Career

Coming to college, I had no clue what I wanted to major in or what I even saw myself doing in the future. This was something very hard for me to deal with because it seemed as though every around me had their life planned out and had a direction they wanted to go. I was part of the University Exploration program my first semester at Ohio State. This program allowed me to learn about majors, colleges, careers, and life after graduation. My first year at Ohio State was a lot of discovery not just about a major, but about myself. Academically, I took many different courses from the arts to business to STEM. As I continued in my classes I began to realize that I loved the business classes I was taking. Everything clicked for me in those classes and it was something that I could see myself actually doing in the future. After my first semester at Ohio State, I applied as a finance specialization to the Fisher College of Business and I was accepted. What I love about business and Fisher are all the opportunities I am presented. I am not limited to one thing within the business world and I can really structure my career into something I am passionate about. This past semester was my first semester taking core business classes. I ended the semester with a 4.0 and more confidence in my career path. But I did change my mind one more. I am now currently in the process of changing my specialization to accounting. I took my first accounting class last semester and I loved and enjoyed the subject. After much discussion with my advisor, my mom (who is a CPA), peers, and friends, I decided to change my specialization to accounting. I am hoping to hear back with a decision about my major change in the middle of February. I am hoping with my acceptance into the major I can go through recruiting for accounting this semester and have an internship for my junior year.
Non-academically, I involved myself in different organizations to immerse myself into Ohio State and all of these organizations have given me skills to be successful outside of school. I am actively involved in a dance group on campus called Studio Dance and I currently serve as the treasurer. This leadership position has allowed me to grow skills with communication, organization, and other business skills. Studio Dance has given me a place to continue dance and share my passion with others. I am also in University Chorus and this choir has taught me a lot about teamwork and collaboration. I have also loved being part of Mount Leadership Society Scholars. Mount has given me a place to develop my leadership skills, create new relationships, and be an active member of my Ohio State community. It has been such a great experience volunteering within the Columbus community and I can’t wait to continue to volunteer this semester during our Year of Service.

Artifact #3

One of the most exciting things that I got to do this semester was vote in my first presidential election. In many of my classes, we have discussed the importance of civic engagement. Especially with everything that is going on in the world today, it is now more important than ever to be engaged with what is happening and voting is a great way to enact the change that you wish to see in the world. Through the election, I was able to really educate myself about candidates, and not just the presidential race. All of the other re-elections are just as important, so educating myself about the government and politics has a been a growing part of my life in the past few years. As we talked about in my scholars meeting, voting is a right that not everyone is given, but I am privileged to have these rights to enact change and attempt to better the world for those who do not have a voice. I am so glad that I was able to vote in this election and I know that my voice was heard! I have included a picture of me and my roommates as we were very excited about voting and stickers!

G.O.A.L.S.

Of the listed “G.O.A.L.S.”, I think that I am most interested in leadership development and service engagement, as this is what Mount Leadership Society Scholars Program is centered around. This year through Mount Scholars, I will be participating in the Year of Service. The Year of Service is a commitment of 75 service hours to one or two sustained service projects centered around social justice issues. In addition to this, I am also taking 2571S, which is a service-learning class at Ohio State. The goal of the Year of Service is to develop an awareness of social and community issues, develop relationships with others, develop a lifelong ethic of service, and build upon my Mount Essentials. The goals of the Year of Service also relate to the “G.O.A.L.S.” of global awareness. These service projects will allow me to put in perspective and gain knowledge about issues that are facing the Columbus and Ohio State community.

My current service project is with Broad Street Achievement Programs. At Broad Street, I will be helping with their after school program and tutoring kids. Broad Street deals with the social justice issue of education, which is a social justice that is important to me because education is something that many people take for granted, but not everyone has equal access. Though I am a coach/mentor for the students, I want to create a meaningful relationship with them. This will make my service even more meaningful and impactful. I have not yet decided if I will be taking on a different service project this year in addition to Broad Street, but I would love to work with the social justice issue of poverty.

I love my service-learning class and I think what we discuss in class each week has enhanced my service experience at Broad Street. The goal of 2571S aims to prepare students for engaged, responsible, and active community involvement and leadership. I took a service-learning class during my senior year of high school and I am so excited to be back in a class like this and truly reflect on service and the impact that serving others can have. Serving others truly allows me to learn more about myself and who I am as a person and what my leadership skills look like in action. The other important part of service comes from learning from those that I will serve. There is so much to learn about people who have different experiences and lifestyles. Serving is a learning experience on both ends and when I can take the time to reflect on what I am doing and who I am serving, it is a truly transformative experience. This class has brought a new depth to my Year of Service beyond just showing up once a week at my site and volunteering, but rather getting a rewarding experience that will allow me to gain new perspectives and experiences.

