Explore Columbus 2

For our second explore Columbus assignment, Margo and I went to the Short North. We traveled by Uber as the weather was quite stormy. The day we went was the day of the tornado warnings in Columbus. Our Uber driver first dropped us off at Red Giraffe Designs. Red Giraffe Designs is a jewelry store in the Short North. Margo and I looked through all the beautiful jewelry and pointed out items and accessories we thought each other would like. As I have come to know Margo throughout the year I leaned towards pieces of jewelry that would be considered statements pieces and are bold. Margo stands out and makes a statement everywhere she goes and I truly admire how she is unapologetically herself. Then, Margo helped me pick out and customize a birthday gift for Bailey, a fellow ACE who is on the leadership council, my roommate and one of my close friends. In addition, I picked out and customized a bracelet for my big in my sorority. Margo helped me chose the fonts of the symbols and numbers on the bracelets. As we were in Red Giraffe Design admiring all the pieces it grew cloudier outside, and our phones continued to ring with notifications of severe storm warnings.

We left the jewelry store to walk a block over to the restaurant Forno. We happened to be half an hour early for our reservation, however they kindly sat us early. Forno is a trendy Italian restaurant that serves dishes such as pizza, pasta, and salad. Most of the college students go to Forno for their pizza, which Margo and I were both very excited to have. We had both had the pizza at Forno before and had been craving it since. My favorite appetizer at Forno is their meatballs, but Margo is vegetarian so we decided to choose a different appetizer to split. We ended up choosing freshly sliced warm bread with garlic in olive oil. We both enjoyed the appetizer and decided to split a margarita pizza as well.

As we were talking over the delicious food, the weather outside grew visibly stronger. Forno is on the corner of a street and its walls are mostly glass so we had a front row seat to the pouring rain and whipping winds. Then the severe storm warnings changed to tornado warnings. I am quite the worrier and started to grow anxious, questioning if we needed to go somewhere safer or stay where we were. Margo, who grew up right in tornado alley, was as cool as a cucumber. She comforted me by telling me, from her experience with tornados, we were not in danger at all and that there would be many more elements present if we were in fact in serious danger. She said the clouds were not green and funneling, which are clear and definite signs of a real tornado forming. It was interesting to see the contrast in Margo’s personality and mine in this situation. Margo stayed calm, cool, and collected throughout the situation and hardly checked her phone for weather updates. However, I constantly peered out the window keeping an eye on the growing storm.

Eventually, our pizza was brought to our table and we devoured the whole thing ourselves. I was so eager to eat the pizza that I ended up burning my mouth in the process. As we ate, the storm subsided and we received alerts that it had passed. The pouring rain and gushing winds had stopped, proving that Margo was right all along. Once we were done eating, we walked back over to Red Giraffe Designs and picked up my birthday presents for both of my friends. Margo and I then called another Uber ride back to Smith Steeb Hall. On the ride back, I shared with Margo my first tornado warning experience as a first year at Ohio State living in Smith Steeb. I recalled gathering with all the other two thousand residents in the basements of Smith Steeb in an attempt to brave the storm, should it have hit the building. Luckily, the tornado ended up touching down closer to the Columbus airport and did not come near campus. Margo told me tornado warnings throughout elementary, middle, and high school were commonplace for her. The only tornado warnings I have experienced in New Jersey only occurred when we experienced two major hurricanes. Although the weather was nerve racking, it was surely an adventure for Margo and me. We both highly recommend venturing into the Short North and dinging at Forno, but try to avoid a day when there are tornado warnings.

Explore Columbus 3

Our final explore Columbus idea was to go with Paige and Bailey to a nice brunch. We chose to dine at the brunch/lunch restaurant, First Watch. The four of us met in the lobby of Smith Steeb Hall and then walked to First Watch together. First Watch is on the corner of High Street and 10^th Avenue in between the Ohio State campus and the Short North. On the way to First Watch we all discussed what we were planning to wear to the ACES End of the Year Banquet. Margo and Paige asked us what to expect at the event since we had been to it before and what would be appropriate attire to fit the dress code. Also on the way to First Watch, Paige, Margo, and Bailey crazed over the First Watch iced coffee. I had never tried the iced coffee at First Watch before but after hearing the girls rave about it, I was very eager to give it a try.

