About Me

Hey everyone!

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My name is Kurt Atwell, and I am currently a freshman at The Ohio State University! I originally am from Denver, Colorado, and I currently reside in a suburb of Cleveland, Ohio. When considering colleges to attend the autumn of 2015, Ohio State immediately stood out to me. Being a student that has a high interst in engineering and pioneering the next “big thing,” I was looking for a university that could offer me the opportunity to participate in undergraduate research, as well as have a strong curricula base–Ohio State met and exceeded my expectations for this.

When I hear about new products being invented, I’m quite interested, especially on the chemical side of things–how can a product be produced cheaply, yet environmentally friendly at the same time?

I worked the summer of 2015 as a lifeguard on Lake Erie, and to say I loved the job would be an understatement. Every day, I would experience excitement around me, and I truly loved coming to work every morning. Unfortunately, on many days, my co-workers and I would be faced with the job of picking up trash on breaks. By far, the most littered piece of trash on the beach are black-and-mild cigarette tips. These tips are non-biodegradable, and thus get washed up by waves, and are littered by patrons who use the beach daily.

A morbid sight would be an understatement, as us lifeguards continued to pick up thousands of these tips throughout the summer season. And so, I began to ask myself “Is there anything I can do to help stop all this littering, or a way to create a biodegradable cigarette tip?” This caused my mind to start turning, and I knew that beginning a track in chemical engineering with a focus in environmental improvement would be a career I’m interested in.

While I don’t know much about the reasons yet, my thoughts are here. Over my next 4 years and my career, I would like to focus on the developmental side of products, using chemicals to create materials that are inexpensive, yet environmentally friendly for people and the planet.

Artifacts

[Artifacts are the items you consider to be representative of your academic interests and achievements. For each entry, include both an artifact and a detailed annotation.  An annotation is a reflective description of the artifact that attempts to communicate its significance.  For more information, go to: http://honors-scholars.osu.edu/e-portfolio. Delete these instructions and add your own post.]

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 information, go to: http://honors-scholars.osu.edu/e-portfolio. Delete these instructions and add your own post.]

G.O.A.L.S.

[ “G.O.A.L.S.” is a place where students write about how their planned, current, and future activities may fit into the Honors & Scholars G.O.A.L.S.: Global Awareness, Original Inquiry, Academic Enrichment, Leadership Development, and Service Engagement. For more information, go to: http://honors-scholars.osu.edu/e-portfolio. Delete these instructions and add your own post.

Global Awareness: Students cultivate and develop their appreciation for diversity and each individual’s unique differences. For example, consider course work, study abroad, involvement in cultural organizations or activities, etc .
Original Inquiry: Honors & Scholars students understand the research process by engaging in experiences ranging from in-class scholarly endeavors to creative inquiry projects to independent experiences with top researchers across campus and in the global community. For example, consider research, creative productions or performances, advanced course work, etc.
Academic Enrichment: Honors & Scholars students pursue academic excellence through rigorous curricular experiences beyond the university norm both in and out of the classroom.
Leadership Development: Honors & Scholars students develop leadership skills that can be demonstrated in the classroom, in the community, in their co-curricular activities, and in their future roles in society.
Service Engagement: Honors & Scholars students commit to service to the community.]

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 information, go to: http://honors-scholars.osu.edu/e-portfolio. Delete these instructions and add your own post.]