It’s a lot easier asking for help from someone in the same position as you. It also helped establish a sense of bonding with my classmates because we saw each other as real people asking for help instead of just names on an attendance sheet. I think this experience has helped me grow as a person and be open to asking for more help in the future. I also have more resources that I’m aware of like the MSLC, private tutors, and office hours. I’m grateful to Ohio State for recognizing the need for such resources and making them readily available to students at no charge. I can definitely see myself going back to the MSLC later this semester and honestly the rest of my four years at Ohio State.

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