Blog 5

Before virtual instruction, in-person clinicals was so much fun and provided me with so much opportunities to apply the knowledge I learn from lecture to an actual patient. At the end of each clinical, I felt like I would understand material taught in class or what I read from a textbook so much better. Of course, when I first started my clinical journey, I was so nervous and anxious to have an actual patient. I was concerned about making mistakes or feeling incompetent. As the weeks went on, not only did my nursing skills improved, but my confidence skyrocketed. During my time working at the OSUWMC, I felt that my communication skills with the staff and patients improved as I learned helpful skills from therapeutic communication course. For example, I learned the importance to acknowledge the patient’s feelings and using silence if you are not sure how to respond to a patient. Throughout clinical I utilized this technique since many of my patients were hospitalized for a multiple weeks and they expressed their longing to be home. Since I did not know when they could potentially discharged, I would try my best to comfort and acknowledge their feelings. I felt that this technique helped as most of the time the patient really just wanted me to listen to them and talk with them about the tough time they have gone through. Another useful skill that I started utilizing is ISBAR. During my last in-person clinical, I did my first ISBAR report to my patient’s nurse before I left the unit for that day. My ISBAR definitely was not the best but I was able to practice this skill and I realized what I needed to continue to work.

Even though we do not have in-person clinicals anymore, I also have been finding virtual clinical interesting and as well a place to further my learning. For example, this week we went more in depth with ISBAR and I feel that I have a better understanding/improved ISBAR reports due to my clinical instructor allowing us to work on this skill several times during virtual clinical. Even though virtual clinicals meets my academic needs, the one thing about in-person clinical that I really do miss is interacting with patients. In future clinicals, I hope to continue growing skills such as using the silent technique when appropriate with patients. As well, I want to continue expanding the confidence that I have gained this past semester in clinical. I am looking forward to continue applying the skills learned in this course to future patient interactions.

 

Blog 4

Recently, I found this youtuber who is a 3rd medical Canadian resident named Siobhan. Her channel is called Violin MD. I have been binge watching her vlogs on her on call shifts lately and I find them very interesting. I get to see what a day in a doctor looks like and after watching a couple of her videos, I can appreciate more what doctors do. I see how much teamwork goes in when taking care of a patient. Also, after watching her videos, I realized that doctors do a lot of writing!

For this assignment, I decided to watch Siobhan’s “26 Hour Call Shift: Day in the Life of a Doctor, Intensive Care Unit.” Immediately at the beginning of Siobhan’s shift, there is a team meeting between residents, attending physician, nurses, dietitian, respiratory therapist, and pharmacist. As we learned in class, they performed a briefing to map out the care plan, heighten awareness of certain circumstances, and plan for unexpected with each patient. As Siobhan says in the video, the briefing takes a while since they conduct one for each patient and make sure that each staff member had a chance to give their input and recommendations.

At around 11 pm, Siobhan gets a page from a critical care response team nurse who has identified that one patient had a very low oxygen levels. Patient vitals were 120 beats per minute but blood pressure was normal. Siobhan ordered for a stat x-ray, which revealed that the patient had a collapsed lung, and the patient was placed on 100% oxygen. Immediately after assessing and treating the patient, Siobhan calls the attending physician and fellow to further discuss which course of action to take. It is interesting how the various different roles of the medical care team come together to identify a problem quickly and resolving the issue at hand as fast as they can or stabilize the patient until further consideration with other members is taken. This effective teamwork and communication were able to avoid a huge red flag.

In addition, Siobhan received an admission to the ICU from a patient got out of the operating time. The physician and anesthesiologist communicated with Siobhan about the procedure and how it went. One of the most important information disclosed was that this patient had a difficult airway resulting in it being difficult to intubate patient due to their anatomy. Siobhan shortly after states that she is definitely going to communicate this information about the patient to the morning team. This shows how Siobhan is making sure critical information is being passed on to the other team members to prepare a plan if patient needs intubation.

Overall, this video really focuses on how effective communication between staff and having teamwork can improve a patient’s care. I really enjoy watching Siobhan’s videos and hope she continues to post more about her experience as an ICU doctor.

Blog 3

My clinical experiences thus far have provided me with plentiful educational opportunities. I feel like I am able to apply the things that I learn from class into real-life situation. Therefore, most concepts that were fuzzy in class become very clear after clinicals. On an educational side, I have been making huge progress but I have come across communication problems during my clinicals that I am currently addressing to fix.

