Artifact: OSU Football Games
The artifact that I’d like to talk about is the OSU football games. I myself have never been a football fan, and that hasn’t changed this past year. I still find football confusing, and rather boring.I know that many people don’t understand this view, especially given the fact that I go to a Big 10 school, where football is a major event. However, I’m not here to talk down on the sport or anything. I’m actually her to talk about how much I enjoyed the games in 2021.
After a year of COVID-19 not allowing in-person attendance to games, it was amazing to see the football culture at tOSU in my sophomore year. While I don’t personally love the game itself, the culture surrounding the game and the experience of attending games is still quite fun and cool to experience. The energy in the stadium from thousands of fans cheering for their team, spending time with friends doing something other than studying (or avoiding studying), and watching the marching band do Script Ohio are all experiences that I’m glad to say I’ve now experienced.
While this past season hasn’t changed my opinions on the sport itself, it has created an appreciation in me for the experience of attending the games, and I can’t wait for next year to be able to do it all again (although maybe next time I’ll bring hand warmers for the games at the end of the season, something that I regret not having done this past year).
Artifact: Thesis Paper for Gender, Race, and Sexuality in Pop Culture Course
Gender Pop Culture Thesis Paper-1
For my first semester in college, I took a course on gender, race, and sexuality in pop culture. This topic is really important to me because lack of representation or poor representation of minority groups can be really harmful. If we don’t see and accept people of color, disabled people, LGBT+ people, etc. living their lives in our tv shows and movie, it becomes that much harder for us to accept that they exist in our real lives too. Similarly, if we only see stereotypical/negative versions of these groups of people, then we might form opinions and biases about these people that aren’t true. Alternatively, if you are a member of one of these groups of people, and you only see negative portrayals of yourself in the media, or no portrayals at all, it can create a belief that you’re alone, or even that you have something to be ashamed of.
For our final in the class, we were told to pick a topic that intrigued us from the course, and write a paper on it. I chose to write about the topic of the transgender experience, and how talk show hosts tend to sensationalize and objectify trans individuals based on their transgender identity, asking invasive questions rather than asking questions about their accomplishments or careers. So for my artifact, I chose this essay. I was really proud of my work in it, and I also felt like I learned a lot in the process. The topic meant a lot to me personally, considering that I also identify as a member of the LGBT+ community, and I’ve been trying to learn more about the different struggles that people within it face.
Year in Review
My first year at The Ohio State University has been an amazing learning opportunity for me, as well as one of the first of many stepping stones into adulthood. I was fortunate enough to be accepted into the Mount Leadership Society Scholars group, and my experience with them has been the highlight of my freshman year. Through Mount’s multiple seminars and events I have been able to develop and grow as a leader, as well as understand better my role in serving others. I’ve done multiple service projects throughout the year in Mount, as well as participated as part of a team to create two service projects in an event called Mount Legacy Week. Similarly, I worked within the Mount Leadership and Social Change Committee to educate myself and others on different current social change topics and helped my peers and myself grow as leaders. I can’t wait to chair this committee my sophomore year, and I know we’ll do great things! As an undecided student, I’ve learned more about myself and my interests, and I can confidently say that I believe I will declare a major (or a double major possibly) by the end of this semester. Through my job as an Office Assistant (OA) in my dorm, I’ve learned more about interacting with others in a formal, human services setting, as well as how to handle different emergency situations. I’ve met so many bright, amazing, and kind people both through Mount and my job as an OA, and I can’t wait to strengthen those relationships as well as make new friends throughout the rest of my college career. While having only online classes has definitely been a struggle at times, I can proudly say that I made it through the year without falling behind or giving up, and I know I will have a new appreciation for in-person classes in the future. All in all, while having my freshman year while in the middle of a pandemic wasn’t my favorite thing, it was a challenge that I tackled head on, and I can’t wait to see what other challenges the future presents.
G.O.A.L.S.
G – Global Awareness
I intend to declare a Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies (WGSST) minor, in order to better appreciate and understand diversity in our world. Diversity is something that I am very passionate about, and very interested in learning more about. In that same vein, I have taken at least two WGSS courses already that have broadened my worldview, WGSST 2230 (Gender, Sexuality, and Race in Pop Culture) and WGSST 2282 (Intro to Queer Studies). Sometime in my college career I would also like to study abroad, in order to experience foreign cultures and gain a better appreciation for them.
O – Original Inquiry
In my intro to psychology course that I took my freshman year, I was involved in OSU’s REP program, where students take part in studies being done by the university or through the university. This experience gave me an insight into psychological research specifically. Also during my freshman year, I worked with a group of my peers to create and implement 2 service projects in the Columbus area through my Scholars program, Mount Leadership Society. This experience taught me a lot about organizing events, as well as collaborating with outside agencies.