When we got to the restaurant and were seated, Bailey and I compared and contrasted our experiences living on the fifth floor of Smith Steeb Hall to the experience Margo and Paige have had this past year. Bailey and I were quite pleased that the younger girls had more of an enjoyable experience than we had. Bailey and I enjoyed our time on the fifth floor of Smith Steeb, but come this time last year, we were ready for a change. In contrast, Margo and Paige seemed devastated to be moving on to a new floor and new dorms next school year. Margo and Paige both plan to live on North Campus next year. I expect that all the first year ACES, despite they will not be living on the same dorm floor anymore, will still see each other frequently next year.

We also joked with Paige that she is a “mini Bailey.” We described her this way because they are both Speech and Hearing Science majors, members of the pre-health academic sorority Delta Omega Kappa (DOK), and Paige will be in the same position on the ACES Leadership Council that Bailey was this past school year. This just goes to show that they were matched well as mentor and mentee. Similarly, Margo reminds me a lot of myself as a first-year student. Margo is a charismatic free spirit that is also driven to be the best version of herself that she can be.

We all enjoyed a scrumptious brunch, except Margo just ordered an iced coffee as she was still full from breakfast. Paige got the breakfast tacos which was a dish I had never heard of before, but since there is such a thing as a breakfast burrito I presume a breakfast taco doesn’t seem so foreign. Bailey enjoyed eggs on top of a biscuit which was accompanied with a gravy sauce. I ordered a breakfast skillet that contained two eggs, potatoes, spinach, and onion. It was so tasty that I even ordered an extra side of the seasoned potatoes.  After we had all finished our meals, we stayed at First Watch and chatted for over forty minutes. The conversation between the four of us simply flowed and was very enjoyable. I recommend First Watch to anyone trying to find a cute and delicious place for brunch but does not wish to travel too far off campus. First Watch is easy for those who do not have easy, accessible means of transportation aside from public transportation such as the COTA bus.

Bailey and I left Paige and Margo with some advice for going into their sophomore year at The Ohio State University. We warned them that although it is nice to be involved in many activities and say yes to everything that comes your way, be careful not to spread yourself too thin. Also, Margo had mentioned she was worried about being able to meet all the ACES program requirements next year, but Bailey and I encouraged her to stick with ACES as it truly is a great experience, but ultimately whether she sticks with ACES or not is her decision. In addition, we told the girls to enjoy every second of being a Buckeye, as Bailey and I are beginning to realize as our sophomore year slowly comes to a close that it goes by way too fast. I am eager to see Paige and Margo grow as ACES, students, young women, and Buckeyes. I have no doubt that the both of them are destined for great things. I am grateful for the ACES Program for making me a small part in their journey.

Margo has been extremely busy as she performed in the Ohio State Dance Senior Concert this past weekend. She was swamped with hours of rehearsal every day last week, so we finally had the chance to meet up this week for the second semester interview. In regard to academics, Margo is loving the dance major. She said she has truly found her place in the major and has created close relationships with the other dance majors. She has also noticed that there are many cliques within her major that are not always kind to others. Margo does her best to avoid the clique culture and be friendly to everyone in the major and truly has interest in getting to know everyone. This is a perfect example of Margo using the skills we learn from ACES about community building and inclusivity. This semester Margo has more breaks in her class schedule than she did last semester. She has gotten into a good study routine of when she has her break from 12-3 each day, she finds a place to get homework/studying done such as Thompson Library. Margo’s main goal of the semester is to boost her GPA. She does not think her GPA from last semester was by any means a “bad” GPA but it was not satisfactory to her own personal goals.

Margo has gotten involved in the club Exercise is Medicine. Exercise is Medicine is a club to promote a healthy lifestyle. Members of the club log workouts to keep each other on track and stay motivated to achieve their fitness and health goals. Margo has found volunteer opportunities through this club. She plans to volunteer at their event coming up in the near future called “Most Fit Buckeye.”

