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.