Summary of My Mentorship Experience

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.

Explore Columbus Semester 2

For our second Explore Columbus Assignment, my mentee Nicole Moulas suggested that we go to the Short North Food Hall for lunch. We decided to go on Saturday because both of our schedules were a bit crazy with finals coming up. Because I have a car, I drove down on campus and picked her up, and then we made our way down High Street to eat. Parking was a bit difficult because it was a beautiful Saturday afternoon in the Short North, but we found a spot and I was able to show off my amazing parallel parking skills – Nicole was very impressed!

Neither of us had ever been to the Short North Food Hall, so it was new and exciting experience for both of us. We agreed that from the outside, it was very misleading. All you can see of the restaurant from High Street is a worn out blue awning that say “Food Hall” is big worn out white letters. It looked so small too. I think maybe Nicole was expecting some homemade food. But as Nicole and I walked into the Food Hall, we were both pretty shocked. It was very modern and also very big. It was actually kind of overwhelming at first. In the middle of the venue was a huge bar that had probably 10 flat screen TVs overhead.  In addition to the sounds from the different programs (mostly sports games) playing on the TVs, there was also music playing loudly throughout the venue, and the sounds of everyone talking and eating. It was different from what I was expecting, but I thought it was really cool. It was a place full of energy and life!

So, as one would expect from a Food Hall, there were many options to choose from for my meal. There were four kitchens, one that had pizza and Italian food, what that served sushi, what that had pho noodles, one that served Mexican food, like tacos, burritos, and specialized salads, and finally, one kitchen that had barbeque and beef brisket. There were definitely a lot of different smells when we first walked it. Because we were both new, we weren’t exactly sure on how everything worked. The woman who greeted us gave us two menus and told us to sit anywhere and review the menu before ordering. We found a table and looked over the options. There was a little place card on the table, and, supposing we did it right, we left the place card on the table while we walked up to the different kitchens to order. At checkout, they gave us a number for our order and we went back to our table and put our numbers in the little holder. Nicole got a piece of peperoni pizza, which was huge! It was bigger than a paper plate. I got a mild sausage at the barbeque place. I guess I was expecting the sausage to be served in a bun because of the other items on the menu, but when the waitress brought over my food, it was just a single sausage sliced up on a large metal tray with some pickled jalapeño peppers and onions in the corner. That said, it was SO good. I don’t really handle spicy foods well, but even I could not stop eating the jalapeño peppers! Nicole said that she really enjoyed her pizza as well.

During our lunch, we talked about all kinds of stuff. We were there for probably an hour, and we talked about school and finals, new things in our lives, and family. I have seen a couple new movies lately and so we talked about different movies. Nicole surprised me because she told me that she has not been to a movie theater in Columbus since coming to Ohio State! I was really shocked because I feel like going to the Gateway or even Lennox to watch a movie is a popular event on Friday and Saturday nights for college students at OSU. She said that her and her friends just hang out in their dorms and watch movies together that way, which makes sense – cheaper and easier because they don’t have to organize transportation. Still, I was surprised. Nicole did say however that she was planning on seeing the movie A Quiet Place the next day at the Gateway, and I told her that I was excited for her because it was a really good movie and seeing a movie at a theater is usually just better. She also told me about her siblings coming up for sibling’s weekend and she said it was really fun. When I asked Nicole if she was excited for the semester coming to an end, she said she was excited to be done with classes, but she wished she could stay on campus with all of her friends for the summer – I was happy to hear that she has made such good friendships coming out of her freshman year.

All in all, both Nicole and I agreed that the Short North Food Hall is a place that we would go back to and recommend to others. There were a lot of fun options, which is always good when you go out to eat with a bunch of friends with different preferences. The one thing I will say about it is that it is a little bit on the more expensive side. For what I got, in addition to water, I ended up paying around $7, which I thought was a bit high for a sliced-up sausage. AND, Nicole and I both got the cheapest options on the menu. However, it definitely was a fun experience to share with Nicole, and I’m glad she recommended it for us.