What seems to have had the most impact on Margo from the ACES Program is the friendships she has made with the other ACES, especially those that live on the fifth floor of Smith-Steeb. The first year ACES have really bonded and become close friends, which is very pleasing to see as a second year ACE. Margo’s favorite memory from last year was when a group of the first year ACES girls did a group costume for Halloween. They all were aliens one day and did an eighties theme on another day. Bailey and I took Margo and Paige to Target last semester when they were working on making the costumes. When communicating with all the girls doing the costume I noticed there was no banter or disagreements between the girls, which so often happens when coordinating plans with such a large group. Margo and the other first year girls truly display a lot of maturity. She thinks her experience with ACES would be completely different had ACES not had the living-learning community requirement. She does worry however that as her major becomes more demanding in the upcoming semesters she will not have much time to fulfill the ACES Program requirements, but I am encouraging her to stick with it and try her best.

Margo explained to me that within the dance major you can chose a focus. Some of the focuses of the dance major are film, choreography, performance, production, or a create your own focus. Margo is exploring all of the focus options but is leaning towards a film focus. With a film focus, Margo would become educated on the art of editing and choreographing for the camera. She is also considering picking up a communication minor. She still has the intention of doing something with fitness for a career but may be heading in a different direction with this focus. Her career goals are not concrete as of right now, but that is not uncommon for a first year dance major.

On a lighter note, when I asked Margo what has surprised her about Ohio State she said that she realized southern hospitality is a real thing. She finds the people in the south friendlier than the people in Ohio. Which is ironic because I find the people in Ohio far nicer than the people on the east coast.

QUESTIONS:

• Are you enjoying your major? Why or why not?
• What kind of study habits have you developed?
• How have you gotten involved on campus?
• Have you enjoyed the ACES living-learning community in Smith-Steeb? Why or why not?
• Have your career plans changed since your first semester? Why or why not?
• What is your favorite memory from last semester?
• What kind of goals have you set for yourself this semester?

For the Explore Columbus mentor and mentee assignment, we went by car to Worthington, Ohio to a dessert place called the Cookie Dough Creamery. My mentee, Margo and I went with Bailey and her mentee, Paige, to the Cookie Dough Creamery. We all had heard of the Cookie Dough Creamery before and how it is a “must-go-to” spot in the Columbus area, but none of us had ever been to it, so we thought that would be a great place to go for the Explore Columbus activity. On the car ride there we listened to music and chatted with the girls about how their first semester as Buckeyes were going so far. At that time Bailey had just joined her health sciences sorority, Delta Omega Kappa, and since Bailey and Paige are both speech and hearing majors we were asking Paige if she would be interested in joining Delta Omega Kappa as well. This led me to discuss sorority life with Margo. Although I am not in a sorority now, I plan to rush this upcoming spring semester, as does Margo. I told her any information I had learned in my first year about the sorority recruitment process here at Ohio State and that we can go through the process together.

Upon our arrival to the Cookie Dough Creamery, we were overwhelmed by all the delicious flavor options of cookie dough that were presented to us. We knew immediately before making our selections we would have to sample the flavors. Besides the cookie dough that you could scoop up like ice cream, there were many soft serve ice cream flavors available, and numerous toppings to decorate your cookie dough and ice cream with. Aside from the delicious dessert, another pleasantry of the Cookie Dough Creamery was its décor. We sat at a table that appeared to be a renovated video game machine. As we ate our treats we attempted to figure out how to get the game/table to work so we could play. As a team, we figured out how to work the machine and we played the games while we continued to chat over our ice cream and cookie dough.

It was nice to travel off campus. As much as we all love being on campus, we all recognized we enjoyed taking a break in a near by town. Worthington had a lot of other interesting food places and stores near the Cookie Dough Creamery that sparked conversation as we passed them in the car leaving Worthington. For example, near the Cookie Dough Creamery was a Zoe’s Kitchen. Zoe’s Kitchen is a chain Mediterranean restaurant with many fresh and healthy options. I know Margo is very into health and fitness so when I saw that restaurant I asked all the girls in the car if anyone else had had Zoe’s before. Margo and I discussed how we both eat at that chain restaurant in our hometowns a lot. Paige and Bailey had never heard of the restaurant as they are both from Cincinnati and the chain doesn’t have many establishments in Cincinnati. This led us to the discussion about certain food places and shops that Columbus and the area surrounding Columbus, like Worthington, has that we do not in our hometowns. We then compared and contrasted the popular places to go to in our own hometowns to each other’s. Ironically, Margo and I expressed that we enjoyed going to similar restaurants and shops at home even though she is from Texas and I am from New Jersey.

