Time has flown, I have grown (thankfully not in the waistline), and I am about to embark on my sophomore year of college. This year, I will be taking many more math and science courses with direct correlation to the field of mechanical engineering. I am particularly excited for my statics class!

I am also getting more involved within the Newman Center church this year. I will be co-leading a Bible Study, participating in the ESTEEM program, volunteering as a classroom aide in the religious education program, helping to lead and organize a retreat, and will be serving as the treasurer of Buckeye Catholic. It will be a busy year, but I know that this year will help me to know what I am capable of and further refine my time management skills.

Returning to campus, I am excited to explore the almost finished North residential district, especially the new athletic center. I have been suffering withdrawal from the rock walls at the OAC all summer, but my friends and I have plans to climb every Saturday. Climbing lets me push my physical limits as much as I am pushing my mental limits in the classroom.

This summer, I worked two jobs, which taught me how to prioritize, what a long day truly is, and how to adapt to changing situations. My favorite job was in the Deli Department at Sautter’s Food Center. There, I got to interact hands on with customers, deli turkeys, and potato salad. At last estimate, I believe that I handled more than 4,000 pounds of potato salad! Crikey!

As is (now) tradition, I also completed a summer project. With the t-shirts that I accumulated in my time in Junior High and High School, I crafted a miraculous T-shirt quilt. My summer projects give me something to work towards, give great project planning practice, and let me take an idea from start to finish.

Check out my team’s robot project for the 2016 FEH Robot Competition. I served as the lead on building and prototype creation.

We have an awesome website that is at:  u.osu.edu/feh16a6/

The password is: FEH2016

All the details about the project, photos, and videos are available there!

The drive to Columbus takes 2.5 hours, and can get boring. This Christmas, I redid an old idea in wood to create the ultimate travel game. It combines I-spy with the license plate game and bingo to create a often never-ending experience. Two wooden crates contain 25 wooden blocks each. Each block has 5 numbered sides and an X on the sixth. Four of the numbered sides include things to find along the route, while the 5th is one of the 50 U.S. State License plate. As you find a #1, you turn the block to the next number, and so on, until the block is completed and turned to an X. Then the bingo begins!

Because I am a proud creator, and this was my winter project, here is picture.

What an eventful past couple of weeks I have had! Last weekend, I went on Buckeye Awakening #13, a retreat through the Newman Center. It was amazing to get to know God and other students better and get away from school work for a weekend. My Awakening family was fantastic!

I also got a chance to talk to a couple of professors about careers in BME and what jobs and opportunities different majors provide. Some friends from high school came up for the day, so I got a chance to catch up with them. To top it all off, I had two midterms!

Now, it is time to start prepping for finals and the last round of midterms!

These last few weeks have been a whirlwind of activity. I just finished my first round of midterms, and already have to start prepping for the next round. My roommates and I went to the OSU sponsored COSI night, where we rode the tightrope unicycle and visited the Lego exhibit. I also got to see my parents and my grandpa on parents weekend. I showed them my classes and we got to have lunch with Morgan, Shannon, and Shannon’s parents. My grandpa was amazed by the automatic hand dryers in the bathroom (he had never seen one before!) and at the size of the campus.

I also got to attend several on-campus events throughout the last weeks. I went to a Diversity seminar hosted by the Women in Engineering program, where I learned a lot about myself and my peers. On the 8th, I got to see the OSU women’s soccer program defeat Purdue 3-2 with my Bible study group. Finally, Morgan, Shannon, and I watched the homecoming parade and got to see Brutus drive by in his snazzy red sports car!

Things have been wild here at Ohio State! I had two big midterms, attended and volunteered at the Engineering Expo, and started working with my very first programming language. With all of the craziness with my homework workload and activities, it has been hard finding time to relax. My roommates and I went ice skating two weekends back; we had a blast and I worked on learning how to skate backwards. Last Friday, I got the opportunity to go down to the ARC and climb for a while. Saturday, my roommates and I went to a Fishbowl improv show and had the opportunity to relax and laugh a while. This Friday, we plan to attend OSU’s COSI night. All in all, I am doing my best to balance the engineering workload, sleep, and fun activities.

At the end of week three, classes are kicking into high gear. FEH has me writing 19 page lab reports and I’ve got my first Calculus midterm on Tuesday. I’ve gotten into the Biomedical Engineering Society and attended networking events for BMES and Women in Engineering. I also have gotten very involved with the Newman Center, attending BCAT regularly as well as the New Beginnings retreat. The best part about this week was finally getting the Father Steve homily experience!

This week in Taylor Tower hijinks: socks on the ceiling and fruit warfare with our neighbors down the hall!