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Year in Review
G.O.A.L.S.
- COLUMBUS TO DO LIST PART 1. For this semester, I have chosen the “By Theme” list. I am excited to explore the variety of food options that Columbus offers, because it is clearly different from where I live, since there are only fast food restaurants near me. From this assignment, I hope to get to know the city of Columbus better and try foods from across the world that I have never tried before. I also hope that I can get to know more of the HE Scholars and have these experiences with them.
- September 23rd 2017 – North Market. On September 23rd, I traveled to Short North with a few friends and HE Scholars. My most memorable experience was traveling to the North Market. During the HES Community Day, I was only able to get a brief glimpse of all the food options from around the world that were available at the North Market. Due to the limitation that living on campus, I have not been exposed to the tastes of various cultures that the North Market provided. Here, I was able to taste Belgian, Polish, Mediterranean. I even had Indian food, which reminded me of home, since I wasn’t able to have any since I moved in. I would definitely go back, and recommend it to others, if they want a change from campus food.
- COLUMBUS TO DO LIST PART 2. Throughout the last month, I have had a lot more experiences exploring downtown Columbus. I have been going to restaurants all around Columbus, almost every weekend, to try foods of different cultures, something I could rarely experience in the small town that I am from. Some food that I had this month is Indian food from Aab, in Grandview Heights, more Indian food in Dublin, Thai food at Nita’s Thai on High, in the Short North, Italian food in Arena District, burgers at Chop Shop, and more. I have also watched a few movies at the Gateway Film Center. Walking around downtown Columbus has also opened my eye to the huge variety of museums, art galleries, monuments, and historical artifacts spread throughout the city. These are just some of the things I might want to check out in the future. Finally, I am a lot more confident in my ability to use the bus to get downtown after doing it multiple times. My recommendation for someone exploring Columbus is to walk around until you find something that attracts you. There are a lot of interesting places scattered around, so it shouldn’t be to hard to find that place that attracts you. Once one is well oriented with Columbus he/she could spend weeks in the city and not get bored, after knowing the right places.
- October 20th 2017 – Condado’s Tacos, Short North. On October 20th, a few HES students and I went to an authentic Mexican restaurant called Condado’s Tacos. When I first walked in, I was surprised by the loud, boisterous environment inside the restaurant, and the fact that it was very dimly lit. However,, after I got used to the nontraditional environment, I began to like it, and thought that it was suitable, especially after getting the food. My opinion on the food is that it was unlike any Mexican food I had ever had, and each type of taco I had was unique, and they all tasted very good. After eating at Taco Bell for the previous 10 years of my life, eating authentic Mexican food at Condado’s was eye opening, and I will definitely be back for more and I have already recommended it.
- November 11th 2017 – Buca di Beppo, Arena District. On November 11th, some of my friends from HES and I went to celebrate my roommate Stavan’s birthday at an Italian restaurant called Buca di Beppo, which was located right next to Nationwide Arena. The picture at the bottom is actually in front of the arena. Unlike Condado’s, I had experience with Italian restaurants, but I still tried new dishes, such as a unique type of shrimp pasta. Since the dishes were served in large portions, I was able to try a wide range of them. I also tried cannolis for the first time. This restaurant is definitely one of the best Italian restaurants I have been to, so I would go again for more, and recommend it to a friend.
- COLUMBUS ADVENTURE WITH PEER LEADER GROUP – SEMESTER 2
- Melt Bar and Grilled, Short North. On February 10th, 2018, five members of my HES peer leader group decided to go to Melt Bar and Grilled, a unique restaurant that served a vast variety of unique grilled cheese sandwiches. The environment of the restaurant was also very unique, with massive wall paintings and antiques on the walls. I ordered a Purple Parma sandwich, which was a sandwich with fried breaded eggplant and marinara sauce, and a Mac and Cheese Sandwich, which was all very cheesy and tasted very good. This was my first time going to this restaurant and I soon learned that it was a local favorite. I would definitely go here again to try more of the variety of grilled cheese sandwiches, and I would surely recommend it to a friend.
