Second Semester Mentorship Interview

During my interview this semester with my mentee, Rachel, we got to catch up on her experiences during her first year at OSU and I got to learn more about her and her passions! We discussed if Rachel was enjoying her major thus far, and she reflected that she was enjoying where she was, although currently it is a lot of General Education courses. However, she did note that nursing was the only thing she could really picture herself doing, and that she is excited about the future and the classes she is going to take.

Next, we talked about her experience getting involved on campus. Despite the pandemic,  it seemed like Rachel was able to get pretty involved with several organizations. She is involved with Cru and several bible studies and small groups through Cru. She is also involved in NSPIRE, a nursing club in which they do outreach and hear from guest speakers in the medical field. It also seems like NSPIRE will be able to do more in person outreach during the coming semesters when things are more in person!

We also discussed living in the ACES living and learning community in Smith Steeb. Rachel reflected that living in a community of ACES scholars has been nice, getting to know people with similar majors and passions as her. However, I think that the pandemic has created some of a lack of quality community, not being able to really get to know a lot of people in the program.

Furthermore, we discussed her future career plans and whether or not they have changed since getting some more experience in the major. It seems like Rachel has a pretty set plan for her future plans to be a nurse. She seems really interested in pediatrics and has recently adopted a minor in sociology. This minor will help her learn more about the health disparities in America and the different reasons and social problems that will impact her future patients. She also mentioned a possible interest in being a travel nurse. She is also enjoying exploring the possibilities of the different paths she could take as a nurse, considering it is such a diverse field. We also discussed the appeal of diverse majors, as social work is also a super diverse field.

Lastly, we discussed our favorite memories for this past year. Rachel said that one of her favorite memories since coming to campus was the day that she moved back into Smith Steeb after winter break. Many of the other favorite memories she told me about were centered around her experiences spending time with her roommate and her friends on her floor. It was very nice to hear about her experiences having fun on her floor because it seems like the pandemic has stopped so many people from having fun social experiences.

Second Semester Explore Columbus

During our explore Columbus event, Rachel and I decided to get coffee at a campus coffee shop. We went to Cielo cafe and chatted about our semesters. We also did our second semester interview and talked about our majors and hopes for our future careers. It was nice to explore another coffee shop that is close to campus! I have heard so much about Cielo Cafe from friends, but neither of us had ever been there! It was so wonderful to get to get to catch up with Rachel in a relaxed environment and discuss our experiences and feelings about almost a year of college during a pandemic.

I loved getting to talk to Rachel about her passions for nursing and medicine. I felt really connected to her passions for helping others and making an impact on people during a difficult time in their lives. I have a similar passion, and that is part of the reason I chose social work as a major and profession. We have similar feelings about public health and justice in that way and both aim to contribute to creating a better environment and system. I am so excited for Rachel to begin to take some of her major classes next semester and to continue to learn more about herself and her passions. I know that she will do well with nursing, as it seems like she really has a strong foundation in her reasons for pursuing nursing as a career.

During our time at Cielo, we also got to talk about our involvement on campus and how the pandemic has affected it. It seemed like Rachel was able to still get pretty involved on campus, despite the virtual events and limited meetings. She seemed excited to be able to do more in person events and meet more people through her involvements in the coming semesters and be able to do more outreach in the community. I had a similar experience with involvement this semester, being part of several organizations from last year, but not being able to be super involved with them this semester, due to the lack of in person events. However, I am so excited to continue doing outreach and service with these organizations next semester.

The environment of Cielo was very relaxed and welcoming. I would certainly recommend it to a friend, it seems like a good place to do studying or to have coffee and catch up with a friend. I think that the quiet and low key feeling of the coffee shop allowed us to chat, without a lot of distraction or other things going on. Not to mention the coffee was delicious!

Attached to this post is a picture of my sweet mentee, Rachel! This was taken at Cielo cafe and also features my vanilla latte!

First Semester Explore Columbus

For our first semester explore Columbus activity, my mentee, Rachel, and I decided to go Sweetwater Cafe! We got coffee and talked about our experiences at Ohio State, ACES, our majors, and our interests in community service! I have been to that coffee shop a few times before and really liked it because it is close to campus and easy to get to. I know it can be difficult to get around off campus as a freshman, especially because minimizing COTA bus rides may be ideal, due to the COVID 19 pandemic. Finding a location that would be fun to go to, but would be safe and in which we would be able to social distance was a little bit difficult. However, the cafe of course required all of their customers to wear masks when we weren’t drinking our coffee. The store also had most of their tables closed, so we were able to distance from other customers and the tables had been wiped down with a sanitizing solution before we sat down.