I would recommend going off campus to the Cookie Dough Creamery because it is in a very nice part of Columbus and who doesn’t love a good cookie dough treat?! Obviously, everyone has different tastes and dessert preferences, but the Cookie Dough Creamery has so many options it is almost guaranteed that no one will leave feeling unsatisfied. The Cookie Dough Creamery is a great place to sit and talk with friends and satisfy your sweet tooth.  Bailey and I have already discussed planning another trip back to Worthington to go to the Cookie Dough Creamery as we often find ourselves craving it, especially during this stressful week of finals. The Cookie Dough Creamery is also very easy to get to if you have a car on campus. The drive there is only about fifteen minutes at most. However, if you do not have a car here at Ohio State it may be slightly more difficult to get to. One could use the Uber app, but that could get expensive especially for a ride that is close to fifteen minutes away.

My mentee is Margo Hunter and she is a Dance Major in the College of Arts and Sciences at Ohio State. The five questions I chose to ask Margo were: How did you decide on the major you have chosen? What type of volunteering and involvement were you involved in in high school? Why did you chose ACES/looking forward to about ACES? What is your dream job after graduation? What has surprised you about Ohio State since arriving on campus?

When it comes to academics, Margo isn’t your typical engineering, business, or health sciences student. Margo is a dance major. Margo has been dancing all her life and it has become her greatest passion. Her high school focused primarily on the arts and shaping its students to become proficient in the art of their choice whether that be singing, acting, dancing, etc. When I asked her why she decided to make dance her major as opposed to keeping it as more of a recreational activity, as often most people do, she explained that her overall goal in life is to be happy and healthy, and dance is, and will always be, what makes her feel fulfilled and content. Contrary to popular belief, a dance major like Margo has a strict and structured class schedule. Margo attends class every day from nine in the morning until five in the afternoon. She claims that her psychology class is the most academically challenging because it requires a lot of in depth thinking and a strong grasp on challenging concepts. After college, Margo wishes to go into the workforce. She would like to use her dance background to coach people in living a healthy lifestyle through proper exercise and nutrition. Ultimately, her dream job would to be to own her own gym where she could build a healthy and accepting community.

Growing up, Margo was a member of the Girl Scouts. She went on to earn the highest award in the Girl Scout program, the Gold Award. To obtain the Gold Award she had to complete a large service project of her own creation to execute. Margo chose for her Gold Award project to build a garden for women in a program called “Birth Moms.” Birth Moms is a program for women who are pregnant but plan to put the child they are bearing up for adoption upon birth. When I questioned why Margo picked this program to build the garden for, she said that since she was adopted herself, she felt a need to have a positive impact on the adoption community in some way, as it had on her life. Margo educated the pregnant women on the nutrition of the vegetables and fruits within the garden she was harvesting so that the women could properly feed themselves and provide adequate nutrition to their unborn children. In my ACES seminar class last year, my ACES pillars film project was on the difficulties that come with the adoption process. Because I had learned about the adoption process through ACES I was able to understand to some extent where Margo was coming from and appreciate her service even more. If Margo ever needs help finding volunteer opportunities I will suggest researching if there’s any way she can get involved in helping the adoption or foster programs within Columbus, as she would be very skilled at doing so since she has a personal connection to it.

Advocates for Communities and Education Scholars was Margo’s top choice for a scholar’s program because she has a strong desire to make an impact. This is evident through her previous volunteer/service experience and her desired career path. Margo wants to extend a helping hand not only to the Ohio State community, but to the Columbus community as well. Margo is excited for how ACES will connect her to these opportunities, but often worries that she will be limited for time since she has a strict class schedule that takes up most of her day. In an attempt to help Margo with time management I gave her some suggestions that could help her create more time in her schedule to prevent her from becoming overbooked and overwhelmed, as we all get sometimes, especially in college. My advice was to block out times in her day to be purely for studying or working on homework almost as if she has a class at that time, but if an opportunity to volunteer, go to an academic, social, or service event arises, to be flexible and plan ahead so she may adjust her schedule accordingly. By doing so, she decreases her chances of missing out on an opportunity and taking full advantage of what is offered to her.

