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Year in Review
This year has been such a blur. I did not expect each semester to fly by like it did. Everyday, I reflected upon how fast everything happened, and how this evolvement affected my life. From the simple tasks, to the most difficult decisions and strenuous activities, I learned much more about myself than I thought I would.
Looking back upon my experience, I feel that I am most thankful for the people that I surround myself with, and the academics that pushed me to work to the best of my ability, no matter how I felt about myself and my capabilities. One of the most beneficial aspects of the Health Science Scholars Program was the placement of students pursuing health-oriented majors/occupations on the same floor; knowing others who have the same passions and interests, as well as using this resource as both moral support and study help, has helped me to grow mentally, where my perspectives are much more widespread and cultured. I remember coming into this new year afraid, because I wanted to meet new friends who wanted to be friends with who I really represented myself as, rather than putting on a face to impress others. I now have a group of friends that I always rely on for every problem and celebration I have, and I am honored to know such hard-working, inspiring, intelligent, hilarious people. I can’t wait to spend my next years experiencing college with my best friends, as well as exploring the academic opportunities available to me at Ohio State.
My most memorable service experience was volunteering at Natural Tunnel State Park over my spring break with Buck-I-Serv. Not only did I have the opportunity to help make the park a better place for those that come to visit every year, but I also met amazing people that expanded my mindset to see other perspectives that I had never thought of before. I love meeting new people, and learning of their passions, and the conversations I had with these other students, as well as with the park rangers we interacted with, interested me to no end; people like the ones I met over my trip inspire me to search for experiences and opportunities that are out of my comfort zone. I definitely want to go on another Buck-I-Serv trip, and I hope to enlighten others concerning how important service to others, no matter how large or small activities seem to be; any impact made always positively affects the people around you, and these activities change the world for the better.
Out of all of the experiences I had, my first year at Ohio State showed me one thing that will always impact my life: things will change, and that’s okay. I came in as a biology major, thinking I had my life together, where I would “travel” on one path to reach my aspirations. This outlook is SO, so wrong. One of my biggest transitions here was changing my major to neuroscience; in choosing this, I realize how different I see myself after I figured out what I was truly passionate about.
I hope to make some kind of difference over my next three years at Ohio State, whether it be through participating in service activities or organizations. I love Ohio State! 🙂
Academic Enrichment – Interview with an Upperclassman
One of the many concerns I have on a daily basis is my future, and how it will play out over the next couple of years. Though worrying about something you cannot directly change is merely pointless, it seems impossible to stop actively thinking about admission into medical school, or what speciality I want to go into after that aspect of my life. One activity that helps alleviate my stress, and steers me towards the right path, is talking to those that are more experienced than me academically and analyzing their perspectives towards their life and the decisions they have made so far. I had the opportunity to interview my RA, Stephanie, and ask her questions concerning her passion for helping others, and her goals of becoming a doctor. She is the perfect person to interview, since she is only a year ahead of me in the undergraduate process, but she is also intensively studying for the MCAT and preparing for medical school applications. Here are the questions I asked her:
- What is your major and what do you want to do professionally later in life?
- Why did you go into pre-medicine/your major?
- What do you think has impacted you the most (what steered you towards medicine)?
- How are you preparing for the MCAT (what source do you use)?
- What/How many medical schools did you apply to?
- What are you most excited for in going to medical school?
- What are you most nervous for in going to medical school?
- What is your favorite science subject?
- What is your favorite activity that you do at Ohio State/volunteering?
What I found most inspiring about all of her answers to my questions was her complete passion and confidence in the profession she wanted to dedicate her life to in the future. Every time I asked her about medicine, and verbally evaluated her response to accurately depict her feelings in words, she was smiling the whole time, and was always very happy in sharing her stories and confirming her emotions.
Her major is neuroscience premed with a minor in leadership studies, and she hopes to become a doctor who is able to give her effort and time to under-served communities; the human aspect of medicine is what she is most excited and geared towards, and she wants to give treatment to those who struggle to receive healthcare, or medical attention, in today’s society. She wants to become a physician because she is fascinated with the aspect of being able to treat others with both learned skills and mental passion, where one person can bring hope and life into families who might have little to no happiness because of pre-existing medical conditions and bad experiences related to this. Her personal experiences involved the treatment of her brother’s birth in a hospital, and the rehabilitation of her grandpa to better health, where both doctors did wonders for her and her family in giving them mental and physical support. She also loves the constant learning and discovery of new perspectives that medicine brings; she wants to be a doctor that people can trust, since this value is very important to her. Her family and friends have impacted her mindset towards medicine, and they have motivated her to believe in herself and her abilities to achieve her goal in becoming a doctor.
She is preparing for the MCAT by taking a class that provides lesions 3 hours a week, and she combines this with learning strategies from medical students and studying approximately 30 hours a week for the MCAT she will be taking around May. The best advice she gave me for my future endeavors in studying for the MCAT is to change my habits of studying every once in while, since it can get very boring in a short amount of time. She also recommended using sites like Khan Academy, which are both free and useful when concepts might seem a little hard. She is planning on applying to about 15 schools, where half of which are in Ohio, and her top choice is Ohio State’s Medical School.
