Year in Review

Global Awareness:

Throughout my life, I have always enjoyed studying foreign languages, as well as other cultures. As a German major, and as a student studying Japanese, I have had the pleasure of studying different languages, as well as learning the culture on a daily basis. Of course, language itself is an important art used to communicate with different people, which is one of the things that I would love to use my newly learned skills on. One of my goals in my remaining time as an undergraduate student is to study abroad, and use my language skills to gain a greater understanding for the cultures, people, and ideas from societies different from mid-west America. Of course, I plan to continue studying German, just as I have been since my middle school days, as well as pursue the Japanese language further, not simply for something superficial such as bragging rights, but as a means of meeting new people, exchanging views, and extending my world outside of the protected bubble that I currently reside in.

Original Inquiry:

One of the most difficult, yet rewarding challenges of being a physics and mathematics student has been the constant exposure to rigorous and modern topics in science and math that are still being researched to this day. Of course, as a student hoping to one day go into research in physics, it has been extremely helpful taking upper division course work, and keeping in touch with professors to gain advice in the process. Regrettably, I have had no research experience myself, which I hope to change this upcoming year by meeting with advisers, as well as keeping in touch with professors whose research I am interested in. Luckily, as I move towards my third year, I look forward to increased opportunities in research, and more advanced coursework than before, in order to actualize these goals.

Academic Enrichment:

One of my greatest strengths, and paradoxically, one of my greatest weaknesses, is my interest in a large amount of topics. I often have a hard time working out my schedule due to the large amount of classes that I enjoy taking, which I believe my honors contract clearly shows. Since I aspire to go into theoretical physics, I chose math as a tool to further my skills in my physics classes, and chose German and Japanese to allow me to expand my capabilities to countries other than just the United States. Of course, for physics, an undergraduate degree is merely a step in the long road of schooling needed to pursue a doctorates, but I believe that my large course load and interests have help support me step towards my goal, and classes such as general education classes have helped increase my knowledge in areas other than just math, physics and language. Of course, I do not simply do these majors for glory or for money, or to look better than my peers: rather, I simply enjoy constantly pursing new topics, and taking a wide variety of classes to shape my goals, and push me further to achieving my degree.

Leadership Development:

Although my daily schedule usually consists of going to class, studying, eating and sleeping, I make an effort to gain other experiences, such as by working as a physics tutor. As a physics tutor, I have the pleasure of guiding students in the introductory classes, on homework, as well as with concepts. As a student myself, I often get caught up in the seemingly never-ending homework to exam loop that seems to envelop the entire semester. This job allows me to change positions, and learn as a teacher, rather than as a student. One of the amazing parts of the job is how much you can learn by simply teaching. Being able to explain a subject to a student who has never seen it before is a skill on its own, which really tests whether the teacher truly understands what they are talking about. I believe that tutoring has greatly helped support my grounding on basic introductory concepts that I may have easily forgotten earlier, which will easily help me in the future as I take more advanced courses throughout my college career.

Service Engagement:

Regrettably, service-oriented activities have been some of the things that I have had the least experience in in my college career. Throughout high school and middle school, I had participated in Boy Scouts, and performed a large amount of community service such as cleaning up trails and neighborhoods, decorating cemeteries, as well as even travelling to Japan for the World Jamboree in 2015, and helping local residents by helping with simple tasks such as helping clean community centers. However, as a college student, I have mainly been focusing on my job and my studies, and have been unable to focus on service-oriented activities. As I move forward in college, I hope to possible participate in more clubs that engage in such activities in order to expand my interests outside of work and studying all of the time. In physics and mathematics, it is often hard to find opportunities to directly engage with the community, however, activities such as tutoring and going to clubs such as the Japanese Speaking Club (Oshaberikai) have helped me talk to others outside of my classes and communicate on common ground. In the future, I hope to continue these activities, as well as hopefully engage more in service or with others with different interests in order to gain more experience with others.

G.O.A.L.S.

[ “G.O.A.L.S.” is a place where students write about how their planned, current, and future activities may fit into the Honors & Scholars G.O.A.L.S.: Global Awareness, Original Inquiry, Academic Enrichment, Leadership Development, and Service Engagement. For more information, go to: http://honors-scholars.osu.edu/e-portfolio. Delete these instructions and add your own post.

Global Awareness: Students cultivate and develop their appreciation for diversity and each individual’s unique differences. For example, consider course work, study abroad, involvement in cultural organizations or activities, etc .
Original Inquiry: Honors & Scholars students understand the research process by engaging in experiences ranging from in-class scholarly endeavors to creative inquiry projects to independent experiences with top researchers across campus and in the global community. For example, consider research, creative productions or performances, advanced course work, etc.
Academic Enrichment: Honors & Scholars students pursue academic excellence through rigorous curricular experiences beyond the university norm both in and out of the classroom.
Leadership Development: Honors & Scholars students develop leadership skills that can be demonstrated in the classroom, in the community, in their co-curricular activities, and in their future roles in society.
Service Engagement: Honors & Scholars students commit to service to the community.]

Career

[“Career” is where you can collect information about your experiences and skills that will apply to your future career.  Like your resume, this is information that will evolve over time and should be continually updated.   For more information, go to: http://honors-scholars.osu.edu/e-portfolio. Delete these instructions and add your own post.]

Artifacts

[Artifacts are the items you consider to be representative of your academic interests and achievements. For each entry, include both an artifact and a detailed annotation.  An annotation is a reflective description of the artifact that attempts to communicate its significance.  For more information, go to: http://honors-scholars.osu.edu/e-portfolio. Delete these instructions and add your own post.]

About Me

[Your “About Me” is an introduction and should provide insight into who you are as a person and a learner.  This should include a picture of you that is appropriate in a professional/academic context. This information should be continually updated.  For more information, go to: http://honors-scholars.osu.edu/e-portfolio.  Delete these instructions and add your own post.]