I would definitely go back to the cafe because it was quiet and we were able to safely enjoy our time, relatively easily. I liked going to that coffee shop last semester, but hadn’t been back again this semester, because of the pandemic. But, it was fun to go back and to bring Rachel with me! Inside, the store is cozy and cute. There is a wall at the back of the building that has a floor to ceiling chalk board that the employees are able to write and draw on. Before the COVID pandemic, anyone was able to write or draw on the board, but they have since closed that feature. Still, it is fun to see the colorful drawings from the employees on the wall! I hope to go back again!

Overall, I love exploring Columbus. Last year, finding new things to do and new places to go with my friends was one of our favorite things to do! It is a little bit tough to find a places to go without a car, but riding the COTA bus is easy and free with your Buck ID, which is such a convenient perk of being an Ohio State student! This year, due to the COVID pandemic, it’s not a great idea to go to a lot of places off campus and in the city. However, it was fun to look up places to go and see all of the fun locations that there are in Columbus. It’s sad to see that a lot of places are closed because of COVID, but it makes me excited to go to them once it is safe to be in public more often again!

I loved being able to meet up with Rachel and get to know her more! I hope we get to continue to do things like this again next semester. I can’t wait to continue to explore Columbus and continue to get to know my mentee, Rachel!

Below is a photo of us on our way to Sweetwaters!

First Semester Mentee Interview

I met up with my ACES mentee, Rachel, close to the end of the first semester, and I got to learn a lot about her interests and her passions! Rachel is a Nursing major, with a minor in Spanish. Her dream job is to one day become a pediatric Nurse Practitioner because she loves science and medicine, and also loves being around and helping kids! She specifically chose to study nursing at Ohio State because she felt that it is a versatile field that allows her to use her scientific interests and aptitude, while also exploring her passions for  helping others and doing good for the community. Furthermore, adding a minor in Spanish seemed like a good fit, because Spanish is such a widely spoken language, and it would helpful in any profession that comes into contact with a wide variety of populations.

On a similar vein, Rachel chose to become involved in ACES because of the same passion for community engagement that led her to nursing. She was excited to be involved in a community of people who have similar interests and passions to her, without being in a group where everyone has the same major as her. She loves community service and volunteering, and ACES seemed like a perfect fit for her interests and hopes to meet people outside of nursing! In high school, Rachel was involved in a lot of extracurricular activities, including a lot of community service! She did volunteering with a kids’ club and at her church. She was involved in both the Science National Honor Society and the Chinese Honor Society, and did community engagement work with both of those groups at her high school. She was also involved in a peer tutoring program at her school, helping to tutor other students. She was also on the Cross Country team.

Some other things that we talked about were the things that surprised us when we came to Ohio State. Rachel mentioned that she was surprised how different the Ohio State and college environment is from high school. I remember feeling the same way as a freshman at Ohio State. I knew it would be different than high school, but I was surprised by just how different and accepting the environment was. Something else we had in common, in terms of our initial experiences at Ohio State, was that we were both surprised by just how big the campus is and just how many people are part of the community. Of course, we both knew that it is a very large school, but it really is shocking and exciting to see so many people in one place. Furthermore, Rachel mentioned that she was excited to see and be able to meet so many people from different backgrounds. That is something that I also love about Ohio State! When you have such a large campus, with so many people on it, you inevitably will bring together a lot of people from different backgrounds, and you will inevitably meet people with completely different upbringings and experiences from you! But, at the same time, it is surprising that you may have a lot in common with those people, despite your different backgrounds.

It was really interesting to learn more about Rachel and her passions and interests! Despite having different majors and academic aptitudes, we have very similar views about community involvement and service! We both have a passion for helping others and working within communities. I’m so excited to continue to get to know Rachel and learn more about her background and interests as a student and a volunteer!

Artifacts

ACES film project

ACES Film Project

    For the ACES Pillars Film Project, my group and I watched the 2018 movie,Boy Erased.  This movie follows the true story of a young man, Jared Eamons, based off real world author Gerrod Conley, through his struggles with growing up as a gay man in a fundamentalist Christian household.  Jared is forcibly placed into a conversion therapy camp by his Baptist preacher father.  

