Year In Review 2017

1. Global Awareness: As a linguistics major, global awareness is imperative and a core part of the field.  Almost every single class I’ve taken or will take looks in depth at languages and cultures spanning the entire world.  I’m even currently taking a linguistic anthropology class and a cultural anthropology class where the focus is on cultural relativism.  This principle is the idea that a person’s activities and choices should be at looked at through the lens of their culture so that one can understand and appreciate their unique life.  I also am a French minor, where my classes help me gain an appreciation for the variety of francophone cultural differences around the world.  Finally, I am studying abroad in Edinburgh, Scotland in the fall where I will spend four months completely immersed in another culture.  I hope to return to Ohio State more knowledgeable about the world outside of the American bubble.
2. Original Inquiry: From the beginning of freshman year and continuing through today I have been actively involved in original inquiry and the research process within the linguistics department as a research assistant. For two years, I have run subjects for an eye-tracking study that investigates the online comprehension of the causative structure in L2 learners of French. Through this project I was exposed for the first time to ideas like the IRB, the process of informed consent, etc.  Currently I am also working on a study that examines the effects of phonetic reduction and regional variation on lexical access.  This study takes place at the Language Lab in COSI where a large part of my job is working to recruit and screen subjects from the general population visiting the museum.  In the future, I hope to do my own personal research through a required undergraduate research course for my linguistics major.
3. Academic Enrichment: In terms of academic enrichment, I believed the courses I have selected go way beyond the bare minimum of the honors contract. More than half of my degree is upper-division coursework, including my entire major. I have also selected almost entirely honors GE courses and the ones I’ve taken so far have been truly helped me become a more well-rounded student.  Finally, I feel my French minor is a great complement to my linguistics major and my speech and hearing minor will prepare me for my future plan of going to grad school to become a licensed speech-language pathologist.
4. Leadership Development: In terms of leadership development, most of my extra-curricular activities include some work in that area. A requirement of my co-ed service fraternity, Alpha Phi Omega, is four hours minimum of leadership development each semester. These hours come from events within the fraternity (called the LEADS course) or through events with other organizations (like a suicide prevention workshop or a facilitation activity with SLA).  I also am an art editor for Mosaic, OSU’s undergraduate arts and literary magazine.  Throughout the year the art staff and I work across campus to recruit artists to submit their work and then in the spring we select the best of the best to be in the magazine.  This has taught me a lot about coordinating groups of people and how to best market yourself on campus.  Finally, my research work continues to teach me new leadership skills as I am constantly problem-solving my way through unique situations with other students, my professors, and the public.
5. Service Engagement: In high school, community service was a top priority in terms of my extra-curriculars. After first semester freshman year, I missed the feeling of giving my time and energy to worthy causes and since then I have been heavily involved in my community service fraternity. A minimum of 15 hours of service per semester is required but most brothers, including myself, go above and beyond that number.  Through the fraternity I get to pick and choose from over 200 service events offered every semester.  Some are habitual like Homework Help, where we assist children of Somali refugees with their homework every Monday.  Other events are once a year, like when I volunteered at Slice of Columbus in the fall, a large fundraiser for Nationwide Children’s Hospital. Whether weekly or a one-time thing, these events help me feel connected to the communities of Columbus, and give me the satisfaction of knowing I am doing my small part to better the world.