Mentor/Mentee Second-Semester Interview: Nicole Moulas

I was very happy to meet with my mentee, Nicole Moulas, to touch base about her second semester at Ohio State. She came into OSU as a Biology major, but has since focused on what she wants to do and is now a Molecular Genetics major. She has also declared a minor in Spanish and would like to declare a double minor in Psychology. Nicole still loves her major and knows that she wants a career in genetic counseling. However, right now she is still taking prerequisite classes and so she hasn’t really been exposed to molecular genetics yet in her classes. However, she has gotten involved in several organizations on campus, one of them being the undergraduate genetic counseling club. She said that at club meetings, graduate students and genetic counselors from the area come in and talk about graduate school requirements and shadowing experiences. She said that this has been really helpful because it has exposed her to a lot of knowledge and people that can help her find success in her career. In addition to this club, Nicole has become involved in Your Night Out, which is a volunteer organization where students babysit for families with children with Down Syndrome. She mentioned that she used to babysit in high school and has really missed it since moving to college, so this is a fun and easy way for her to help her community and get volunteer hours to meet her ACES requirement. Nicole said that she plans to stay involved in all the clubs and organizations that she is already part of, but wants to join one or two additional clubs next semester. She knows that she will have to readjust her time management with more clubs and commitments, but she wants to get as involved on campus as she can, which I think is a really great quality to have in your first two years of college especially.

Now that she is in her second semester at OSU, Nicole hasn’t had to really adjust her studying habits, however she has found friends on her floor who she likes to study with. She said that they get together and work on practice exams and help each other understand concepts that are unclear. She also mentioned that she has had to start studying earlier for her harder classes and exams. For example, she identified General Chemistry 1220 as her hardest class this semester because the lecture and lab components both have a lot of work that require a lot of time. However, the rest of her schedule has allowed her to stay on top of assignments so far, and she plans to keep it that way!

As for her experiences in ACES so far, Nicole has really enjoyed the organization as a whole because she loves to give back to her community and ACES provides many great opportunities for volunteering. However, she does think that the community meetings as of late have been more about helping ourselves as students and not so much about helping the community. One suggestion that she had was to replace community meetings with going out as a club and serving the community. She thinks it would provide an opportunity to grow closer as a club and do more good around Columbus.

Nicole plans to work in genetic counseling. This plan has not changed, however because of her involvement in the undergraduate genetic counseling club, she has gained a lot more information about the steps she will need to take in order to have a career in genetic counseling and what her dream career will really be like. She said she knows that this is what she wants to do, and is looking in to doing some interviews this summer regarding genetic counseling. She said acceptance into graduate school programs for genetic counseling is so low because they only want to accept students who are sure of this career, so many schools require plenty of shadowing/interview experience from each field of genetic counseling. Nicole lives in Cincinnati and said that the University of Cincinnati has a big genetic counseling program in the children’s hospital there. She hopes to find a way to interview and maybe even shadow there during the summer.

Nicole said that she really loves being a student at Ohio State because the large campus has so many ways of feeling smaller for students. For example, she said that being involved in clubs and organizations, and just dorm life in general, has made OSU seem small, and she often forgets how big the campus really is and just how many people she knows. She has been able to maintain many relationships with people she has met through various organizations and events. She is even close with someone she met during orientation and bought football tickets with this friend. She told me that she favorite memory from last semester was probably the Penn State football game. This game ended with a win, although it was downpour raining. She said that at the end of the game, students stormed the field, and although it was wet and cold, it was really enjoyable and memorable. She plans to buy tickets for the 2018 football season and plans to have more fun memories of her time on the field. As Nicole looks forward to her next semester at OSU, she plans to maintain good grades, but also maintain her social life that she enjoys so much. She wants to continue to explore Columbus, maybe trying different restaurants farther down on High Street. I told her that we could do some research and try new restaurants for our Explore Columbus assignment, and she happily agreed!

Questions:

Are you enjoying your major? Why or why not?

