Summary of My Mentorship Experience

From the first ACES Community Meeting all the way back in 2o19 (which seems like a different lifetime ago!), I knew I wanted to be more involved in our amazing program. As such, when I discovered the ACES Mentorship Program, I didn’t hesitate for a second before joining. As a first-year student, I knew that opting into the Mentorship Program would allow me to meet [the then] second-year students who have been around the block and are ready to guide new ACES through their first year. While my mentor was super cool (and my first choice!), I wish we were able to hang out more. Considering how chaotic the transition from high school to college (especially during a pandemic) is, I knew that, when I became an ACES Mentor one day, I would make sure that my mentee felt loved, appreciated, and welcomed within our community.

It happens far too often when college students feel lost in the shuffle, as if they’re just another number in a never-ending sea of fish. This is why I believed it was so important to involve myself in the Mentorship Program, as I wanted to ensure that a new ACES member would have someone to rely on at all times. I have loved being able to chat with my mentee over the phone, through Instagram, and through SnapChat, but I wish we had been able to meet in-person throughout this last year. However, because COVID-19 has made it incredibly difficult to do anything other than attend a Zoom meeting (mixed with limited modes communication), we never got the chance to grab coffee together—an activity we had so been looking forward to. Hopefully this coming year will bring many more memories that I can create with my mentee, even when she becomes a mentor herself!

 

G.O.A.L.S. #2 – Academic Enrichment

When I think about ‘Academic Enrichment’, I think about how we, as not only students but as humans, need to become well-rounded people throughout field experiences that go beyond the classroom setting. Because of this idea of branching out, I’ve decided to sign up for the First Educational Experience Program (FEEP) next semester, an internship-like opportunity to test out whether or not I’d like to teach someday by placing me in a school district around the Columbus area. I truly look forward to this experience because it’s a brand-new chance for me to learn how to improve my interpersonal communicative skills, something important that can’t be learned in a regular class like calculus. While this course will be incredibly rigorous as I will have to constantly make a [possibly] very long commute to and from campus, I’m ready to grab this challenge by the neck and prove to myself that I can balance my schedule very well, something those entering adulthood must learn to do. 

G.O.A.L.S. #1 – Leadership Development

Within the first two weeks of being a student here at THE Ohio State University, I took a leap of faith and decided to take my RA’s advice to apply to be on our building’s hall council, the Board of Activities for Smith-Steeb (BASS). About a week and a half later, I was notified that I’d been placed in the position I’d applied for: the Wellness and Community Chair. This basically meant that I’d be in charge of coordinating events based on service, community bonding within our building, or any other theme beneficial to helping our residents succeed! A huge event that was thrown into my Co-Chair, Sarabeth, and I’s laps was the blood drive we had to coordinate in our building, counting toward the Blood Battle against Michigan that takes place every year. While there were bumpy parts as we embarked on this first drive, it ended up being incredibly successful. Our hard work had absolutely paid off, because those involved had a great experience. We can only hope that the blood drives we have to plan for next semester go even smoother with an even bigger turnout! Something that made me choose to share my experiences on hall council during this semester was being able to base one of my “G.O.A.L.S” off the idea of ‘Leadership Development’, something that this group has helped me greatly with. At our very first meeting I presented the idea that we do “BOO Grams”, a piece of paper with a ghost on it that we’d post on our residents’ doors filled with inspirational messages sent to them by their friends. My thoughts as I proposed this project idea were based off of motivating others while getting into the Halloween spirit. Using what I’ve learned about being a leader throughout this semester will absolutely influence me to continue to be someone strong that others can come to as the year goes on, whether it be about planning another building event, or just needing someone to listen to them.

The Difference Between Us: Race—The Power of an Illusion

The Difference Between Us_ Race–The Power of an Illusion

As a first-semester college student, I had several General Education courses to complete; Consequently, I landed myself in Intro to Anthropology 1100, one which will stick with me for years on end. My professor, passionate about the course as he was, assigned us to do three film essays where we chose a documentary or film to watch and analyze. For my first round of film essays, I decided to watch the relatively old documentary, The Difference Between Us: Race—The Power of an Illusion. Throughout the film, I witnessed teenagers who looked similar on the outside guess, understandably, that they’d be the most genetically similar to each other; however, it was revealed that the two males of opposite races who believed they’d be the most genetically different from each other were the most similar! After being given their results, the students were taught that what determines race isn’t strictly phenotypic. In fact, the most miniscule alleles are the ones that determine skin tone, and from a biological and structural standpoint, we are all incredibly similar. Therefore, I will make it my mission to convey this idea to those who believe that we’re so different because the more educated we can be, the more accepting and safe our world will be for the future generations.

ACES Pillars Film Project

ACES Film Project – Group #3

Throughout this semester, I’ve completed many meaningful projects and assignments. However, there was one “artifact” that stood out to me: the ACES Pillars Film Project. During the course of the project, my four other group members and I were given the opportunity to watch the documentary, The Mask You Live In, a film comprised of multiple firsthand accounts of men who grew up trapped in the shadows of toxic masculinity. I’m very glad my group chose this specific topic to do our research on because as women, we aren’t exposed to the beginning stages of toxic masculinity and how it manifests within each individual, we only witness the lasting effects. These men were influenced by their fathers, coaches, teachers, and even mothers, these folks constantly telling them to “man up” and “never cry, you’ll be perceived as a wimp”, something that leads them to suppress their feelings and believe it’s detrimental to show their emotions. Thus, a few teenage men were told by their teacher to write down on one side of a piece of paper what traits they show others, and on the other side of the paper what traits they only let themselves know about. Throughout this vulnerable activity, the young men realized that they were hiding the biggest traits that make them who they are out of fear of being perceived as weak or not as a true “man”. I’ve learned more about the lasting effects of toxic masculinity through this almost two hour film than I ever have before, and I have already thought about how I’ll make sure, someday (FAR) in the future when I have children of my own, to always encourage them to show their emotions and express how they feel, because it is only through self-honesty that they’ll be able to live their most genuine lives as their most authentic selves.

About Me

Hello, all! My name is Lauren Blaugrund, and I am a first year undergraduate student here at The Ohio State University. From the moment I was old enough to skip around in a ‘Buckeyes’ sweatsuit, I knew this was the place where I was meant to flourish and become a contributing member of society. I am currently in the University Exploration program, as I haven’t yet narrowed down what life path I want to take. I have, however, been enjoying my time being a part of the Advocates for Communities and Education Scholars program, where I have met many amazing people and have begun serving the Columbus community. Some clubs I’m involved with here at Ohio State included the Meshuganotes, a Jewish (but not limited to Jewish people) a cappella group, and the Board of Activities for Smith-Steeb, of which I am the Wellness and Community Co-Chair. This means that I get to coordinate events that bring our residence hall community together to promote well-being and togetherness throughout those who live here. Nothing is more important to me than helping others learn and grow, and though we have our own daily battles to fight, make sure to be the reason someone smiles today.

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 guidance on using your ePortfolio, including questions and prompts that will help you get started, please visit the Honors & Scholars ePortfolio course in Carmen. To get answers to specific questions, please email eportfolio@osu.edu. 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 guidance on using your ePortfolio, including questions and prompts that will help you get started, please visit the Honors & Scholars ePortfolio course in Carmen. To get answers to specific questions, please email eportfolio@osu.edu. 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.]

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 guidance on using your ePortfolio, including questions and prompts that will help you get started, please visit the Honors & Scholars ePortfolio course in Carmen. To get answers to specific questions, please email eportfolio@osu.edu. Delete these instructions and add your own post.]