Year in Review

I remember the days leading up to me leaving for college and how much a nervous wreck I was to leave my family, friends, and the town I’ve known my whole life. For anyone that knows me, I am very introverted and though I do open up when you get to know me, it can be very hard for me to be put in new situations with new people. Moving to college was going to be one of the biggest lifestyle changes in my life. To be honest, the first semester of college was extremely rough for me. Not only did I have to put myself out there and make new friends and get used to living independently, but first semester I lost both of my grandpas within 6 weeks of each other. So this was an added stress and sadness in my life. But these traumatic events made me realize what great friends and people I had surrounded myself with during my first couple of months of college. All of my friends were there for me with whatever I needed and at the same time they all understood the space and time I needed to cope with things. The combination all the things that happened my first semester definitely taught me how to be resilient and really appreciate everything that I have. I think for me living at home and having my parents always be there was something that I took for granted. I was truly blessed with so many things in my life and it took me being away from these things to really realize everything that I do have.

 

For me second semester is when a lot of things started to fall into place. I had learned how to manage my time, do well in college level classes, I had a solid group of friends, I was being more activity in my dance club and choir, and I was able to be more of a leader through Mount Legacy Week. Unfortunately, just when things seem to be perfect, it all got cut short. I’m extremely grateful for my freshman year and everything that Ohio State has brought me and taught me. I met some of the greatest people who I am going to be friends with for the rest of my life. These people helped me be the best version of myself and always strive for something greater. I think there’s one big things that college has taught me so far and that is tp step outside your comfort zone. For me this meant putting myself out there to make new friends and also stepping up and being a leader in my scholars group. I do not like to put myself out there, but I have learned that it can lead to great things! I can no longer be scared to let my voice be known and authentically be myself. It can be really nerve racking to do this, but the risk is worth the benefit!

Artifact #2

One of my favorite things that I got involved in last semester was Studio Dance, which is a dance club at Ohio State. I have danced since I was 5 years old so it was really important to me that I joined a club where I could express my love and passion for dance with other people. With Studio Dance, I participate in two classes, ballet and jazz. I would always look forward to class because it was a time that I could step away from school and stress and do something that I enjoy. At the end of the semester, we had a performance where I go to do two numbers! The picture above is my jazz group. I met so many people from Studio Dance and they all share the same passion of dance. It is so nice having a club and a group of girls that are so supportive and encourage me to be a better dancer and person.  I am extremely excited to continue dancing with Studio Dance this semester and continue to grow!

Artifacts

I did this piece in my Art Education writing class. This form of art is called magazine art and the idea behind it is to find images in magazines that stand out to you and create a colleague with the pieces you cut out. The beauty of this art form is that there is no structure and it can be solely about feelings and interests. There doesn’t have to be a meaning to what you glue down. I am not a very creative and artistic person, so this class has really pushed me outside my comfort zone to be more creative while also becoming a better writer. This was a piece of art that I made that I was proud of because I allowed myself to not have structure and allowed myself to be more creative and not think about what I was making. I have really enjoyed my Art Education writing class so far and it has really opened my eyes new art forms and has allowed me to discover my creative side.

About Me

Kori Crookston is a first year student at The Ohio State University in the Exploration program. Though she has not declared a major, she is interested in either business or chemistry. Kori always had the goal to attend The Ohio State University as both of her parents are Ohio State graduates and her sister is currently a third year. She is also a part of the Honors & Scholars program and is a member of the Mount Leadership Society Scholars Program. Community service has been a big part of Kori’s life and something that she is very passionate about, so she is extremely excited for service opportunities. During Kori’s senior, she was a part of a class called Service Learning and over the course of the year she volunteered for 267 hours. Also during high school, Kori was a cheerleader and was voted the varsity cheer captain for her senior year. Through cheer, she also was co-chair for the yearly Pink Out football game that raises money for The Karen Wellington Foundation for Living with Breast Cancer. With the help of many other cheerleaders and organizations, they were able to raise $2,275 for the foundation. Along with community service, she is excited to continue dancing in college. Kori has been dancing for over 13 years and hopes to find a dance club where she can continue to dance specifically in the styles of ballet, jazz, and tap. Choir has also been a huge part of Kori’s life as she’s been in choir for seven years. She will be a part of the University Chorus at Ohio State and is very excited to start singing. Though sports and other activities are a central part of Kori’s life, she is very academically driven. Throughout high school she maintained above a 4.0 GPA and graduated Summa Cum Laude and top 20% of her class. She is very excited for the next four years at The Ohio State University and to make new memories in Columbus.