Year in Review

Sophomore year at The Ohio State University has been the most profound year of my life. I have changed my major, joined leadership organization, engaged in service, and have explored research opportunities. I was unprepared for all of the changes that would occur this year, but it has pushed me to improve myself as a student and I could not be happier with the direction my life is heading.

Global Awareness:

Global Awareness was one of the reasons I chose to attend Ohio State. To examine the global world, I intend on attending an education abroad trip with the Department of English. Each spring, Literary Locations 4400 is offered through the Department of English and it focuses on a certain literary genre or author. After intensively exploring the course literature, students attend a ten-day trip to the location the literary work. This is an education abroad that I have been hoping to attend since I enrolled at Ohio State and it is currently in the process of becoming a reality. Due to the program cost, I have applied to use my STEP grant for the education abroad trip. Soon I will learn if my proposal has been accepted and if I am able to go on the Literary Locations trip. If my funding is not approved, I hope I will be able to find scholarships that could subsidizes the trip and make it affordable and possible. For my Global Awareness within the Ohio State campus, I have taken courses that do are not directly applicable to my lifestyle and have challenged my thinking. This semester, I am taking an Early Christianity course and while I would not consider myself a devout Christian, the course has been engaging and thought-provoking. I have learned religion is not stagnant, but ever changing, just like many things in the world. Ohio State has pushed me to become a global student and I look forward to other chances I will have to expand my horizons.

Original Inquiry: 

Research has always been a part of academic inquiry, but I have had a difficult time figuring out how to apply it with my future plans. English appeared to me as a field with very little research; but after having class with incredibly interesting professors from the Department of English, I have realized the opportunities I could have. Currently, I plan to reach out to one of my professors I have had multiple courses with to ask about any current research he is involved with. He is a Shakespeare and Bible studies professor, which could provide a great foundation for research. This would not be research conducted in a lab, but instead in a library. Also, Strategic Communication could provide an opportunity for research. I recently added this major and have not had the chance to investigate research available. But, already in my Communication Theory course that I am currently enrolled in, we are required to participate in lab studies for course credit. It has introduced research in a new way that could be applicable to my course work. Whether it is with English or Strategic Communication, I look forward to the opportunity to expand my learning outside of the classroom.

 Academic Enrichment:

My Honors Contract displays how opportunities at Ohio State have influenced my course work and degree plans. I have continued to pursue the English Literature major and History minor that I entered Ohio State with, but I have added a new major in Strategic Communication. Before Ohio State, I did not have the opportunity to take a Communication course and had not yet realized the passion I would have for the subject. The GE courses I have chosen support these majors by expanding on my academic passion of human connection and development, specifically through written communication. These courses will continue to challenge my thinking because they exist outside of the fields of study I feel comfortable in. My Honors Contract will hold me accountable to taking academically challenging courses. College is an extremely overwhelming time and it is important to have a guide when course selection can be difficult.

 Leadership Development: 

Leadership Development has been my favorite part of my Ohio State experience. Freshman year, I joined the Ohio Union Activities Board and I continue to be an active and involved member. It has been incredibly rewarding to plan over three hundred free events for the student body each academic year. I have had the opportunity to meet other involved students, develop my creative problem solving skills, and establish myself as a leader on campus. Due to my experience with OUAB, I was invited to join the Major Campus Events Committee this year. With MCEC, I will be planning Welcome Week 2018 with my fellow co-chair. I plan on using the leadership skills I have developed with OUAB, but the organizations are completely different. MCEC is a smaller cohort and will test my ability for time management and accurate execution of traditional events. Both of these Leadership Development opportunities have led me down the path of event planning for a career. Being able to create an unforgettable and life-changing experience for people is something I hope to do for the rest of my life.

Service Engagement:

Joining Delta Zeta Sorority has given me a chance to engage in service activities both in the Columbus area and internationally. With Delta Zeta, there are specific charities we partner with for philanthropy. In Autumn semester we host “Paint-a-Turtle”, a philanthropy event were proceeds from a paint war go to The Painted Turtle Camp. The Painted Turtle Camp is a summer camp in California for children with serious medical conditions where they can have the opportunity to have a summer camp experience just like every other kid. In Spring semester, we host a Battleship philanthropy were proceeds are donated to the Starkey Hearing foundation, who provide hearing aids in over 100 countries internationally. I am an active participant in both of these events each semester and I encourage my friends outside of Greek Life to participate as well. Outside of philanthropy, Delta Zeta requires 18 service hours each semester, which allows me to engage with the local Columbus community. Service events I have participated in include tree planting at the Ohio Historical Society, participating in PenPALs (a pen-pal program with students at a local Columbus elementary school), and raising donations for Flying Horse Farms. I will continue this service engagement with Delta Zeta because it is crucial to round-out my collegiate experience.

