Global Awareness:
I have made progress in developing my global awareness. In my first semester of sophomore year, I took an African Civilizations class. I learned about the history of continent from 1870 to present day. My class was extremely consisted of a very diverse group of people and I got to know many of them. My professor, Dr. Chisebe, taught us about the struggles, victories, and misconceptions of many spaces on the continent of Africa. I really enjoyed this course because it was very eye-opening and broadened my perspective on the topic.
As well my African Civilizations class, I will be participating in an education abroad program this May. I will be travelling to South Africa with Dr. Kelly George and 8 other students to study exotic animal behavior and welfare. We are going to be visiting several private reserves, farms, zoological parks, and national parks to learn about wildlife management practices and how they apply to animal conservation, behavior, and welfare. These two experiences will develop my global awareness and immensely because they both exposed/will expose me to the importance of appreciating diversity.
Original Inquiry:
Original inquiry is a section that I have not had much exposure to yet. I plan to get involved in research next year.
Academic Enrichment:
Academic enrichment has been a big part of this year, for me. First semester of this year, I took Organic Chemistry 1 and received a D in the class; so, I retook the course second semester and received a B, which is two letter grades higher than before. I focused a lot more on organic chemistry second semester and realized the academic rigor that the course required. I truly learned how to buckle down and focus on the important things this semester. I learned how to be resilient through my academics this year.
As well as my ordeal with organic chemistry, I took many classes this year that were very academically engaging and relative to my future career. My intro animal science lab was very exciting in the sense that students got hands-on first-hand experience with many product animals. We learned a lot about agriculture and the animal management and production industry, which was very interesting for me because I had never been exposed to it before this year.
Leadership Development:
Leadership is a skill that I am still developing, but I feel that this year has been a year that has given me some leadership experience. I was a mentor for Biological Sciences scholars this year and I really enjoyed being a leader within the scholars’ program. I enjoyed getting to meet the first-year students and getting the opportunity to share my experience with them. Being a mentor was something small that challenged me as a leader. As well as being a BioSci mentor, I also participated in STEP this year. I feel that being a part of the STEP fellowship program has also developed my leadership program because it challenged me to step out of my comfort zone. Part of participating in the program included getting to know your mentor and the people in your cohort and basically developing a way to make the second year of college a transformational one. This experience developed my leadership skills in the sense that I was pushed to experience new things.
As well as STEP, I was a part of a student organization this year that really made me want to step up and lead others. The Boo Radley Society is a student organization on campus that performs random acts of kindness for other students. I was a leader of my small group in the club, which required me to assist in setting up an event on campus that was considered a random act of kindness. My small group decided to make tissue paper flowers and pass them out to OSU students on the oval. Something as small as that, put so many smiles on people’s faces. I have learned that there are many different ways to be considered a leader, and everybody has their own leadership style.
Service Engagement:
I have learned a lot through service this year. I have been a volunteer at the Colony Cats shelter in Dublin, OH for two years now and that experience alone has taught me the importance of giving back to the community. Volunteers clean crates, feed, water, and socialize cats, as well as any of the other jobs that need to be done around the shelter. Going to the shelter for a few hours per week has been extremely rewarding. First semester of this year, I volunteered as a pet sitter in the ICU of the OSU Veterinary Medical Center. Pet sitters were required to sit with the patients in the ICU and make sure they were comfortable. Volunteering in the ICU once a week was also a very rewarding experience, as well as being extremely de-stressing.
Plans for Future Engagement:
Within the next year, I really want to work on the original inquiry and leadership development sections of GOALS. I want to get involved in some kind of research next year, as well as continuing to develop my leadership skills.