She is most excited to finally fulfill her dream in becoming a doctor, while also learning about material for which she is very passionate about. She is most nervous for actually getting into medical school (the process in itself), and the financial responsibilities that will come with medical school tuition and whatnot.
Her class/subject at Ohio State so far has been biochemistry, and she loves devoting her time volunteering for Ladies for Leadership, which is an organization that tutors younger women and provides advice and help for those that need help in school.
Interviewing Stephanie made me both excited and motivated concerning how I perceive the process of getting into medical school, and how I actually recognize my motivation to become a doctor and what I do with this information. She reminded me of how passionate I feel about the powers of medicine, and the art of helping others physically and mentally in the best ways possible. Stephanie also showed me ways in which I can study for the MCAT, and find information that will give me shortcuts along the way in understanding material being tested upon. The biggest impact this interview had on me was the perspective of doctors that Stephanie holds close to her heart: doctors give hope and life, and their duties and passions represent something much bigger than themselves.
Career
FrancescaCocchiarale_Resume2015_ScholarsSeminar
Being a student at Ohio State has not only helped me in opening my eyes to the many opportunities available in both this institution and in society, but it has also acted as a holistic learning experience psychologically and socially. Through the activities I have involved myself in, including the Health Science Scholars and other interesting organizations, I have met amazing, ambitious people with interesting personalities who inspire me everyday to work the hardest I can in achieving my long-term goals and desires. Though my perception concerning my future occupation has changed in little ways since I have started college at Ohio State, these changes have been positive, and display the results of intently thinking about my future, while also focusing on my present situation as a full-time student working my way towards medical school and beyond.
Through the Health Science Scholars’ Seminar, and the assignments associated with the class, I have been enlightened in terms of how I perceive the different aspects of my life at this moment in time, which includes the following areas: health and wellness; relationships with professionals, friends, and family; and challenging my ability to seek alternatives to situations I portray for my future in case of a change of plans. For example, I learned of other majors during the exploration fair, which was affiliated with Health Science Scholars. Before going to this event, I had never thought about creating a “Plan B” for myself, but as time has proceeded throughout the semester, I realize how important this idea is more and more everyday. In thinking about and immersing myself in the ideas of each assignment, I leaned through my own mistakes and successes, which has assisted in my growth and growing persistence.
Artifacts – My Service Project 2016-2017
For my service project, I combined both of my experiences involving healthcare volunteer work in reaching my 40 hours for the semester. For first semester, I volunteered with the Reach Out and Read Program through Nationwide Children’s Hospital, where volunteers go to all of the primary care centers within and around Columbus to read to children waiting for their appointments. Half Priced Books, as well as other sources, donate gently used books to the program, and these books are given away to each family that comes through the office. In giving these books away and reading to children, the program promotes reading comprehension in the early childhood years, where it is critical to learn these types of skills for academic and communicative success in the future. I started in the Urgent Care within the main hospital, and what I loved most about the program was how much I possessed the opportunity to interact with children, whether it was through reading to them or coloring with them. Little kids always have something to say, and I loved hearing their stories about their favorite books, as well as their positive experiences with healthcare. Working with children has always been a motive of mine, and I wanted to take this chance to experience something new concerning working with a different demographic than I usually do in my volunteer work. Overall, I loved volunteering for this program, and I recommend it to anyone wanting to work with kids.
I am also a volunteer at Riverside Methodist Hospital in Columbus, and I used the rest of my needed hours for this experience during this semester. I have been volunteering there for almost three years (with the exception of taking a break last semester), and I absolutely love all of the aspects I have encountered while I have been there. I started as a greeter at the information desks within the hospital, where I led people around the hospital and took guests to their destinations; now, I am an information desk volunteer, where I work with patient information and answer questions people have about the hospital and their loved one/friend. I love interacting with people that approach me and helping them in any way that I can. I also love the other volunteers at Riverside, and their motivation to give others happiness and compassion, especially in a place where pain and sadness are common. Working within this aspect of patient information has given me a different and more enlightening perspective of healthcare, and how important every single aspect of a person’s healthcare experience is when going through hospitals. Even though I only look up patients’ names and their location, my positivity and ability to help provide a much larger impact than I could have ever imagined. I want to continue to volunteer there as long as I can, or whenever I choose to leave Columbus permanently. One activity I want to try is working with the NICU, where volunteers hold pre-mature babies for comfort and support while they are being hospitalized. Riverside has an amazing volunteer program, and I hope to gain new perspectives while volunteering there in the future.
About Me
Hello! I am Francesca Cocchiarale, and I am a third-year student studying neuroscience and pre-medicine at Ohio State. In the future, I plan to go to medical school and become a doctor to serve whatever community I find myself in the next couple of years, whether it be my hometown of Columbus, or another city far away from Ohio (I’m hoping it is the latter). One aspect of myself that really defines me is my dedication to service, and how this activity has shaped my life in monumental ways. My academic and social experiences at Ohio State so far have heightened my passion for service, and I hope my last two years as an undergraduate student help to open my mind more to positive impacts made by others, as well as paths I can follow myself to create an impact, whether it be big or small, upon others.
