I’m A Second-Year Who Has An End of Semester Project Check-in!

…And this is that (very, VERY late) check-in!

Over the course of this past semester, I faced some hard times and hard truths about what it means to be at Ohio State. I have also had some very positive experiences that made moving forward with my studies and my extra-curriculars worth it. I think that my third semester in ENR was one of these positive experiences. As a mentor, I had the chance to make my second-year project more meaningful personally, as it meant connecting with, and lending support to, the incoming ENR class. It was really insightful, albeit a little nostalgic, to see my mentees go from being freshmen at a strange school to a close-knit group of OSU Scholars. I learned a lot about what I had been through last year, and I saw just how lost I really was then. It was good to know that I wasn’t alone in being totally lost when I first came to OSU.

I could tell even just between weekly meetings that my mentees were starting to find their own places in ENR, and I was shocked to see just how fast they really got comfortable with the program, and with OSU as a whole. Though, as the semester went on, I saw more and more of my mentees stop struggling socially and begin to really struggle with their schoolwork. Being a mostly-engineer mentor group, I sympathized with my mentees as they slogged through the busywork and math and science courses that I too had slogged through just months ago. It was really sobering to see, and honestly a little difficult to watch people struggle with the same things that I had, but not really being able to help. It was just a matter of my mentees figuring out how to study and how to balance their work with their other interests. It was difficult, at certain times, for me to be able to make time for my mentees, as I was also going through a really rough semester, and had to devote so much time and effort to my own studies. But I made the time to meet with my mentees when they needed it, and that made me feel helpful and made the whole semester a little less bland.

I missed the annual camping trip this year, sadly, and that was really disappointing for me. I love camping, and to miss the trip (one of very few chances I have to actually go camping anymore) was really lame. Though, given the fact that I missed the camping trip to go to California with my brother to camp out at a heavy metal festival, I can’t really complain too much, except that having those weekend coincide was truly a bummer of the highest degree.

Now that I’ve had some time to reflect on the semester as a whole, I think I can say that ENR was a positive experience. I learned a lot about how to step back and let my mentees struggle and grow for themselves. I definitely feel like I’ve further developed my leadership skills because of my role in ENR, and I am excited to see where next semester takes the program!

 

To close, I just want to apologize for how late this assignment is! I also am sorry for any inconvenience.

 

Happy Holidays!