A – Academic Enrichment
As someone who knows that they want to work in the field of diversity and inclusion when they get older, I have made sure to enroll myself in classes that feed into this topic and help me to challenge my previous views of the world around me. I intend to grow as a person while in college, not just intellectually through the learning environment, but also spiritually, by becoming a better person, one who is more open-minded and driven to help others.
L – Leadership Development
I am fortunate enough to be enrolled in the Mount Leadership Society Scholars program at OSU. As the name suggests, one of the main roles of this scholars group is to nurture leadership skills in its members. Within Mount, I hold two separate leadership roles. I am a chair of the Leadership and Social Change Committee, which strives to educate our fellow Mount Scholars on important social issues, nurturing a knowledge and passion for diversity and intersectionality. We do this via monthly newsletters, as well as by organizing and hosting events with guest speakers on important topics. Just this year, we’ve held events focusing on the policy history of LGBTQ+ individuals in the United States as well as the disparities that indigenous communities face, and we have many more planned. My second leadership role in Mount is as a lead for the LGBTQ+ identity cohort, which creates a fun and safe community for LGBTQ+ identifying Mount scholars.
S – Service Engagement
Through Mount Scholars, I have been able to take part in varying service projects and organizations in the Columbus area. My freshman year, I was able to take part in one service project a month with my fellow scholars, as well as creating 2 service projects in the spring in collaboration with local agencies. Now, in my sophomore year, I am participating in my year of service, by volunteering weekly at an agency of my choosing. The agency that I have chosen to work with is the NNEMAP food pantry, serving the Columbus community by fighting poverty and hunger.
Career: Human Resources
My current goal for my future career is to work in the Human Resources field. I understand that many people might be saying “why would you ever want to do that,” since there’s a common misconception about HR people being the worst to deal with (case in point: the shared hatred for Toby from The Office). However, after diving into the field more, and talking with some individuals currently working in the field, I now understand all of the good things about HR, and all of the good that is done within the field.
I’ve always been interested in Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (commonly referred to as DEI), and HR is a great way to better the DEI within a company, as HR is the department in charge of hiring and training employees, as well as creating and reviewing rules and regulations within the company, which often are outdated and inherently sexist, racist, homophobic, ableist, etc. This subfield of Human Resources is incredibly important in committing ourselves to the importance of equity as a society moving forward.
I have built my personal plan for education at tOSU around this goal of working in HR, and specifically a DEI route within the field. I am currently working towards getting a BA in Psychology, as understanding how and why people do things is important in working with people within a company as an HR professional, as well as resolving conflicts that may be brought to the HR department. I am also going to get a minor in Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies (often referred to as WGSS), to boost my own personal knowledge and capability in the field of DEI, to better create policies and hire individuals with differing identities in mind. After undergrad, I plan on getting a Masters Degree in Human Resources, although where I will be attending to achieve this goal is currently unknown.
Artifact: YMCA Camp Onyahsa
I chose to share my experience as a camp counselor as my artifact. This is because I have been working at Camp Onyahsa since the summer of 2018 (and going there as a camper for about 5 years before that) and it holds a special place in my heart. Pictured here is the camp symbol above the fireplace in our mess hall, as well as a photo of me and a friend who also works there in our staff shirts.
Working as a camp counselor has taught me lots of things. I definitely learned how to be more responsible overall. I covered many different types of jobs. This varied experience taught me not just how to lead other staff and campers, but also how to listen. It also taught me flexibility – one minute I could be leading an activity with kids, the next I could be doing groundskeeping, the next I could be working in the kitchen. Something else that working at camp has taught me is time management, and how to keep myself and others on track. I learned how to be more assertive by working with troublesome kids, and I learned how to be more empathetic by working with homesick and upset kids.
Overall, I will always remember and value my experiences, both past and future, working as a camp counselor at Camp Onyahsa. The friends I made, as well as the lessons I’ve learned and the memories I have will always be a part of who I am. While I am undecided in my major at the time of writing this, I am highly considering a major that will allow me to have a job where I work with children, and this is highly influenced by my time at summer camp. No matter what I end up doing, I know that all that I’ve learned from camp will stick with me, and help me to do the best I can.
About Me
Hi, my name is Clayton Boor and I am a first-year student here at The Ohio State University, currently in the University Exploration program. I am from Westlake, Ohio where I went to Westlake High School. I was actively involved in my school’s boys tennis team, AA performance choir, performed in my senior year musical, and was co-president and co-dance captain of the school’s show choir. In the summers, I have worked (and hope to continue working) as a camp counselor at a YMCA summer camp called Camp Onyahsa, on Chautauqua Lake , NY.
Here at Ohio State, I am a part of the Mount Leadership Society Scholars program and am on the Leadership and Social Change Committee (LSCC). I am also working as an Office Assistant (OA) for my residence hall, and I hope to get involved with 1-2 student orgs sometime down the line. While I may not yet know what I want to do after college, I’m excited to continue on this journey and find out!