I started the school year with two first-year mentees – Nicole Moulas and Elisabeth Schuck. I think that the only two events I actually spent with Elisabeth were the Mentor/Mentee Autumn retreat and the first semester interview assignment. Elisabeth stopped coming to ACES events, and I don’t think I ever saw her at community meetings. When I contacted her about meeting for the first explore Columbus assignment, she told me that she couldn’t attend and that she wasn’t sure if she was going to stay in the ACES program because it was hard for her to meet the requirements. Elisabeth, like myself, is a commuter student, so I completely understand how hard it can be to make meetings at 6 PM on Wednesday night. Organizing transportation can be really difficult for me, and I live only 10 minutes away from campus. I think Elisabeth commuted from Hilliard, so I understand why she decided to leave the program. That said, I had a wonderful time getting to know Nicole throughout this semester. Nicole is a Biology major with a minor in Spanish, and while I am not sure if she has officially declared a second minor, I know that she discussed a Psychology minor as well. She lives in Cincinnati with her parents and her younger brother and sister. I have learned so many things about Nicole through the different events we shared throughout the semester. I know that Nicole plans on working as a genetic counselor and that she has gotten involved in clubs and organizations on campus that allow her to explore this career and gain experience and knowledge about life post-undergraduate. I also know that while she had an interesting journey with roommates this year, she has found a lot of really great friends on her floor and around campus and that she truly enjoyed her first year as an Ohio State Buckeye! During our second explore Columbus outing, I asked her if she was excited for the semester to be over and to be returning to her family and home in Cincinnati. Actually, I was surprised by her answer. Of course, she said that she was excited to be done with school and her classes for a break, but that she wished she could stay on campus with all of her friends. Hearing that made me really happy for her because I know how close she is to her family and her siblings, and yet, she doesn’t want to leave the family that she has built for herself over this last year. Nicole and I had many things in common. We are both Biology majors and while neither of us have declared a Psychology minor as far as I know, we are both considering one. Actually, I am considering two minors, one also in World Literature. We both want to work in healthcare, however Nicole definitely has her life a bit more planned that I do at the moment! Family is important to both of us, and we both have a brother and sister. School is definitely a priority in both of our lives. And I would say that we are both pretty social people, which leads into how I have noticed Nicole grow over the year. During the first semester, I wouldn’t have called Nicole shy, but she was quieter and a little more reserved. Maybe that just had to do with opening up to a new person (aka me) but I definitely started noticed Nicole being more talkative and really just fun to be around towards the end of the first semester. Obviously, I understand that the first semester of college can be really stressful and overwhelming. Additionally, Nicole had a weird situation with her roommate, and I can only imagine that that added to her stress. I think it’s also stressful for first-year students to find friends and make lasting relationships with people. By the end of the first semester, Nicole had a really solid group of friends and I think that maybe this made her feel more comfortable with herself and on campus. I noticed she was very social at ACES events, and especially at the end of the year, during our second explore Columbus event and during the ACES banquet, she was a real conversationalist. I actually sat at the same table as her – I was the only second-year student at the table – but it was really fun for me to see her interact with her friends in ACES.
Truly, I’m not sure how much I’ve really changed as a leader since beginning this mentorship. I considered myself a pretty good leader before this program, especially in other aspects of my life like extra-curriculars and work. However, this program did give me an opportunity to really get to know someone outside of class or work. Nicole is definitely a planner, and so she didn’t really need a lot of help or guidance regarding school. We did talk a bit about getting involved on campus, and when we met again during the second semester interview, I was glad to hear that she had become more involved on campus. We also talked a bit about her roommate situation, and we both came to the conclusion that her roommate leaving was probably for best. Because she didn’t really need too much guidance about her academics, I think the way I was able to act as a leader for Nicole as just showing her what her life might look like as a second-year student. I have already taken a lot of the prerequisite classes that she will have to take, so we talked about what those classes were like, which helped me a lot when I was a first-year student and even now going into a new class, I find it helpful to have an idea of what it is going to be like. I am definitely happy that I chose to be part of this mentoring program. I thought it was really fun to have a first-year student to give advice to and to share my own experiences with. Also, I really enjoyed hearing Nicole share her experiences at Ohio State and seeing how our lives as Buckeyes compare and contrast. In addition to providing an opportunity to grow as a leader, this mentoring program has given me an opportunity to meet new people and develop a relationship with my mentee, Nicole. Through the many events and adventures we went on together, I can only hope that Nicole and I will stay in touch and that she feels like she can contact me if she ever has any questions or just wants to talk.