What kind of study habits have you developed?

Which class on your current schedule do you think will be the most challenging and why?

How have you gotten involved on campus?

Do you think that you will keep your same involvement next year? Why or why not?

What recommendations do you have for improving the ACES program?

Have your career plans changes since your first semester? Why or why not?

Have you had the chance to explore your desired career through internships, field experience, etc.?

What is your favorite memory from last semester?

What has surprised you about Ohio State since arriving on campus?

Explore Columbus Semester 1

For this first Explore Columbus Assignment, I asked my mentees, Nicole and Elisabeth, if they had any ideas, and together we decided to visit the North Market. It was really difficult to schedule a time to meet because of exams and events, so we decided to meet up on the Thursday before final exams started (reading day) so get a much needed break from studying. The plan was to meet near the 18th Library where Nicole was studying with a group, and I would drive the girls to lunch, because I had my car. I was happy we didn’t have to worry about taking the bus or paying for an Uber because this meant that the time frame of our outing was in our hands, which is always more reassuring when you have things to do. Unfortunately, Elisabeth contacted us on Thursday morning and said that something had come up and she was stuck without a car in Newark, so she wasn’t able to make the lunch, but I hope to get together with her over winter break to catch up and talk just like I was able to do with Nicole.

Fortunately, Nicole was fine with it being just the two of us, so I picked her up and we headed to the North Market. Nicole said that she had walked through the market before, but had never eaten there, so I was excited to show her all of the options because I really enjoy going to the North Market to eat with my friends. When we got there, we walked through the whole floor so that we could each decide what we wanted to eat. Nicole decided on lasagna, and she said she really missed eating good pasta because she never eats pasta on campus. I got pizza and we headed up to the balcony to eat and talk. Conversation was easy with Nicole. We talked about classes and finals, as well as our schedules for next semester. Then we talked about others parts of the semester, like what we each did over fall and thanksgiving break. She said she was really excited to go home to her family in Cincinnati because Christmas is her favorite holiday, just like me! We talked about some of our family Christmas traditions, which was really fun. We both have traditions in our family of receiving new ornaments each year and decorating the tree with them! My mom gives us ornaments every year that are signed and dated and have to do with our past year. This year, my mom got me an Ohio State ornament. Nicole shared that her grandmother gets her and each of her siblings a new Special Moments ornament each year and that they have a special tree in the dinning room that is only decorating with these ornaments and gold tinsel. I can only imagine how beautiful that must look!

We talked and ate for about and hour and a half before leaving to go back to campus. I really enjoyed this experience because I got to talk one-on-one with Nicole and I learned so much more about herself and her family. Transportation was very easy for us because I had my car, as I mentioned earlier, so I can’t make any comments or suggestions about how to get there, but I definitely would recommend going to the North Market to talk and get to know someone. There is a wide variety of foods to choose from, so this makes it ideal for larger groups or if you are going to lunch with someone who may have different tastes than you. We decided not to get anything for dessert because we were both so full, but there is a Jenny’s Ice Cream shop in the market, as well as other sweets like cheesecake, tiramisu, donuts, Greek desserts, and Pistacia Vera, which is known for delicious macaroons. So many options to choose from makes for a fun adventure! I also suggest going there with a group of people and getting a bunch of different things to share with each other, kind of like a pot-luck.This way, you can try several options.

Since I am from Columbus and I have also been to the North Market many times, I didn’t really learn anything new about my own city from this experience, but Nicole was able to make a connection to her home town. She said that there is a place called Findlay Market near where she lives that is much like the North Market, but bigger. In addition to restaurant vendors, Findlay Market sells produce and other artisan goods. I was glad Nicole could connect a piece of Columbus to where she is from. I hope that next semester, we can all make it to the second explore Columbus event and we can try something even I have not experienced yet in Columbus!

