College has, very “clichely”, been the absolute most transformative period in my life thus far. My views, goals, and general perspective have not only shifted, but have grown and become more defined. These changes can be seen in the ways in which my efforts toward and involvement in the five categories of the Honors and Scholars G.O.A.L.S. have always developed and continued through the last two years.

Global Awareness:

Last semester, I officially decided to begin double majoring, officially adding a Japanese major to my degree. This has been an incredibly fascinating, fun, and eyeopening experience in only the second semester I have been involved in the coursework. Though I have long had a vested interest in the country and culture, learning about it from native Japanese speakers and those who have devoted their lives to study of Japan’s history, language, and culture is absolutely incredible. This is also the most involved I have been in learning a language, which has for the first time really made me question how language effects not only international relations, but how how each individual views the human experience. It can humble one to know that simply because of the way a language is set up grammatically and because of the way meanings are grouped differently into words depending on language, one can have a completely different mindset regarding the meaning of something as well as social interaction in general. I plan to further my interest in Japan by spending a semester there before I graduate, in order to not only further my language proficiency, but also to be able to experience living in a completely new and unique culture. This involvement in a new language and country has seeded a new interest in language and culture abroad, and I hope to not only become bilingual, but continue on to learn about other new and interesting languages and cultures.

Original Inquiry:

I have long aspired for a career in zoological, behavioral research. So far I have been able to experience be involved in two fairly distinct sets of research. Last summer, I was able to work in the McHale Lab here at OSU in the College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences. This lab was mainly interested in studies dealing with several species of soybeans and how to genetically engineer forms of these plants that would be resistant to several types of infectious diseases. As a research assistant in this lab I helped several graduate students with a wide range of tasks including, but not limited to: sample collection, measuring sample masses, petri dish preparation, PCR techniques, and sample DNA isolation. Though I enjoyed this position and learned a great deal from the time spent there, one of the most important things that I learned was that I do not want to work in a traditional lab. Granted, this lab was also not completely pertaining to my chosen field, but I believe that a field lab will probably a much better fit for me.

My second research experience took place last semester in the Carter Lab, which studies the genetic component of semi-altruistic behaviors and non-mating relationship pairs in vampire bat colonies. I was responsible for simply going over already captured videos from a study the lab did several years ago in Panama and “scoring” behavior between several wild bats that had been kept together for several days and one that was introduced after a day or two of isolation. This experience was amazing in that it completely affirmed the passion I have had for animals and behavioral studies since I was in first great, but it also reaffirmed that I do not know how traditional of a lab I could be in.

Both of these experiences have greatly assisted me in defining how exactly I want to be involved in a field I have been passionate about for as long as I can remember. As I have experienced research for the first time, I have also begun to question what sort of impact I want my research to have. I feel the mixture of my want for meaningful work as well as a desire for an active hands on environment combine and direct me further towards conservation. This is an important discovery about my own wishes and one that I have thought about for awhile, but think that I have finally found that this is what, I believe, will give my career a feeling of impact and meaning.

Academic Enrichment:

The choice for my zoology major comes simply from a deep rooted passion for animals and the environment. Since before I hit elementary school I can remember waking up to see Steve Irwin emanating passion for nature on reruns of “The Crocodile Hunter” at six or seven in the morning. This inspired me greatly, and most of my academic drive and success, I can honestly say, comes from my aspirations to work hands on with that breathtaking world that I saw in his show, and I still see in the environment.

My choice of adding a Japanese Major stems from the previously mentioned passion for animals, combined with a new and growing fascination with the culture, language and country of Japan. On one hand this choice is a purely fascination and interest based one, but I feel that this choice places me in an interesting niche in the research world. With hopes to become fluent in Japanese, I am hoping to set myself up to be a perfect candidate for doing research either in Japan, or between Japan and the U.S.. With Japan having an incredible Marine Biology field, I am extremely invested as I hope for this to be my specialization for my doctorate.

In my academic path, I have been fairly straightforward about how I continue through the levels of education. Though I do explore other fields, and am generally interested in just about any topic, I am mainly focused on chasing after my goal: to be able to work hands on with animals, and to protect and conserve both them and their environment.

Leadership Development:

I had been involved in several clubs and organizations, but struggled to find something that I deeply enjoyed and felt was a good appropriation of my time until last summer. While interning at the McHale Lab I decided to teach myself Baritone in an attempt to make it into The Best Damn Band In The Land. I decided on a whim when my friend who I was living with mentioned he could help me, as he is already part of the band, but I had no idea how much it would impact me. Coming into college I struggled with a lot of topics in my life. It was the first time I struggled with academics and the first time I had struggled with making friends. In a lot of ways it affected my entire freshman year and I could not tell how things would shape out as I continued, but as I began to work towards my goal of making one of the best bands in the nation I could feel myself not only come back into how remembered myself, but felt myself grow into a more driven and positive person. It was also the first time I felt a sense of community, and a bond with people that I only knew for about two months. The hours spent everyday practicing music, out on the field practicing drill, and the general mental effort it took to become a more hopeful and motivated person reminded me what truly makes me happy and keeps me going: a sense of accomplishment and community to share it with.

Unfortunately, I was one spot off of making it, but I was simply happy to both be there and to have made to not only the second round of “cuts”, but a spot away from my goal with only three months on an instrument. Marching band reminded me who I was, who I wanted to be, and how I can do it.

Service Engagement:

I am only involved with one service opportunity, but it is one of the best ongoing experiences I have ever had. Through the Zoology Club, I volunteer every couple Sundays at Butternut Farms, a wildcat sanctuary in Johnstown. I would like to be able to volunteer at the Columbus Zoo or any other opportunity where I can help to educate the public about animals and the environment, but I am both still looking for these opportunities and waiting for a more opportune time, as positions such as the zoo request hours that are fairly unachievable as a college student while also needing to go to class or work a job during the summer. I would also like to get involved at local rehabilitation centers, but I will need to wait till next year as I do not currently have transportation to get there.