[ “G.O.A.L.S.” is a place where students write about how their planned, current, and future activities may fit into the Honors & Scholars G.O.A.L.S.: Global Awareness, Original Inquiry, Academic Enrichment, Leadership Development, and Service Engagement. For more information, go to: http://honors-scholars.osu.edu/e-portfolio. Delete these instructions and add your own post.

Global Awareness: Students cultivate and develop their appreciation for diversity and each individual’s unique differences. For example, consider course work, study abroad, involvement in cultural organizations or activities, etc .
Original Inquiry: Honors & Scholars students understand the research process by engaging in experiences ranging from in-class scholarly endeavors to creative inquiry projects to independent experiences with top researchers across campus and in the global community. For example, consider research, creative productions or performances, advanced course work, etc.
Academic Enrichment:

As a student in the Health Science Scholars program, I often learn and hear from those who are pursuing a similar career in the medical field. Through various panels and everyday conversation, I hear about the process of applying and preparing for medical school on a regular basis. Because of this, I looked to interview someone who has been through that process, and continued on even farther. Thus, I interviewed a third year medical student who is looking at places to complete their residency. I was interested in this because I often hear about what to do to get to medical school, but no one talks about what happens after. Obviously you have to get in, but if that happens, I was curious about what comes next.

She explained to me how the first two years of medical school consisted of a lot of hard work in school and different types of volunteering she was able to participate in during her free time. She often would volunteer in a hospital and care for newborn babies with parents who were not capable of currently taking care of their children. During these years she also was required to take both the Step 1 and 2 tests to continue forward. She explained how important these tests are for obtaining residencies and pursuing her career.

Now, she is currently finishing up her rotations and looking towards residency. Because of her scores and grades, she is able to look at some pretty good places, but she explained how hard it is to make a decision. She said it’s tough because she’ll have to move again and find a place to live, and consider staying there after a while. This makes it hard because she will be thinking about where she’ll eventually want to end up when she is finally practicing. I found it interesting to think about that because right now it seems like my biggest concern is what grade I get in Organic Chemistry next semester. Overall, I found it interesting to learn about what happens after you get into medical school, and the struggles she faces as a medical student.
Leadership Development: Honors & Scholars students develop leadership skills that can be demonstrated in the classroom, in the community, in their co-curricular activities, and in their future roles in society.
Service Engagement:

Over the course of the last two semesters at The Ohio State University, I completed several hours of service volunteering at different organizations and performing different tasks. From helping out at the MLK day of service to volunteering to make bracelets for children in third world countries, the projects I have helped contribute on have surely made impacts on people’s lives. In my eyes, some of the most important hours I spent volunteering came while helping out at various blood drives through the American Red Cross organization here at Ohio State. Whether I was checking people in, answering questions about the process, or talking to the donors after the fact, I can confidently say that this had a big impact on people’s lives. Obviously blood drives have direct impacts on people’s lives, but through helping to run the operation I was able to help out in different way than just donating.

A few years ago I was diagnosed with Iron-deficiency anemia, and in an unfortunate way I learned a lot about how important blood is to the body. After having blood drawn regularly for tests and procedures, it became very comfortable for me donate. This familiarity with needles and the blood drawing process helped me to realize I could donate more often and help lots of people. Thus I began to donate blood often to give as much as I could. Donating blood, for many, is a fear that some won’t even attempt to overcome. Just the idea of the needles and blood can scare people off from the blood drives. Through my service with the American Red Cross, I was able to help diminish this fear from those who were donating, but scared about the process. By answering questions and acting as someone who has been through it before, I was able to calm the nerves of those who were nervous. I was also able to help promote blood drives and encourage donors to return as often as possible, if able. Of course, I am always able to donate my own blood, but this opportunity allowed me to help others overcome the fear of donating and promote blood drives in general. This was a significant experience because I was able to help save lives, literally, even during the time when I’m unable to donate blood. I would recommend others to help out at these events, and if nothing else, encourage others to donate because it can have a very real impact on someone’s life.