Mentor/Mentee First-Semester Interview: Elisabeth Schuck

My second mentee is Elisabeth Schuck. She is currently a biology major, although she may declare anthropology as a second major. She is considering several career options including forensic anthropology and a career studying genetic diseases and how they are inherited. Elisabeth enjoyed studying biology is high school because she had an inspirational teacher. During her junior year of high school, Elisabeth took introductory biology at Columbus State and continued to really love the subject. Although she does not specifically know what career she wants in her future, she chose biology as her major because she could use this major to take many different career paths in the scientific field. Although she loves biology, she has found that several prerequisites for a biology major are more difficult than she expected, including general chemistry, and has caused her to reconsider her major. When Elisabeth was deciding on which scholars program to join, all of the biological/medical/health sciences groups were already filled, and because she enjoyed volunteering in high school, she thought that ACES would be a great opportunity to get involved with and volunteer for the Ohio State community. In high school, Elisabeth did a lot of volunteer work, including a week-long mission trip to the Dominican Republic building a home. She hopes to get involved with Habitat for Humanity at Ohio State because of the great experience she had in high school. In addition to participating in ACES, Elisabeth hopes to join the athletic band next semester, and she also has considered joining the anthropology club that has hands-on workshops in different anthropological fields led by graduate students. She hopes that this kind of experience might help her make career choices. After graduation, Elisabeth plans on going to Graduate school in order to pursue a career in forensic anthropology. However, she is open to changing her career and education plan based on how she likes or dislikes classes that give her experience in the anthropological field. One reason that forensic anthropology has interested Elisabeth is because it takes biology and anthropology, two subjects she has enjoyed studying, and solves real world problems. For example, Elisabeth would love to one day work with crime scenes connected to court cases, collecting data and preparing information and findings for the court. If, however, this plan does not work out for her, Elisabeth has always wanted to take piloting classes! On a more realistic note, Elisabeth would likely choose a career in biological research if forensic anthropology did not work out. One challenge that Elisabeth has experienced this semester is balancing academics, clubs and organizations, and work. Elisabeth does not live on campus, so this makes club meetings and events more challenging to get to. She also works at Culvers in Hilliard, and her location is currently short staffed, so she has found herself picking up a lot of hours during the week. Elisabeth tries to prioritize academics, but she also wants to get involved in clubs on campus, as well as volunteer. She shared that she was concerned about getting in all of her service hours this semester because extracurricular activities have taken a serious backseat to work and school. When asked what is one of the most important things that she has learned so far at Ohio State, Elisabeth talked about how she has learned the important of taking care of herself and her friends, as well as knowing her limits so that she stay responsible and help people around her do the same. This is definitely an important lesson to learn in college, because you’re surrounded by bars, parties, and people making decisions that could affect their lives as well as yours. I was happy to hear that Elisabeth is confident in her ability to make the right choices and help her friends and roommates do the same.

After talking with Elisabeth, I learned that she and I have so much more in common than I expected. We share the same major, interest in anthropology, similar volunteer experiences, and we also both commute to campus. I think that this is one of the most important similarities between us because I remember how commuting made some parts of my freshman year more frustrating. It was hard to get involved on campus and meet people outside of my classes. It was hard to go to campus events and study sessions during finals week. It was hard to plan my schedule because I had to incorporate the hassle of driving to campus, parking, and making my way over from west campus. I definitely think that I can give a lot of advice about things that work well for commuters as Elisabeth experiences some of these same challenges this year. I have had a much more enjoyable year so far because many of the challenges I experiences last year are no longer an issue for me, and I hope to help alleviate some challenges for Elisabeth to make her freshman year as enjoyable as it can be.

Questions:

How did you decide on the major you have chosen?

How do you plan to get involved on campus?

Why did you choose ACES?

What do you plan to do with your major after graduation?

What is your dream job and why?

What is your back-up plan in case your first plan does not work out for some reason?

What is one of the most important things you have learned so far at Ohio State?