My first communication challenge that I faced is being hesitant when I am uncomfortable or unsure with what my next steps are when caring for my patient. Often times when we were buddy up, it was common for me to let my partner overtake with talking. Yet, I believe that when I get my own patient, then I will not have the tendency to let others take over. Since I will be responsible for my own patient this week, I have to take responsibility because I do not have a buddy to rely on. As well, to further combat my hesitation, I have been running through my assessment with friends. I know when I am with a patient, I get a bit scared since I do not want to look like I do not know what I am doing. Thus, to combat this, I have been practicing outside of class on my nursing skills such as a head to toe assessment.

My second communication challenge that I have is forgetting to elaborate when I find an abnormal finding. For example, my patient would rate their pain and I have the tendency to forget to ask them to describe how their pain felt (dull, sharp, consistent, painful with activity, etc.). I am overcoming this challenge by using the STAR method. Before I enter my patient’s room to complete a task, I always stop, think, act, and review. For example, I would stand outside for a minute thinking what I want to complete and reviewing my notes. In my notes, I have added to make sure to elaborate. Also, conducting this STAR method has helped me from forgetting certain tasks such as forgetting to asking my patient to rate pain level when taking vitals.

Overall, I love clinical. They are a time for me to really be engaged with my learning. Even though it has been challenging adjusting to this type of role of being the healthcare provider in the patient-provider relationship, I feel like I have been making small strides. I am super excited to keep learning and overcoming other challenges.

Blog 2

On Saturday January 25, my boyfriend and I went to Roosters for dinner, where I casually observed how others communicated. I was able to clearly see verbal and nonverbal forms of communication amongst other individuals. Also, I noticed how dependent we are on our technology.

First, I will be discussing about our waiter. Her nonverbals included: eye contact when speaking, casual tone of voice, and soft and smiling facial expression. Her verbal communication was asking us what we wanted to eat. She was clear and concise, and she performed feedback to make sure that she got the correct order.  Therefore, I felt like our waiter was very well engaged with our conversation and had confidence in that she will get our order right. Comparing our waiter to nurses, it is critical to perform feedback to make sure that our patient understands what we taught them with patient education or what we just said.

Another observation I made was of a father and his young daughter sitting across from us. The father used nonverbal gestures that included: pointing at words or items, gentle and endearing facial expression, and tone of voice was soft and loving. The father’s verbal communication was explaining to his daughter what each item on the menu consist of in terms that she will understand. This technique used in verbal communication is similar to what medical professionals do because when speaking to our patients, we do not want to use medical jargon. We want to have clear and effective communication; thus, we need to communicate in layman terms.

The final observation that I made showed how dependent our society relies on technology. Next to us, a couple were engaging in conversation until the lady got up and left the table. When the man was left alone, he immediately grabbed his phone. Once she returned, he put his phone down and engaged in conversation again with her. This demonstrates how we learned as a society to fear silence or looking like you are not communicating. As a nurse, we need to overcome the urge to break the silence at times. Silence can allow patients to collect their thoughts, understand what is going on around them or the ability to express their feelings. Therefore, silence can be a good thing at times. Also, another observation I made with technology is the use of cellphones at the table amongst a group of individuals. Instead of communicating with each other, the group were on their phones. This observation shows how technology can get in the way of being in the moment. It is crucial that as nurses we do not let technology interfere with our communication with patients. For example, moving the computer monitor to make eye contact with your patient while they are talking can build trust in patient-provider relationship.

Overall, these observations that I made can be applied to what I could face during clinical and during my career as a nurse. Also, observing others made me realize what I do on a daily basis without thinking, and what I could possibly change to help my communication with others.

Blog 1

Hi Cristina!

My name is Kathy Cordova and I am a third year. Before deciding to switch my career to nursing, I was majoring in biochemistry and was on the pre-med track. After learning more about nursing and how nursing takes a holistic view on the healthcare, I realized how much nursing aligned with my values. Also, I really appreciated how nursing has flexible hours and shifts, thus allowing me to be more involved with my family. Another huge plus in the flexible hours is having the ability to travel. I follow an ICU nurse on Instagram, and almost every week she is traveling to a new country. I love traveling; thus, I would definitely love to broaden my horizons with experiencing new cultures, new experiences, and new food.

