My wonderful ACE mentee is a sophomore now! Thanks to the Coronavirus pandemic, I did not get to meet up with her in person until the fall semester, but it was worth the wait. I first asked Anna if her career plans changed at all since her first semester and she told me that while her career plans have not changed much since the first semester and she is still pretty certain that she wants to be a social worker in the future, that her focus as to what type of social work has shifted. Anna originally thought that she wanted to work in the mental health and substance abuse field, but after taking a substance abuse and addiction course as well as a psychopathology course, she has decided that she wants to broaden her horizons to medical social work. So, although this is not a large shift, she has reconsidered some elective classes that she wants to take.
Next I asked Anna how she was enjoying your major being Social Work and your minor being Spanish and I was glad to hear that she absolutely loves the College of Social Work at Ohio State. She said that every advisor, professor, and mentor she’s had has been so kind and understanding. She loves how passionate everyone in the college is about making a difference in our world. As far as the Spanish minor goes, she told me that it is definitely challenging, but that she’s out of the mandatory courses and into the more fun Spanish electives as of next semester, and that is exciting. She has also decided to add a health and society minor to explore the world of medical social work a little bit further. She will start taking courses for that minor next semester.
I also asked Anna how she’s gotten involved on campus at Ohio State and she has gotten involved here at OSU in so many ways. This year, she is the service co-chair on the ACES leadership council. She also plays on the Buckeye Club Tennis Team. In Spring of 2020, she pledged to join the co-ed service fraternity Alpha Phi Omega. Through that organization she has built connections with many service-based organizations throughout Columbus. She is also a member of a small club called Mental Health Matters and a learning community in her dorm building called Sophomore Learning and Involvement Community (SLIC).
When I asked Anna what recommendations she had to improve the ACES program she acknowledged that ACES does a great job focusing on service to the community, but one thing she wishes ACES focused a bit more on is the advocacy portion. She said that she thinks it would’ve been helpful to learn effective ways to advocate, see examples of advocacy, and learn about how we can advocate effectively in Columbus.
Finally, I asked Anna about her favorite memory from freshman year and she told me about the night football game versus Penn State. She and her best friends went to the game together and she said that she had so much fun seeing the band, Brutus, and the team run out on the field as fireworks shot off in the Shoe was a surreal experience.
Questions:
- Have your career plans changed since your first semester?
- Are you enjoying your major being Social Work and your minor being Spanish?
- How have you gotten involved on campus at Ohio State?
- What recommendations do you have to improve the ACES program?
- What is your favorite memory from freshman year?