Mentor/Mentee First-Semester Interview: Nicole Moulas

One of my mentees is Nicole Moulas. She is a biology major and wants to work in genetic counseling. In high school, Nicole fell in love with introductory biology and when she was introduced to the field of genetic counseling, she decided that biology was a good major that would allow her to study and do what she loves. Genetic counseling caught Nicole’s attention because of the genetic work involved, but also because she wants to work with people and ultimately help them. Her love of people is one reason why she chose ACES as her scholars group – she enjoys communicating and forming relationships with new people. When she was notified of her acceptance in the scholars program at the Ohio State University, she thought that ACES would be a good opportunity for her to work with people and develop communication skills that could prove useful in her desired career. She also joined ACES because she wanted to be part of a smaller community within OSU’s huge campus that was made up of people who also enjoyed volunteering and building relationships in the community. Not only has she become an active ACES volunteer, but she has participated in several service events through the Ohio State University, including several Pay It Forward events. Nicole said that she has gone to a few meetings for the genetic counseling club at OSU, which has helped her know what expectations and requirements there are for genetic counseling, however she has found that balancing academic and social responsibilities has been difficult this semester, resulting in club meetings and events being pushed to the side. She hopes to stay involved with the genetics counseling club, as well as join a university choir next semester. After graduating, Nicole plans on going to Graduate school to become a genetic counselor. She hopes to either attend the Ohio State University or the University of Cincinnati. We did talk about her back-up plan if graduate school doesn’t work out for her and she said that she cannot imagine doing anything besides genetic counseling, so if she does not get into her graduate program on her first application, she thinks that she will take more classes to improve her GPA and become involved in more volunteer opportunities. One of the biggest challenges that Nicole has faced this semester has been the constant social interaction she experiences from living in a dorm. Although she actually has a room to herself this semester, she is always with other people, and she described this as being frustrating and exhausting. However, she has found friends that she can do homework and study with, so there is some benefit to being surrounded by people. Although, she has only been here for less than two months, Nicole has learned that you need to take care of the people around you, and surround yourself by people who do the same for you. Living in dorms, students are especially at risk for getting sick, and she said that she thinks that it is so important to make sure her friends are healthy and okay. She also mentioned that she tries to keep up with her friends plans, on the weekend for example, and make sure they are safe. I wasn’t expecting to hear something so heart-warming, but I was very proud and impressed with her answer.

After talking with Nicole, I learned that she really cares for the people around her, whether her hall-mates or new people she meets in the community through various service events. She seems to really love college at Ohio State so far, and she seems eager to make movements to one day become a genetic counselor. I truly think that her dedication and prioritization will allow her to be very successful in college. I learned that Nicole is a serious planner, and that she likes to have information about classes that she is going to take, but that she feels unprepared to schedule for second semester. I hope that I can help her feel more confident about scheduling decisions, since she is in the same major as myself and I have already experienced several of the classes she needs, as well as scheduling for four semesters. During our conversation, we talked about classes that I enjoyed or struggled with, as well as professors that I recommend or disliked. I hope that as I continue to take classes at Ohio State and experience more classes and professors, I can continue to help Nicole anticipate what her classes will be like.

Questions:

How did you decide on the major you have chosen?

How do you plan to get involved on campus?

Why did you choose ACES?

What do you plan to do with your major after graduation?

What is your dream job and why?

What is your back-up plan in case your first plan does not work out for some reason?

What is one of the most important things you have learned so far at Ohio State?

Global Awareness

I have attempted to expand by Global awareness throughout student organizations in high school, such as the International Student Society, and through the classes I schedule. Last semester I took sociology and ethics, both of which discuss different cultures and how culture affects society. This semester, I was excited to take an introductory anthropology class. In this class, we have had long discussions about cultural variation, and what culture actually is. Another reason I truly love this class is because of the weekly films we watch and review. These films have helped me to learn much more about communities and culture worldwide.

One thing I would love to do in order to develop my Global awareness is to study abroad. This experience is a bit out of my financial ability currently, but I know that if I ever got the opportunity to travel to a new country and learn about their culture and language, I would take it. I have never been out of the country before, so the experience would be so new and unforgettable, and I think that to travel with a group of professors and classmates would be enriching on many levels.

