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.]

G.O.A.L.S.

Global awareness is essential to becoming a well-rounded, cultured individual, and pursuing exposure to things and ideas that fall within this aspect of education is very important. For example, I am in the Morrill Scholars Program at OSU, and it offers many resources that promote diversity and acceptance through the ODI. I am looking forward to continuing to partake in the programs and opportunities that MSP offers. Also, because my minor is in Spanish, I am looking to study abroad, ideally in Spain. This will also coincide well with my major because OSU specifically offers studies in Spain relating to Biological Science. I am also planning on taking courses relating to diversity such as the microbiology of the AIDS epidemic, alongside participating in student organizations that are not only accepting, but also promoters of diversity, such as MUNDO and Medlife.

Original inquiry allows an individual to express what they are truly passionate about through desiring to find out more about a specific topic or idea. As I have previously conducted research withing a laboratory, I plan to become involved with research inside and outside of Ohio State, through working with a professor on their research or alongside a doctor or professor at the Wexner Center, while reserving my summers for further inquiry at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center. The ultimate goal is to acquire my own project from mentorship, so that I may complete an Honors Research Thesis, relating to something concerning Immunology. Also, many of my major courses for Biology will go hand in hand with inquiry, specifically the ones that contain a laboratory component.

Much of the academic enrichment component comes from general education requirements, but I am making sure that I plan to take stimulating classes that really peak my interest, sometimes pertaining to my major, and sometimes not. The selection of which general education and additional major courses to take reflect back on the individual and just how exposed to certain aspects of education they want to be. For example, I am choosing courses for my Spanish minor that relate directly to the culture of Spain, because my ancestors are from there and I am more interested in the formal grammar of Spanish rather than differing aspects of spoken dialects such as those in Latin America. Concerning Biology, I am taking courses such as the micro course mentioned above, which relates to diseases and biology as well as diversity, which is very enjoyable to me. I am also continuing to find more clubs that enhance not only what I do with my free time, but that also connect back to my major, such as Evolution and Ecology Club or Pre-Med Club.

The people that employers and educators want to be put out into the world to do incredible things are those that can take the reigns on things they feel strongly about. Through leadership development, an individual can be molded to create, lead, and enforce the formation of tangible outcomes. To develop myself as a leader, I will participate in activities that build upon the goal of wanting to produce leaders with good qualities and skills, such as R-Lead and also being in positions of responsibilities within student organizations.  For example, being an executive board member on the Raney House 2016-17 Hall Council.

One of, in my personal opinion, the most rewarding and telling experiences of growing as a person is service engagement. It reveals who a person truly is, and what they care for and are genuinely passionate about. There are some one-time service opportunities that I have already participated in, and I will continue to do so, such as Community Commitment. Also, there are service opportunities through student organizations, such as Hall Council, RHAC, and Medlife. I also am looking forward to going on a Buck-I-Serv trip through one of these organizations to make an impact within a different geographical community outside of Columbus, and maybe even outside of the United States.

 

 

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.]

About Me

Sierra is a current freshman studying Biology and Spanish on the Pre-Med track. She is the RHAC Senator for her Hall Council, and loves to be involved in planning fun activities and events for Raney House. She also participates in an off-campus, non-university affiliated Colorguard called the Pride of Cincinnati. She enjoys conducting medical research, and had her own project and poster presentation this past summer at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center within in an Immunology Lab in the Center for Autoimmune Genomics and Etiology. Sierra is a technician for the Westerville North Colorguard during the weekdays, and she thoroughly enjoys teaching her favorite hobby to younger students who are also passionate about the activity. Some of her favorite things that she also enjoys are visiting Disney World and shadowing surgeries. In addition, she visited Spain for the first time this summer, and became thoroughly engrossed in the culture that her family came from.

In Spain this past June, Sierra and two former buckeyes united to show their school spirit at Antonio Gaudi's Parque Guell in Barcelona, Spain.

In Spain this past June, Sierra and two former buckeyes united to show their school spirit at Antonio Gaudi’s Parque Guell in Barcelona, Spain.

Sierra's Senior Year Colorguard Show

Sierra’s Senior Year Colorguard Show

She is especially passionate about finding a cure for Type 1 Diabetes as it has affected her family permanently, which has sparked her interest in medical research and Pediatric Endocrinology. She hopes to continue to grow in her research skills and knowledge, while finding more things at OSU that she is passionate about as she becomes progressively more settled at the university.