The sheer brilliance of the Ohio State faculty has left Margo in awe. She claims she has not come across an Ohio State professor, lecturer, or teaching assistant who hasn’t surprised her with his or her abundant knowledge on a variety of topics. In addition, Margo has been pleasantly surprised by how her peers at Ohio State are very dedicated to achieving success. The work ethic of most of the Ohio State student body has defied any prior beliefs she had before coming to campus. Perhaps because we are a huge sports school full of team spirit she thought that academics were put on the back burner for most students. To her surprise, she has found that Ohio State students, for the most part, balance work and play extremely well and is beginning to gain that balance herself. She recognizes there is a fair share of competition in college, but she looks at said competition as motivation for her to achieve her goals.

I look forward to getting to know Margo more over this school year and helping to guide her, not only as a fellow ACES member, but as a fellow Buckeye and friend.

ACES Pillars Film Project:

https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/16FEtHndzjv1vg6X5K3VWyvYIFM1tU9NpO3qE-ww8_f8/edit?usp=sharing

ACES Reflection Essay #2:

One of the categories on the social identity wheel that we discussed in seminar class was Physical, Emotional, and Developmental Ability. Said category I often think about. I am very lucky to have been born healthy and without any major health complications or intellectual disabilities. Growing up with a mother with a disability put things into perspective for me every day. Having to circle around parking lots trying to find an open disabled parking spot, helping her open up easy twist-top jars, or letting her lean on my arm when she’s tired and limping somewhere, showed me how truly lucky I am. Lucky to be perfectly able bodied, but also lucky to have her in my life. My mom’s Cerebral Palsy showed me how not everyone is the same or equally able, but everyone should have the same opportunities, regardless of ability.

Since I was a little girl, my mom told me about what it’s like being a disabled person in society. Disabled or special needs people are often rejected from the mainstream society. People think they are not able to do the same things that every able-bodied person can do or shouldn’t be offered equal opportunities. For years, I have been working to reverse this perspective. Special needs people are a community of their own, and yes they are content within their community but they should not have to be always separated from everyone else. Blending our two societies and demonstrating the inclusion of all people would create a true community.

A majority of the clubs I searched for at the Activity Fair weeks ago were geared toward the inclusion of all people in society. I am now a member of the Autism Speaks U Club. We volunteered at Walk Now for Autism Speaks in Columbus. At the walk, we had a booth where we sold t-shirts, informed people on the mission/goal of our club, and gave stickers and water tattoos to the joyful young kids participating in the walk. While working at the booth I met a girl named Megan who introduced herself as autistic. Megan told us she is a student at Ohio State and immediately asked the girls at the booth if we are a part of a sorority. When we said we were not Megan seemed a little disappointed then continued to tell us how she wanted to be in a sorority very badly and has memorized all the hand signs for every sorority. We told Megan that she should rush a sorority and to my surprise she said “I have twice, but I was rejected both times.” My heart dropped to my stomach. This is a prime example of how people who are different are not included in the activities that “normal” people participate in. Excluding Megan from being in a sorority is just one example of how the exclusion of special needs people is a very prevalent, reoccurring issue.

After the ACES community meeting last week about service opportunities I hope to join the Best Buddies program that was discussed at the meeting. This organization seems like a good fit for someone like me who loves to be around those with special needs. In addition, I am looking into joining Paws 4 Ability. Although clubs and organizations that reach out to people with disabilities are a great resource for working towards my goal of including all people in society, setting an example, myself, is key. If I show others every day through my actions and reaching out to those with special needs in classes or on campus maybe it will influence those around me, and they will start to do the same. I know that it will be impossible for me to convince everyone to include those with disabilities in the community, but I can surely do my best to influence as many people as I can.