Career
Artifacts
ARTIFACT #1: SWIMMING MEDAL
From the age of 8, competitive swimming has been a part of my life almost every day. This became an even bigger part of my life during high school, where I had to devote almost 4 hours of my day to the sport. The artifact that I have chosen that relates to this is my most prestigious token of achievement during my 10 years of being a competitive swimmer. It is a medal that was awarded to me on the podium, when I finished 8th place in a 200 Breaststroke Race in the 12 and under age group, at the 2010 Western ZONE Championship Meet, which was a meet consisting of the top swimmers from each state. Despite the engineering workload, I still continue to swim regularly, even though I cannot do it competitively any more.
ARTIFACT #2: OSU FOOTBALL TICKET
I have always been a big football fan, following the NFL and college football very closely. However, the atmosphere of the Ohio State football games has been unlike any other. Even though schoolwork gets very hard at times, I always look forward to the OSU football game on Saturday, and this gives me a little bit of motivation at the end of each week. The topic of football is also a good way to make new friends here, since it is a good conversation starter. I have represented my appreciation for Ohio State football with my artifact of the Ohio State vs. Penn State ticket, our biggest game of the year.
About Me
My name is Raghav Bhagwat and I am from Walled Lake, Michigan, a small town just outside the Detroit suburbs. I am currently a student at The Ohio State University pursuing a degree in Aerospace Engineering, through the Honors program. I am also part of the Humanitarian Engineering Scholars Program. Throughout my childhood I was an athlete, being a swimmer for 8 years and a cross country/track runner for 2 years. I have also competitively mountain biked, and have completed several triathlons. I have also played the violin and piano for over a decade. I consider myself to be a hard working and determined person in all aspects of my life, and I will do my best to get through whatever obstacles come between me and my goals. Growing up, I always had a passion for engineering. I was also amazed by air and space flight and the advances that mankind has made while designing air and space technology. Because of this, I was fairly certain in my aspirations for the future for a while. Something that I often think about is how lucky we are in the USA to have so much free access to technology and resources, something that people in third world countries cannot even begin to think of having access to. Visiting third world countries has also given me firsthand experience into how much some people are struggling, and it pushed me to make a difference in their life. This is why I am a part of the Humanitarian Engineering Scholars Program. At Ohio State, academics are my top priority, but I am also in some clubs that will allow me to develop my hands-on skills in engineering, such as Formula Buckeyes (FSAE). In the next couple of years, I would like to gain an internship into a company in the Aviation/Aerospace or Defense industry, allowing me to apply my skills I have learned in school into the real world.
My top 5 strengths are:
- Futuristic
- Competition
- Achiever
- Significance
- Focus
I can say “FUTURISTIC” is a very strong strength of mine because I often have my goals in mind no matter what activity I am partaking in. I can visualize the ideal future for me and for the rest of society so that I can keep myself focused to try and make that ideal future a reality. This characteristic of mine often gives me motivation and hope, and it is what keeps me going even though I am faced with circumstances that are much harder than I am comfortable with.
Another characteristic that is very important to me is “COMPETITION“. This characteristic is another one that keeps me motivated to work harder. If I am outperformed at anything, by someone else, I don’t have the “I tried my best” attitude. Instead, I know that I have room to improve, and if I don’t improve, I won’t be satisfied. I also often compare myself with others, even if I am not consciously aware of it. I do this so that I know where I stand among my peers and how much work it will take to be closer to the top.
“ACHIEVER” is another strong strength of mine. I can connect with this because I subconsciously keep a checklist of what I improved upon on any given day, and if I realized I didn’t grow my ability in something, I will be dissatisfied. I am also able to study for a long time, even after occasional distractions, because I feel the need to achieve something before I can let myself take a break.
Another characteristic of mine is “SIGNIFICANCE“. I can connect with this because I want to stand out and be appreciated. This connects me to all of the other characteristics because I understand that I have to be competitive, achieve a lot, and be a hard worker to fulfill my drive to be significant and known.
Finally, “FOCUS” is the last of my top 5 strengths. I can connect with this because I often find myself setting short term and long term goals, and thinking about them. I am also very organized with my priorities, and I don’t find myself getting distracted easily. Also, if I am working in a group, I often get them back on topic relatively quickly.