 

Service Engagement

I have always loved serving my local communities with my family and church, and would love to one day go on a mission trip with Living Water through my church to global communities without clean drinking water. My church, Riverside United Methodist, has many amazing mission opportunities, many of which I have been a part of. One of these mission trips is through the Appalachia Service Project. For this trip, a group of high school and college students travel to a site in the Appalachian Mountains and make homes warmer, safer, and dryer. I have gone 3 times now, and each experience is more amazing than the last. I have found service to be humbling and eye opening of the communities and experiences of people outside of my own. I generally come back from a missions trip so much more thankful for the people, opportunities, and possessions I am privileged to have in my life.

My love for service has only grown as I continue to go on more mission trips. One reason I would love to travel outside of my regional community is because of culture. While there are many differences between the culture in Columbus, Ohio and that in Kentucky or West Virginia, I would love to have the experience in which I could completely submerge in an unknown culture and language. One thing that many people say when they come back from these trips was that even though they could not verbally connect with the people living in the villages, they connected on a spiritual and emotional level and formed strong bonds with these communities despite language barriers. I want to be able to experience this kind of connection with complete strangers through serving them.

Little ‘Fins Swim Clinic

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In high school, juniors were required to construct a capstone project that they believed bettered the school or local community. My project was to create a swim clinic called Little ‘Fins for students in grades kindergarten to 5th in which they could learn new skills and practice competitive swimming. One of my close friends, who was also a member on the varsity swim team, and I not only came up with the idea for the project, but we had to meet with school administrators (academic and financial), as well as the manager of the Powell YMCA in order to make this idea come alive.

Ever since I could walk, I have known how to swim and have loved the water. I participated in swim lessons growing up until I could finally be a member of the swim team at my summer pool. This love for the water continued as I entered high school where  I not only joined the varsity swim team, but also became a lifeguard and swim instructor over the summers. One thing I learned very quickly was that many young kids don’t have the same opportunities that I did around water growing up, and I could see the affects in the numbers on the swim team. In an initiative to increase the members on the middle school and varsity swim teams, I decided that we needed to start younger and provide a time and place for students below middle school could not only learn more about competitive swimming, but practice and finally perform in a swim meet against their friends.

The project was very successful and both the school and YMCA  communities were very impressed with the outcome of the project. In addition to researching all the physical, social, emotional, and academic benefits of competitive swimming for a research paper associated with the project, my capstone taught me many lessons in communication, with children much younger than me and professionals much older, as well as in finance, patience, and problem solving. Since it was just the two of us, I found myself in charge of swimmers from age 5 to age 11, which became a challenge I had to overcome by getting in the water and coaching my swimmers hands-on. The experience was one I will never forget and one that continues to influence my approach to every day challenges.

About Me

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I am a Scholars first-year from Columbus, OH. I graduated first in my class at a small private high school in Powell, Ohio called Village Academy. Throughout my high school experience, I took advantage of the many AP opportunities that my school offered, and was also fortunate to be accepted into the College Credit Plus program at the Ohio State University. This was an amazing opportunity as a senior in high school, not only because it allowed me to get a better idea of what kind of college I wanted to attend, but also how college academics differed from high school. In high school I was involved in many organizations and sport programs, including National Honors Society, Senior Beta, International Student Society, and cross country, swimming, and track. During high school, I also worked in the summers as a lifeguard and swim instructor, which gave me a lot of experience working with young children.  I am a Biology major and hope to attend medical school in order to work in Pediatrics. I love children, and so to have a career in which I help them heal and smile again is a perfect fit. While not as involved on campus as I would like to be because of scheduling conflicts, I hope to get more involved in clubs that mentor children in academics and life. In my free time, I try to surround myself with friends and family, who help me relax when I’m off campus. I also enjoy exploring new music, baking, serving on local mission trips with my church, and a good Blue Jackets game!