My interests in nursing lie in working with infants. Before making the switch to nursing, I had the ability to shadow a neonatologist. I remember that day so clearly because I came into realization how much I wanted to work in the NICU. I felt such a strong connection working with the ill infants and seeing how the medical staff did everything in their power to make them better. Also, the stories I heard that day made me realize that the NICU has the ability to build strong connections with the patients and family members due to the long hospital admissions. Therefore, one of my career goals is to become a neonatal nurse practitioner.

Another career goal of mine is to work part time at the NIH and work on research projects pertinent to the NICU. I have been involved in research since I was 17 years old. The first research project that I was involved was at Nationwide Children’s Hospital working on looking at the metabolic shift of aerobic respiration to anaerobic respiration in preeclampsia cells. At the age of 18, I became a published author on the research project. Even though I loved the research I was conducting in the lab, I was starting college and I decided to leave. The second research project that I was involved was with Dr. Mei Wei Chang on weight management of pregnant and postpartum women. During this project I learned how to interact and work with research subjects, whereas my work at NCH was more wet lab and coding. Now, I am working with Dr. Toni Harrison on infants’ feeding with congenital heart disease. I am very excited about working with this research project due to it lying within my interests.

That is a little bit about me! I am looking forward for this semester!

-Kathy

Summary of Mentorship

I had the pleasure mentoring Natalia Seeman’s these past two semesters. Through various conversations and hanging out with each other, I learned so much about Natalia. As an exploration major, Natalia has still not declared a major, but she is thinking of studying political affairs or education. Her interest for political affairs peaked when she took her Intro to Public Affairs course in the spring semester. Natalia’s interest in education has always been something that she was interested in but lately she is strongly considering since she wants to become a high school teacher. Therefore, next school year, Natalia will be finalizing what her major will be and what potential career path she wishes to take.

Natalia’s from Dayton, Ohio. She came to Ohio State because her older sister and brother attended OSU. Because she came to campus many times before enrolling, Natalia did not find the size of the campus intimidating as many new students feel. Even though her siblings had a great influence on her college’s choice, she also felt the supportive community that is here at OSU was another huge factor in her choosing to go here. As well, Natalia has found ACES very helpful in helping her establish a supportive community as a first year. Through ACES, Natalia has made many close friends. Matter of fact, Natalia will be living with another ACES member next school year.

Early on, I found out Natalia was very into volleyball. All throughout high school, Natalia was very much involved in the school’s volleyball team. Even at OSU, Natalia has joined the Casual Sports Club, in which has allowed her to play volleyball on her free time.

Natalia and I connected early on due to our very outgoing personalities. When we were doing the mentorship speed dating, I recalled we both making jokes and our love for food. Since then, I knew Natalia and I would get along just fine. Also, we both had very similar first year experiences, thus it was ease to help her since I have had that previous experience. Some differences that Natalia and I have aren’t many. I would say the biggest difference is that I don’t like watching or playing sports, but Natalia loves them.

Mentoring Natalia this past school year, I was able to see her grow as a student. At first, Natalia struggled with academics due studying the same way in high school. Yet, we were able to work through it and now she has found an effective way to study for her college courses. As well, I have seen Natalia transform from a teen to a young adult through this mentorship. For example, Natalia got a job this summer and next school year to pay for her apartment’s bills.

Through this mentorship, I have grown as a leader by improving on my communication skills. I had to make sure that Natalia understood what I was trying to say when I was helping her on a topic. Therefore, I really worked on how to communicate effectively to someone who is my mentee. I learned through this mentorship that no matter how long one has been at OSU, they have something helpful to say to someone. Even though, I have been at OSU just one more year than Natalia, I have good and bad experiences that I used to better help Natalia.

At the beginning of the mentorship, I helped Natalia by giving her recommendations to certain areas here in Columbus she should experiences. We even went out a couple of times to explore Columbus. Also, I helped Natalia acquire resources that would help her succeed at OSU academically, financially, and emotionally. Mentoring Natalia was just being available for her to text me or wanting to meet up with me. We had a very relax mentorship that I made sure to provide sources for Natalia and just being there for her.

The benefit of the mentorship program was getting to continue to work on skills of a leader that I would use in the future. Next school year, I am going to be an RA at Jones Tower. Thus, this mentorship has provided me with valuable experiences and lessons that I will use to help my future residents.  Overall, I had an amazing time mentoring Natalia. Despite our mentorship is over, I will still keep in contact with her to help her during the remainder time at OSU.

