STEP Proposal

As a member of the STEP program here at Ohio State, I was required to chose a signature project and develop a plan and budget. For my project, I developed a plan to study abroad in Tel Aviv Israel in Summer 2017. I believe that writing the personal statement, project description, and forming the budget really helped me grow as a person and helped me reflect on the past year. I cannot wait to go to Israel and I will surely use the experience to develop myself as a person  who is more culturally and globally aware. STEP Personal Statement-2g7oh9a

IA Second Year Project

For our second year in IA, we had to conduct a project al semester relating our IA experience to the real world. In my case, I chose to investigate my internship at CD102.5, an alternative radio station in Columbus, Ohio. I really love my job at CD102.5, I have met some really awesome people and gained great experience networking in an awesome environment while being able to express my true passion for Columbus and music in a professional setting. IA helped me realize the true global implications of such a position such as the global impact of international art, dealing with social media, and giving me the ability to attend many international events in Columbus that I would otherwise not attend, such as the Irish festival. IA Project-2g220d9

The Indie Sound

In fall semester 2016, I began writing for a music blog, theindiesound.com. Music has always been a major passion and source of inspiration for me in my life. I have been playing music since I was 5 when my dad got me into the Beatles and have enjoyed playing guitar, drums, and bass ever since. I am an avid concert goer, and I am a regular around the music scene in Columbus. I jumped on this opportunity to write for this blog through a connection I made at a student organization at Ohio State. This blog has had me write and publish my thoughts about a number of albums, as well as sending me to see a few shows for free! I definitely hope to continue my work with this site in the future.

 

A like to my work with the site: http://theindiesound.com/author/acrenshaw/

 

Toronto

For fall break in 2016, my scholars program took a trip to Toronto, Ontario, Canada. I went on the trip to have a little fun as well as to understand the differences between the United States and Canada, two countries that many people believe to be the same. What I learned in Toronto is that Canada is quite different from America in many ways. I found Canada to embrace diversity a lot more than the United States, which made Toronto a very diverse, fun city with lots of options for activities, food, and sights to see. I hope to return to Toronto for a longer period of time in the future to further study the differences between our two countries.  toronto-office

Last semester (Fall 2015), I wrote a paper on the influence of the music scene on my hometown of Richmond, VA for my English 1101 class. I had always been pretty good at writing, but definitely struggled with writing papers that were longer than 2-3 pages. This was also my first experience with writing a research paper in college, and naturally as a brand new student fresh out of high school, this assignment caused me a great deal of stress. My main reaction was to talk to my professor, getting her to help me every step of the way.

As a massive fan of music and someone who loves ranting about their hometown, this paper was surprisingly easy to write for me, but that is not the point of this experience. Talking to my professor made it easier to find sources for my paper, as well as a fresh set of eyes to review my rough drafts. This paper forced me to build my first personal relationship with a professor in college, which is one thing I would that I would stress to any incoming freshman at any college is a very important thing to do right from the start.

Paper: ARP Final

This semester (Spring 2016) I took a class called Introduction to Peace Studies with Professor John Carlarne. In the class, we discuss things such as nonviolence, different conceptions of peace, meaninglessness, and the internal functions of peace organizations. To put things in simple terms, whenever I consistently wake up for a 9am class without complaining once, it is quite apparent that this is a class I thoroughly enjoy taking. I have never really known for sure what I want to do with my life or what I want to study in college, and this class I believe was the class that finally gave me some sort of direction for my academic career, assuring me that my Globalization Studies Major is the right choice for me as well as inspiring me to hopefully pick up a minor in Peace Studies.

My first football game at Ohio State was such an incredible experience. I was completely awe-struck seeing the entire stadium sold out and coated red for a mid-afternoon game versus the University of Hawaii. Being from another state, the whole game day experience was something that I had never experienced here at Ohio State. Obviously, I have attended tailgates, football games, and other related events, however the whole spirit surrounding games at OSU was something that I know to be completely one of a kind.

I’ve never been too much of a sports fan my entire life, however I have always loved college football. I feel so lucky to not only attend a school with a football team such as Ohio State, but to be given very easy access to the games as a student so I can continue following my favorite sport with ease. I attended every single game this season, and intend to continue attending every game until I graduate. The football games along with the whole game day experience here at Ohio State has played a major role in shaping my college experience at Ohio State.

Year in Review

During my second year at Ohio State, I grew a lot as a person, especially in my professional life. I spent my entire first year just taking classes and getting involved with various organizations at Ohio State. This was great, and I would advise any incoming freshman to spend their first year doing the same, but by the time my second year came around I wanted more for myself. I took up two jobs this year and really started building my resume to become more oriented toward my college experience as well as finally started earning some income. Additionally, I helped to start a brand new fraternity, Theta Chi, on campus. While this year was far busier than last year at Ohio State, I know that the massive spike in productivity really helped mature me as a student, improve my time management skills, and prepare me for the rest of college and the real word beyond.