Do Not Hold Back!

Well I did it. I am officially done with my undergraduate degree! I will be receiving a Bachelors in English next weekend from The Ohio State University! As excited as I am, I can’t help but be a little sad. Ohio State Marion is not going to be an easy place to leave. This place has been my knowledge center for four years. I have cried here, I have laughed here, and I have made so many wonderful memories. Ohio State Marion has truly built me into the person that I am today. There have been so many people that have believed in me and pushed me even when I felt like I had no idea where to turn. I changed my major four times and yet I am actually graduating on time! I have been told so many times that my degree is too broad and I will have to receive my masters to do anything worthwhile or to even get a great job. I have been told that going to a branch campus would be a mistake. I have been told that you never will experience the world if you do not leave home at 18. To all the people telling college students and graduating high school seniors all of these things, I have a message for you. This degree has prepared me to be able to professionally write in any and every situation. Name one job where there is not some form of writing! Staying close to home was one of the best decisions I ever made in my life. I was able to financially put myself through school with minimal debt. I have had the support of my family every single step of the way throughout college. I have been able to give back to my hometown the entire time I have been in school.  I did this through speaking on behalf of all the students at the Marion campus last year at the groundbreaking of some amazing improvements to this campus. I also represented the Marion campus and Marion itself, as a member of the 2015 homecoming court. Not only was I able to participate on campus, but I also became apart of a local young adult group through Dayspring Wesleyan Church where I was able to meet new people and develop a spiritual support system that I cherish dearly. You do not have to leave home to do great things. You do not have to get the degree that everyone tells you to get. I will succeed and I will use this degree to do great things in the future. Do not ever let people tell you that you can’t do it or you are not making the best decision for yourself. They do not have to live your life, you do. So make every decision for yourself and do not let the idea of a regional campus hold you back from chasing your dreams. I am in the process of chasing mine thanks to this campus and I could not be more excited!

Experience it All

IMG_3088Last week I had the wonderful chance to experience the International Festival on campus and all I can say is WOW! I found it so interesting that many different people found this event to be something that they wanted to be a part of. There were many families who had brought their children, there were high school students, and college students, aIMG_3084nd many different representations of culture. I had no idea that this event was something that had become so important to the community! This was completely inspiring to me. I figured that it would be mostly OSUM and MTC students but that was not the case at all! It was mostly families! Do you know what this means for this campus!? It means that we are reaching out and inviting people of all ages to come and be a part of what we are, and they are taking us up on the offer! They are feeling comfortable here and wanting to come learn here! We are inspiring young learners to not be afraid to learn about those different than you. If that is not inspiring and encouraging, than I do not know what is!

Spring Break

IMG_3009When all students are away for the break of spring, some of us stay and work throughout the week. This means that we must provide our own entertainment and joy while in Marion, OH when we could be away on a sunny beach in Florida. We create this joy in making wonderful cups of Hot Chocolate in the Admission office while stuff 250 bags for potential students. We listen to summer tunes while we stuff 500 scholarship letters in envelopes for students this upcoming year. We are able to stay behind and help prepare the office for the last half of the semester, and for all the upcoming new students.  Although we do not get away for Spring Break, We still allow ourselves to escape through our sweet tooth and our sweet tunes!

That Point

IMG_2912I fear that we are all reaching “that point” in the semester, or at least I am. The point of no return where we must buck-up and fight to finish. The sweet spring breeze is pushing us all to stop and take a break out in the sun, however Final projects and exams are quickly reminding us that we must stay inside and do our best.

I myself am someone that constantly feels that unless I feel good about the work I am doing, it is simply not good enough. This pushes me to constantly feel as though I need to work harder and longer. I over correct and over analyze and speak too much and ask too many questions. This is how I succeed, however it is exhausting.

So this is my push to each and every one of my fellow students as we are close to bidding the Spring semester adieu. Carry on, the sweet summer sun will be there waiting when we are through!

Pay-It-Forward

IMG_2860With the help of students, faculty, and staff we were able to raise over $300 yesterday to support the Pay-It-Forward campaign.  This campaign collects money that is then given to several Marion organizations each and every year in the form of a grant. What is so special about this grant is the fact that it is raised by the English 3304 class to then be given to another English class which then allows that class to learn the process of writing, relieving, and hand out grants.   This is a great example of how this campus continues to support each other and our wonderful community. Because of you, we were able to be one step closer to our goal of $4,000! If you would still like to donate, you have until March 1st!

https://buckeyefunder.osu.edu/payitforward

Very Large Visit Day

IMG_2854

Well we had a huge group of new potential Buckeyes on Monday! We had around 100 or more people and many students left with the impression that Ohio State Marion is where they see their higher education beginning! Visit day is something that goes on once a month and is ran by the Office of Admission and Financial Aid. It takes lots of preparation; however, each Buckeye addition is worth it!

I’m Bringing Chivalry Back !

IMG_2838 Donquixote

Ever since I was a Freshman at Ohio State Marion, I have always walked through campus looking at how beautiful our landscape here is. We truly are lucky to have such a beautiful space here, however there has always been one bush/tree, I am not sure which it is, that I have always been drawn to. You see this magical bush/tree looks exactly like a painting that was painted on a back wall of my 10th grade Spanish room. The painting was of the Spanish character Don Quixote who is a man that becomes so wrapped up in the romance novels that he is reading that he sets out to bring chivalry back to the World that he is living in. This is represented in the picture on the right. Why this painting was painted on the back wall of my Spanish class, I am not really sure but I find it very ironic that the bush/tree I am thinking about on campus could not represent something more true about this campus. I feel like many students including myself at this university are trying to redo the wrongdoings of this world. We all strive to be bigger and better than those that have gone before us. We as a generation often are told that we are the most ungrateful and should be ashamed for our actions. How can we show others that this campus is not looking to represent the negative things about our generation? We are here to show that we are able to work hard and fight for the good. So as you pass this bush/tree think about it next time. What can you do today to change the wrongdoings or how can you bring chivalry back because the judging people are out there and they are always watching ! What will you let them see?