Chipotle and Gateway with Natalia

During my time at the Ohio State Univeristy, I took the opportunity to use d-tix to purchase discounted tickets that allowed me to attend concerts, go to Columbus Crew games, see movies, go to the Candle Lab, etc. Therefore, I wanted to take Natalie to Gateway by using this amazing resource on campus. We bought our $3-dollar tickets that Thursday morning and walked to Gateway. Gateway is independent cinema that shows blockbusters, indies, docs, and local films on a weekly basics. As well, Gateway has an undersea bar and an art gallery in the movie theatre. Thus, I decided to take my mentee, Natalia Seeman, to Gateway because of how close it is to campus and we both wanted to see Shazam. Also, Natalia hasn’t been feeling too well all week, thus I wanted to not take her far from campus. I had my RA class until 8 pm that Thursday, so we first decided to get some Chipotle before the movie that started at around 10 pm. We both walked to the Chipotle on High Street that is across the Ohio Union.

I ordered a burrito, meanwhile Natalie got a bowl. While waiting for the movie to start, we talked about what was going on in both of our lives. We started off by talking about me becoming an RA in Jones Tower next school year. We discussed about what my floor theme should be next year. I was thinking about making the floor theme “Vogue” and painting models. Also, I want to have a string of flowers at the entrance of my floor, but I expressed to Natalia that I am concerned that it will be too girly. She said to solve that problem I could potentially do a Paris Fashion Week theme and include the Louvre and the Eiffel Tower. That was a good idea on her part, and I might use that as my floor theme. Since we were on the topic of housing next year, I asked where she was going to live on campus next year. She said her lottery number was so bad. Her and another ACES member got a double in Bradley Patterson. In Natalia’s opinion, the big downside of staying at Bradley Patterson was that the building had no air conditioning. Natalia and her roommate did not was to stay in a building with no A/C, therefore they are both planning to live with their siblings next year off campus. Natalia’s brother has an apartment on North campus, which is close to her classes. At this moment, Natalia hasn’t declared a major, but she is still probably still going to study public affairs. As well, this semester Natalia is doing great in her academics and feels like she will do great on her finals. Her easiest class this semester is Classical Mythology. This semester, she is really trying to focus on boosting her GPA.

Over break, we both have jobs. Natalia is going to work at a warehouse back in her hometown for the summer to save some money to pay for the apartment’s bills. Her parents told her and her brother that they will pay for their rent but the two of them will be responsible for paying their bills. Also, next school year, Natalia is planning on getting a job. Meanwhile over the summer, I am going to Minnesota for a Nurse Assistant internship at the Concordia Language Village. We are both equally excited for summer break to start! We both have our last final on April 29th. Yet, Natalia is planning on moving out of Smith Steeb on April 23rd and plans on driving back the morning of her final.

After finishing our Chipotle, we decided to walk over to Gateway. At Gateway, we bought our tickets and walked around the little art gallery. Then, we decided to go and sit in our seats. Shazam was really fun! We both found it very funny. Afterward the movie, we walked back to our dorms and said our goodbyes. I wished Natalia the best of luck on her finals and told her if she needed any help next year to feel free to contact me.

Overall, I feel like we had a great time talking at Chipotle and watching Shazam at Gateway. I would say my favorite part was getting to talk to Natalia about what was going on her life. Also, another plus side was getting those cheap tickets to go see Shazam. I learned that Columbus is filled with unique experiences and locations that is not very far from campus. Going to Gateway allowed both Natalia and I to realize that there is so much to be offered with just a 5-minute walk from our dorms. I would definitely recommend going to Gateway and watching a movie at this unique cinema. Also, make sure to get those discounted tickets because it definitely made it cheaper than what the original movie ticket costs.

Mentor/Mentee Second-Semester Interview Assignment

 

Natalie Seeman and I met up recently at Curl Market to catch up on how her second semester was going and how the end of her semester went for her. I had a pleasant discussion with Natalie. First off, we started talking about academics. Last semester, I recalled Natalie was struggling in economics. She was very worried about failing that course. But Natalie ended up doing better than what she expected. She was pleased with the grade that she achieved in that difficult class. Natalie also struggled math, but she was able to pass the course. During her first semester, Natalie quickly realized that she needed to change her study habits from high school. Before in high school, Natalie would be able to procrastinate and study last minute to get an A. Now she studies in small chunks for her exams at least a week early because it makes her more efficient and this strategy has worked well for her during the autumn semester. Also, she really enjoys working with study groups because she can discuss with her peers if she has any confusion on a topic in that course. So far, Natalie does not feel like she has any challenging courses this semester because how her courses are structured, she doesn’t feel like it would be challenging. Due to this, Natalie has been doing good this semester.