G.O.A.L.S.

 

Global Awareness:

Studying abroad is an important part of my Global Awareness. I have always had a strong desire to learn about the world and all of the people who inhabit Earth. This past summer, I had the amazing opportunity to travel to Europe for the first time. It was my first time on another continent and it gave me a small taste of the diversity in the world. Thanks to this trip, I now know that I would love to study abroad in London. As an English major, this is the home of the greatest writers the world has ever known and I would gain an additional level of understanding that simply cannot be learned in the classroom. But I also understand that I will not be able to travel the entire world during my time at OSU. Therefore, I also plan to enhance my course schedule with diverse classes that offer me new and exciting ways to look at the world. Ohio State presents so many different courses that I know I will have no trouble satisfying my interest in becoming a strong global citizen aware of the world I live in.

 

Original Inquiry:

When one thinks about research, English is not the first major that comes to mind. Research in the humanities is not commonly thought of but is in fact quite extensive. It may not take place in a laboratory with goggles, test tubes, and a white lab coat but it is shaping how we understand the world around us. Though I am for the most part unfamiliar with current research in English, I am more than interested in learning about the work being done and contributing my own discoveries. I plan to learn about current research by simply talking to my professors. The English Department at Ohio State is bursting with talent and intelligence that I am lucky to be a part of. There are countless different areas of study in English alone and Ohio State has at least one professor for each area. If I take the initiative and reach out to the professors, the opportunities for research would be numerous and I look forward to impacting my own field of study.
Academic Enrichment:

I will use my Academic Plan to guide my course work. It is important to take courses that are intellectually stimulating and topically engaging. Majors are decided based on interests and it is obviously important to take interesting classes but there is a necessity to take classes that will prepare students for the professional field. I chose the English major because I have always had a passion for the written word, yet I am pursuing a focus on Publishing and Editing because it broadens the field of English that I can work in when I apply for jobs. In order to prepared for a career though, it is important to take a variety in classes to strengthen my skills in all the different fields of study. A bonus of the Honors program are the Honors courses with small class sizes and more challenging course work. I plan to take as many Honors courses as I can while at OSU because they give me more of an opportunity to develop better professional relationships with professors and their research and a deeper understanding of the topics the class discusses. The reason I chose OSU was the academic integrity of the university and I plan on contributing to this outstanding legacy.
Leadership Development:

Already in my first semester at Ohio State, I was lucky enough to become involved in an amazing leadership position. The Ohio Union Activities Board is a student organization that promotes interesting, diverse, and educational events for the students of OSU. Most of the events OUAB hosts has a major figure such as an actor, athlete, or author, as the headliner and it is up to us as a group to contact the figure and schedule all the components of their event. As a freshmen, I was surprised how many leadership opportunities were offered to all members of OUAB. In my first couple of weeks at OUAB I wrote my first event proposal based on an event that I was able to plan myself, I project-led my very first Flicks For Free, and I participated as a co-Hospitality Chair for our Nyle DiMarco event. OUAB gives everyone a chance to be an leader and promotes a creative environment that will prepare me for my career and give me the chance to explore my leadership potential.
Service Engagement:

In high school, service engagement was an important part of my life and I plan to continue this while at Ohio State. The event I am most looking forward to participating in this year is Buckeyethon. For those unfamiliar, Buckeyethon is an annual fundraiser at Ohio State with the goal of ending childhood cancer. The event is entirely student run and the largest event of Buckeyethon is the annual Dance Marathon fundraiser. As soon as I heard about this amazing service act, I knew I had to become a part of it. Currently I have created my fundraising page and are in the process of contacting friends and family about donations. I signed up with my Ohio Union Activities Board organization and I hope to plan some fundraising events with my friends in there. As far as future service engagement is concerned, I am very open to helping out in any way that I can. Columbus is such a large city and many opportunities exist. A goal of mine is to help out in the school districts around Columbus. The Humanities are form some reason looked down upon in today’s society, but I believe that are crucial in the healthy development of children. If I am able to spread my love for English to another generation, that would be an amazing service engagement.

Career

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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.]