Original inquiry involves research and innovation. I have not participated in research at Ohio State yet, but I hope to assist a professor in their research lab before the end of my junior year. In my biology 1113 lab, my partner and I had to practice research techniques to sequence the genome of our bacteriophage. Although this was through a class, I learned a lot about how research is done.
Posts
Academic Enrichment
Throughout my undergraduate career, I have composed a schedule of rigorous classes such as behavioral neuroscience, chemistry, and animal physiology. Besides seeking academic enrichment through my coursework, I have also found it through other activities. When I visited the Columbus Zoo with my scholars group, we got to go on a behind the scenes tour of the vet hospital and the marine exhibit. I learned more about how they care for their animals while they are no longer in a natural habitat. Another way I have found academic enrichment is through the Pre-Veterinary Medical Association club at Ohio State. This club has guest speakers come in and inform us about their current work as veterinarians or about the research they are conducting. One speech that I enjoyed was from an Ohio State veterinarian, Dr. Evans. She spoke to us about her journey of becoming a veterinarian and the challenges she faced through that. She continued on to speak about her research about the causes and effects of feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV). Overall, I hope to continue to find academic enrichment in my classes and outside of them.
Leadership Development
Throughout the past year I have become more involved in certain extracurriculars. One organization that I have been apart of since the beginning of my time at Ohio State is Guiding Eyes for the Blind. I started out as a sitter, but by the end of my freshmen year I decided that I wanted more responsibility. By the beginning of my sophomore year, I became a puppy raiser. This gave me more responsibility since I had to care for a puppy, take him to puppy classes, and arrange training sessions with new members. I hope to further develop my leadership skills by obtaining an executive board position for my final year at Ohio State.
Animal Science 3140
Animal science 3140 is a class on the principle of animal systems physiology. Out of all the classes I have taken so far as Ohio State, I think this one has impacted me the most. Taking this class made me realize how intriguing I find learning about animal systems is. Throughout this class we focused on learning about how different systems throughout the body worked. We also would take some time to compare how certain systems can differ between animals. One unit I found very interesting was the nervous system which I expected since I am pursuing a minor in neuroscience. Another unit that I was surprised to be so interested in was the excretory system. Before this class I had never spent time analyzing the excretory system. This class pushed me to not only learn about a system but also analyze why it works that way. Overall, I think this was a great course that taught me how to thoroughly analyze what I am learning.
Statement of Action for the Next Two Years
My past two years at Ohio State have taught me a lot academically and a lot about myself. I’ve learned about different species, genes, brain functions, among other subjects. Most importantly, I learned more about myself and what I find the most joy in. For the next two years I now have a clearer vision of what I want to do. I will continue to take animal science classes and a couple neuroscience classes. I want to continue to make my animal science career a priority by gaining experience with different species. My main goal for the next two years is to gain experience with as many different species as I can. Some species I would love to work with more are exotic animals and farm animals since I already have experience with companion animals. My end-goal is still to go to veterinary school once I have completed my bachelors degree in animal science. I have found that I am very passionate about caring for animals, especially dogs! Although I am eager to gain experience with a variety of species, I will continue my work with companion animals. I am planning on doing that by continuing to volunteer at my local shelter and sitting dogs for Guiding Eyes for the Blind. For my remaining time at Ohio State, I hope to gain new experiences to further my education and personal growth.
Internship
For summer 2020 I have an internship with the Naperville Area Humane Society. This internship has increased my animal handling and educated me more on how to be compassionate to all animals. The majority of my internship is revolved around humane education. I have assisted the humane education director in educating children about animals. There have been lessons about puppy mills, breed discrimination, respecting wildlife, why you should spay and neuter your pets, and other important lessons as well. Other than humane education, I assist around the shelter as I am needed. I help socialize the dogs and cats currently residing in the shelter. I also walk the dogs to ensure that they are getting enough exercise outside of their kennels. Overall, this internship has increased my communication skills and also my animal handling skills.
Dog from the Humane Society
Global Awareness
I try to achieve global awareness by keeping myself informed on events happening around the world. One experience that helped me become more globally aware was when I went on a volunteer trip with Volunteers Around the World to Cusco, Peru. While I was in Peru, I learned more about Peruvian culture and especially their healthcare system. This trip made me more educated on healthcare in third-world countries and how their cultures view different types of medicine.
Another way that I have become more globally aware is by taking Dance in Global Contexts during my fall 2019 semester. This class taught me about a myriad of cultures including Chinese, Nigerian, Indian, Native American, and many more. Before this class, I was unaware of how important traditional dance is to certain cultures. These dances also are representations of their cultures and what they value most.
Volunteer Trip to Peru in 2019
Resume
Here is the link to the word document of my resume that I made in conjunction with scholars!
Sophomore Year in Review
Fall 2019:
This semester I learned more about time management. This is mainly because of the puppy I am raising Gilbert. In order to successfully finish all my schoolwork and take care of a puppy, I had to plan out my days more carefully. It was so nice to be able to cuddle up with Gilbert after a stressful day of classes! I started my first animal science classes since changing my major at the end of last semester. After taking these classes, I am confident that I made the right choice in changing my major. My favorite class was animal handling which taught me about how to read farm animal behavior in order to approach them.
Gilbert
Spring 2020:
This semester I continued to raise Gilbert, but unfortunately got less time with him due to the COVID-19 pandemic. I still get sent pictures of him from his new raisers and he seems very happy! I took some classes that challenged my thought-process and had to adjust accordingly. One class that challenged me at first was animal physiology. I had a hard time visually thinking of everything, but after studying several diagrams I got the hang of it! I also took a public speaking class which I was nervous for since I do not have much experience with speaking. The professor was extremely nice and it ended up being one of my favorite classes this semester. My biggest challenge, however, was having to deal with the COVID-19 pandemic and having to adjust to distance learning instead. Having a good support system of friends made it easier to cope with all the disaster that has been happening throughout the world. Overall, this semester was nothing like what I expected, but I still learned a lot and can’t wait to be back at Ohio State in the fall.
Columbus Zoo Trip
One event that I went to recently with biological scholars was the Columbus Zoo. From this experience I gained a new appreciation for all the work that goes into running zoos around the country. Each veterinarian at the Columbus zoo worked on their own personal research projects to enhance the lives of the animals at their zoo, other zoos, and even in the wild. I hope to one day be as involved with my patient care as they are with their patient’s treatment. These veterinarians do everything they can in order to fix an animal’s problem; this is something I took away from this experience since I hope to one day become a veterinarian. The overall experience was educational, but it was also entertaining to see the animals interact with each other and other human beings.
Elephant at the Columbus Zoo