Other than academics, Natalie has been doing good in her social life. Last semester, Natalie was involved in the Casual Sports Club at OSU. This semester she continues to be a part of this club. She participants in the club whenever she has free time and when she wants to have a break from studying. Natalie will probably be involved with the Casual Spots Club next year. She also plans on trying out for Club Volleyball in the fall. Apparently, Club Volleyball is very competitive. Natalie not only enjoys sports, but she also enjoys living in the ACES learning community. She is friends with all of the girls in the learning community and will even be rooming with a fellow ACES scholar, Hanna Lipic, next school year. Natalie has enjoyed the very tight knit community that the ACES learning community has created for her.

Entering college, Natalie was undecided on what major to purse. As an exploration major, Natalie was able to learn about the various schools on campus. Because of her major, she is now considering to purse a major and career in Public Affairs. She decided on this major because of her liking her Intro to Public Affairs course that she is currently enrolled in. Also, Natalie has always been interested in becoming a teacher. Therefore, she is also considering pursing a job as a high school teacher. She will be deciding next year if she will be applying to the College of Education and Human Ecology to purse in becoming a teacher.

Last semester, Natalie had lots of fun and did great in her academics. Her favorite memory from last semester was going to the Michigan game with her family. She loved the environment of the game and was very happy that OSU won. Even though she did great last semester, I want to still make sure Natalie continues to succeed at OSU in the spring semester. Therefore, I plan on helping her by giving advice on how to study effectively to make sure she receives the grade that she wants in her courses. As well, I plan on having communication throughout the semester to check up on how she is doing in school and her social life. Lastly, I would help Natalia with her applications to each major by offering to read her essays or give her general tips on how to successfully apply for a major.

Overall, Natalie is doing great in school and she always makes my day when I talk to her. By the end of this semester, Natalie would hopefully declare her major and I will make sure to help her along the way.

 

Questions:

Have you enjoyed the ACES living-learning community in Smith Steeb? Why or why not?

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

What was your favorite memory last semester?

What kind of goals have you set for yourself for this semester?

What kind of study habits have you developed? Did they work successfully in the fall?

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

What have you gotten involved on campus?

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

 

Fox in the Snow Cafe with Natalie

During my freshman year at OSU, I found going off campus to be very exciting. I was able to experience many things that I would not have every done during high school. From finding unique coffee shops to experiencing one of a kind events, Columbus offers a variety of experiences to a diverse group of people. For example, my freshman year I was able to meet Guy Fieri at an event that was held at the Ohio Expo Center. That was a unique experience because I grew up watching shows that Guy Fieri appeared and I never would have taught I would be able to meet in him in person. Even though it was very cool to meet Guy Fieri, I was more fascinated by the many cool coffee shops that are around Columbus. A coffee shop that I found out about during my freshman year of college that I loved was Fox in the Snow Cafe. I remembered last year I went with my ACES mentor and had such a fun time. Also, I had this AMAZING cinnamon bun at this cafe, therefore, I wanted my Natalie to experience this place. I know Natalie would love going to this place because she loves food just like me. Also, I wanted to select a place that allowed us to talk about how Natalie is doing in school and life in general.

My roommate has a car on campus, therefore, we drove to Fox in the Snow Cafe. During our car ride, we listened to music and talk among each other. Once we got there, we all ordered drinks and food. I was so excited to have the cinnamon buns at this cafe, but they sold all out of them by the time we got there. I was devastated because I really wanted Natalie to try these cinnamon buns. After hearing such sad news, I got a banana bread instead with the side of their good cream cheese frosting. Natalie ordered a hot chocolate! Overall, the food and beverages were delicious. Also, the scenery of Fox in the Snow Cafe was amazing. Every time I go, I forgot how peaceful and calm it is at this cafe. I love the plants being everywhere allowing the cafe to feel cozy. As well, Fox in the Snow Cafe has a big window that allows one to see the workers making coffee and see all the delicious pastries. Thus, coming to the Fox in the Snow Cafe gave me a change of scenery and pace from the busy life at OSU.