Becoming involved at OSU was a lot easier than I was expecting as a freshman, and when people ask me what I do for fun at college and I state all of the things I do, I wonder how I stay awake for the whole day (sometimes I fall victim to falling asleep in class, which is okay on occasion I guess). Three groups/clubs (both within OSU and outside of these associations with the university) that have impacted me more than I will ever know are the following: Health Science Scholars, Buck-I-Serv, and my volunteer work with Riverside Methodist Hospital. Here are the ways that these activities have changed the way I move through life, and why I try to pay attention to every single detail and person that I approach:
- I applied to be in Health Science Scholars for many reasons, with the main reason being I was interested in practicing medicine as a doctor after college and medical school. Though the Scholars program itself did not impact me as much in terms of the meetings held and the survey class I was expected to attend, the people I met were the number one factor that made this club meaningful to me. All HSS students lived on a certain floor in Park-Stradley Hall, and through this experience, I met people that are still my best friends today. The people I encountered during this experience were as passionate as I was about the powers of medicine, and the ability of a person to work through and fix a physical or mental problem. When classes seemed impossible, we were there to support each other and reassure our strengths, as well as recognize our weaknesses in doing better for the next exam or project. I am so inspired by my friends, and how hard they work every day to succeed in making their dreams come true. I look back on my time as being an active member of HSS, and I am thankful for all the opportunities this program has opened up for me in terms of my future goals and milestones.
- Buck-I-Serv is a service organization through Ohio State that sends students to places around the United States, and the world, in need of volunteerism and help in building their community in different ways. I have been on two service trips, both during spring break; I went to Natural Tunnel State Park in Virginia to help clean the park and renovate facilities during spring break of 2016, and I went to Habitat for Humanity’s location in Lake Sumter, FL to work on houses for veterans during spring break of 2017. My experiences have been more than amazing on these alternative breaks, and I love the values and social issues Buck-I-Serv choose to hit upon while students take these trips. I went on these trips because I wanted to experience service in different environments than what I had been exposed to in the past, and the physicality and change of atmosphere definitely opened my mind to the large range of service one can do to positively impact a certain area or a group of people. I want to go on service trips for the next two spring breaks while I am still at OSU, and I hope to be a leader for one of them so I can help others to see the importance of service, even if the impact seems minuscule or unnecessary.
- The last activity I mentioned is not affiliated with OSU, but I can argue that my service at Riverside has impacted my mindset the most. I started volunteering as a greeter at information desks when I was 16, and I moved on to become an information desk volunteer, and most recently, an ER volunteer. A lot of people think that saying hello with a smile on your face to a random person is useless, but I think the complete opposite. I get a vibe from my generation that if a project or a gesture isn’t big enough or recognizable in more than one way, then it doesn’t have to be done because of the fact that one doesn’t feel that they are making a difference. You don’t have to bake a cake, or perform successful brain surgery, to truly make someone’s day. I believe a smile and some insight into how someone is doing is enough to create positivity, and this value drives my passion to serve others. I have learned so much as a volunteer, such as how to effectively communicate with visitors of patients to make them feel more welcome at the hospital, and how to make a joke to lighten the mood of a patient in the ER that can’t have a certain food because of their condition. I have also gained a great deal of knowledge from the patient representatives that work with volunteers; their attitude is more than positive, and their dedication to serving all those who come in for help displays how selfless their attitudes are. I hope to volunteer as long as I can at Riverside, and I hope I can keep creating smiles for those who feel there is no happiness in their world right now.
Right now, I am interested in high-risk obstetrician work, dermatology, and internal medicine. I have been inspired by medical mentors from my past, including the doctors I have encountered and discussed matters with in the time I watched them. Their work has helped me to assess how much I want to give my time to others. I see myself leaning towards becoming an OB because I can follow the health and wellness of my patients and their pregnancies. Childbirth is truly beautiful and mind-blowing, and the amount of risks are endless when it comes to conceiving a child and being pregnant. From the fact that there is something new to learn about risks in pregnancy, to using high-quality technology to show mothers their babies and display the sound of their heartbeats, the possibilities are endless to make a difference in one’s life. I want to support women in their journey of becoming mothers, and I hope to alleviate stress in the process of providing crucial information to expecting mothers.
As I read over my first submission to the “About Me” section, it surprised me to how nervous I sounded in between the text. It sounds crazy that I can sense this from words on a screen, but what I was hoping for the most was acceptance, which is something I did not experience as much at school and in other environments. I have not only experienced acceptance, but I have grown more than I would have ever imagined through both the social and academic experiences during college so far. I hope to keep pushing myself out of my comfort zone in discovering what I love doing, and I can’t wait to move through these next two years in becoming a little closer to my goals of becoming a doctor.
(last edited July 27, 2017)