    In this project, my group and I outlined the different instances in which Jared and the other characters displayed Advocacy, Service, Community and Positive Social Change.  Throughout the film, Jared and the other boys in the conversion therapy camp build community through their hardships, which eventaully causes Jared to advocate for himself and the other participants by standing up to the “therapists”.  Later in his life, Jared writes articles about his time in the conversion therapy camp, thus doing a service and creating positive social change by raising awareness on the torture that is conversion therapy. Furthermore, the film itself helped to create positive social change because it has raised awareness and created a conversation reagarding conversion therapy.  

    This project relates to my future because, as a social worker, it is important for me to be educated and passionate about social justice issues.  Conversion therapy is a huge social justice issue in America as very few states actually have laws against participating in it. This project allowed me to educate myself on a pertinent social justice issue in America.  

 

 

 

 

Year in Review

[ “Year in Review”  is where you should reflect on the past year and show how you have evolved as a person and as a student.  You may want to focus on your growth in a particular area (as a leader, scholar, researcher, etc.) or you may want to talk about your overall experience over the past year.  For more guidance on using your ePortfolio, including questions and prompts that will help you get started, please visit the Honors & Scholars ePortfolio course in Carmen. To get answers to specific questions, please email eportfolio@osu.edu. Delete these instructions and add your own post.]

G.O.A.L.S.

L- Leadership Development 

Throughout my high school experience, both in and out of school, I held various leadership positions.  I served as both Secretary, during my junior year, and President, during my senior year, of a peer leadership, mental health awareness, and drug prevention student organization.  These positions taught me how to effectively communicate with other members of the leadership team and with members of the community. These skills aided me in making compromises, planning events, and maintaining organization within the group.  Furthermore, I have served as both squad and section leader in my high school marching band during my junior and senior years. Holding these positions taught me valuable skills about conflict resolution, rallying and energizing a group, and facilitating teamwork.  

Since starting college at The Ohio State University, I have been given more opportunity to develop my leadership skills.  At the beginning of the first semester of my freshman year, one of my good friends and fellow ACES scholar, approached myself and several other ACES members, looking to start a student organization called Rise.  We worked to activate and plan the student organization that works with middle school students, exciting and helping them plan for their futures. This opportunity has further taught me how to work as a group to lead, how to make compromises and execute plans.

S- Service Engagement

Throughout my experience at The Ohio State University, I have been presented with countless service engagements that have allowed me to become further involved in both the Columbus and Ohio State communities.  Most of these service opportunities have come through the ACES (Advocates for Communities and Education Scholars) cohort. This organization is rooted in service, and has allowed me to further develop my passion for serving my community.  Through ACES, I have participated in a university wide day of service in which I worked to help clean the Olentangy River watershed by picking up trash along the river and helped make blankets for young children in the hospital through Project Linus.  I am also a member of a student organization on campus called Recipe for Good. Through this service based organization, I have participated in many food-based service events. With this group, I have served a meal at a local soup kitchen, prepared and served a meal at a local youth crisis center, and participated in an event with the youth involved in College Mentors for Kids.  These service events have allowed me to further my passion for others and for serving the community. 

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 guidance on using your ePortfolio, including questions and prompts that will help you get started, please visit the Honors & Scholars ePortfolio course in Carmen. To get answers to specific questions, please email eportfolio@osu.edu. Delete these instructions and add your own post.]

Artifacts

 

Community Commitment

    Within my first week of moving into Ohio State, I was able to participate in the university’s campus-wide day of service, Community Commitment.  During this service project, I was teamed up with other members of the ACES cohort, working with an organization called FLOW or Friends of the Lower Olentangy Watershed.  During Community Commitment, we cleaned litter and stray trash along a paved path near the Olentangy River and along the bank of the river as well.  

    Participating in this university wide day of service was not only rewarding because I was able to serve my new Columbus community, but also because it allowed me to make some of my closest friends on campus.  I had known the girls with whom I worked on this project because they were my neighbors and fellow ACES members, but I doubt that I would have the relationship with them that I do now if we had not worked together to clean the Olengtangy River watershed.  This day of service was an important moment in my college transition because it allowed me to become involved in both my Columbus and my Ohio State communities, and also allowed me to meet some of my closest friends on campus.  

    This day of service relates to my future as a social worker because it will be important for me to be involved in the community in which I work as a social worker in the future.  I need to be educated on the issues and the needs within the community and participating in this day of service allowed me to become involved in my new Columbus community.