During our time at the cafe, we talked about how Natalie was doing. Overall, she was doing good at her school work. Her economics class was going better since the last time we talked. Also, that week she was going to hang out with her siblings, therefore, she was very excited to see them. The previous week, she was able to spend time with her father and brother. We also discussed about apartments because I’m in the process of finding a place for next year. Apparently, her brother has a cheap apartment that she will be staying at after he graduates.  We had a pleasant conversation and time at the Fox in Snow Cafe.

Even though our journey to get these amazing cinnamon buns didn’t go as planned, I had an amazing time catching up with Natalie. Fox in the Snow Cafe atmosphere was very relaxing and cozy. It was a change of scenery from the cafes at OSU. I would recommend someone to come experience the Fox in the Snow Cafe, especially if they have their cinnamon buns available! Going off campus made me realize that I should do it more often than what I have been doing this past year. Last year, every weekend I would go out and explore this amazing city. Yet, this year I have been focusing a lot on studying that I haven’t given myself the time to go out. Thus, this experience made me realize I should start going out and exploring the many events and places that make Columbus unique. Definitely as I enter my spring semester, I will set some time aside to go out with friends and explore the diverse city of Columbus. Also, I want to take Natalie to a place in Columbus that reflects the diversity of this city. We would probably go to a place that serves food because we both love to try new food. I am very excited to take her out next semester and to continue exploring the city of Columbus.

My First Interview with my Mentee

Through my scholar’s group, Advocates of Communities and Education, I was able to meet my mentee, Natalie Seeman. Natalie and I connected for the very start due to our energetic and loud attitudes. I knew from the start that I would love to be Natalie’s mentor. Recently, Natalie and I met up in the Ohio Union to get to know more about each other. I got the chance to get to know general information about her, how she is adjusting in her classes so far, the type of involvement she is interest in at OSU and ACES, and how her college transition is going so far.

Natalie likes many things including volleyball, eating various types of food, and socializing with others. One of the questions I asked Natalie was what she was mostly looking forward in ACES and she said the social events. Because of her outgoing personality, Natalie wants social events that will allow her to meet more people in ACES who aren’t living on her floor. Also, the social events sound fun to her. I can totally relate with Natalie with trying to meet more new people because I also have a very outgoing personality. As well, I find it interesting to talk to various people and listen to their different ideas. Not only is Natalie excited about her involvement in ACES, she is excited to join other clubs on campus. The type of involvement that Natalie is interested is athletic clubs. Currently, she is planning to join club volleyball next semester, but in the meantime, she is in a group chat with other freshmen who are interested in playing volleyball on their free time. Also, Natalie wants to join a service club hat volunteers at the homeless shelters. I told Natalie that she could volunteer at the Star House which helps the homeless youth. As well, Natalie loves dogs therefore she may be joining OSU 4 Paws for Ability sometime this year.

Natalie and I also discussed about her academics. I asked Natalie what her most challenging course was so far, and she responded microeconomics. When I learned that Natalie was struggling in microeconomics, I started helping her out by telling her about resources such as the Dennis Learning Center that will allow her to connect with someone who has experience with this course and can aid her. As well, I told Natalie to start reaching out and discussing with her professors when she is struggling with course material. In addition to receiving help from her professors, Natalie can start making connection with them and later ask these professors to write her letters of recommendations for graduate school or potential jobs. Since Natalie’s brother is taking the course as well, Natalie plans on having him study with her and helping her out. At the moment Natalie is undecided and therefore does not know what future careers she would like to go into at this time. Yet, when asking about her dream job, Natalie responded with being the coach for the U.S. Women’s National Volleyball Team because she is passionate about volleyball and she enjoys teaching the sport to other people.

Upon asking Natalie what the most surprising aspect of OSU was since arriving to campus, Natalie responded that she started to find the campus not as big once she started living in Smith-Steeb Hall as a student. As a student, she felt that the sense of community here at OSU is very supportive. I absolutely agree with Natalie. I remember feeling daunted about the size of OSU but after a couple of weeks I slowly started to memorize where the locations of North Campus, the Ohio Union, Evans Laboratory, etc. Also, I told Natalie to make sure to use the Ohio State app because that is a very useful tool. When I was a freshman, the app helped me a lot trying to find the building that all my classes took place, various c-stores on campus, how many swipes I had left, etc.

Overall, Natalie is such an amazing mentee and I am very excited to get to know her more throughout this year. Also, I am very excited to help her with her transition to college. I believe Natalie will do great things and her time at OSU will be successful!