Month: January 2017

What I Did Over Winter Break (L.A. and a mini internship!)

The first winter break away from home can be weird – you may have plans to vacation with your family or you might have nothing in mind to do.

Ideas for what to do over the three weeks you have off from classes: do an alternative break trip like Buck-I-Serv; volunteer; sleep in more; go travel; read books; pursue a new hobby; learn a new skill like driving; or practice new language skills, etc.

For the first week of winter break, I participated in an alternative break trip with MUNDO, an OSU student org. I went to Los Angeles and surrounding areas.

Santa Monica Pier (5 minute walk from the hostel where we stayed)

To summarize the week-long adventure, I learned about the environment in which immigrants grew up and what they faced as newcomers to America in the 1800s. I witnessed the diversity of L.A. just by looking at people passing by on the street. Many people were dressed in nice clothing and had great sense of fashion. The culture here is more laidback and casual, but I still feel out of place among the people because of the heavy importance they put on wearing good clothes and having makeup on. Many people walked dogs outside, which I do not see a lot of in Ohio! Things are also more expensive in L.A. than in Ohio (tax was 9 or 9.5%)
As for the more grim concepts I came across, I realized homelessness was a more prevalent problem in L.A. I frequently saw homeless people, almost on a daily basis, around the shopping centers.

I stayed at a hostel with other students. (I learned so much from the trip, and it was a very different experience for me and I was constantly encountering things and people I had never seen before. I was the only first-year on the trip and the only one who had never been on a plane before!)

We went to:

-Hollywood Walk of Stars (I saw stars of Bruce Lee, Jackie Chan, Halle Berry, Muhammad Ali, etc.) ,
-Griffith Observatory (panoramic view of the whole city),
-Grand Central Market (food stalls),
-Fashion District (clothes and goods for cheap in an outside marketplace),
-Universal Studios CityWalk,
-Warner Bros. Studios (we got a tour and I saw Harry Potter props and Bat Mobiles, to name a few things),
-Museum of Tolerance (eye-opening three-hour long interactive tour that made me cry multiple times and taught me so much about the Holocaust and hate crimes in modern days),
-Chinese-American Museum (self explanatory. Free admission)
-Chinatown (Learned how there was a historical Chinatown and how it had to be rebuilt, relocated to new place. Also learned discrimination of Chinese since they came to Cali. for gold rush.)
-Olvera Street (one of oldest neighborhoods in L.A.)
-HomeBoy Industries tour (a place that helps people in gangs and who often used to be in jail turn their lives around through classes, job training, GED prep, etc. Heard stories firsthand from people who actually were involved in gangs and drugs and illegal activity)
-L.A. Regional Food Bank to volunteer (we sorted 6,900+ pounds of produce within 3 hours! We learned about the food insecurity and hunger issue in L.A.)

+other places. See more in my PowerPoint.

This link brings you to a 200+ page slideshow on Google Slides documenting more details about my trip across the country.
https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1-VpA2QI_Zkl6Qx8FvsTSPXI5QhycIVZQawiyYYlZL3s/edit?usp=sharing

The trip was a mix of fun and education. I would recommend this trip to others because you will see different cultures and how their established neighborhoods have changed over time. You learn about how diversity can result in conflicts when people get frustrated with economic and social changes.

My second week of winter break, I finally went home to Cleveland, my hometown!
Then I had the chance to submit my grade reports to the scholarship committees I received scholarships from. I also worked on applications for my major, for a sophomore class honorary, for a study abroad scholarship, and more. This gave me the chance to read magazines and watch movies to relax.

It is immensely helpful to make a To Do list of what tasks need to be completed over break, to keep yourself on track!

My third and final week of winter break, I continued to work on applications and resumes. I actively searched for job and internship opportunities for the upcoming summer, and made copies of what each application required. Some internships only seek junior or senior students. As a freshman, I had a hard time finding companies or programs that would accept me based on my rank in school.

I also had an interesting time engaging in a three-day mini internship right before I had to go back to OSU!

Front of Care Alliance Health Center – St. Clair Avenue (downtown Cleveland) branch

I have a mentor for my entire undergraduate career thanks to College Now Greater Cleveland, and she is in the health education field, which relates to my interest in the public health field. As part of a scholarship program I am in, I have to meet with her a few times a year and also regularly talk to her online. She reached out to me via text during my break to see if I wanted to intern with her at her workplace, a nonprofit health center that’s served Cleveland since 1985, mostly the underserved populations, including the homeless and poor and those without health insurance.

My first day at the health center, I got a tour of the facility (one hallway is for dental services, like x-rays, oral surgery, etc.) There’s one section of the building dedicated to primary care (family medicine, child health care, women’s health, chronic disease management, physical therapy, annual physicals) There’s also behavioral health specialists for people struggling with substance abuse, mental health problems, or other issues.

This health center is so great because whatever problem a person comes in with, the professionals can help or at least find and connect the patient with a resource in the neighborhood! Patients often come from low-income backgrounds, and they aren’t forced to pay for treatments if they really are not able to. Care Alliance has a sliding fee scale for payment. For example, if a patient has trouble finding healthy food, Care Alliance actually can provide assistance with that as well, so people can get vouchers for food at farmers markets twice a month.

Also, they have a Mobile Clinic (one van). They send a team of specialists out and about in the city to build relationships with the homeless and persuade them to get treatment. There’s outreach for people who live in shelters, treatment centers, or transitional housing! I had no idea health centers could be so comprehensive and that involved in a person’s life. I also gained knowledge about the existence of this service and became aware of the shelters and housing in Cleveland.

One specialist has been with this team for 20-30 years! I am glad to have the honor of being around employees who care about the health of Cleveland’s citizens and getting them the access to healthcare they are entitled to have.

Care Alliance offers free confidential HIV testing as well as HIV/AIDS medical treatment.

After my tour, I spent three-four hours entering in data into online spreadsheets. The data involved patient/client demographics (zip code, race, ethnicity, gender, and a risk behavior profile, asking if they engaged in sexual behaviors with males, females, or transgender people, or used intravenous drugs and/or shared a needle with someone. It was interesting to get a quick glimpse of what kind of population of patients Care Alliance dealt with. I learned more about people’s sexual behaviors. Patients ranged in age from 16 to 61. I spent the entire day doing this, and in total I entered in 50 or so sheets of data.
Fun fact: In 2016, Care Alliance had 7,600+ patient encounters for free HIV testing!!

The second day of my internship, I focused on two major projects: Sock Kit Making, and Donor Letter Mailing. In the morning, I prepared Ziploc bags with heavy winter gloves and pairs of socks for homeless people. With one pair of gloves, I put two pairs of socks. However, there were more socks than gloves, so some kits had four pairs of socks. I produced 90 bags total, helping out 90 people!

A cart with sock and glove kits, all of which I assembled.

A cart and box filled with sock and glove kits, all of which I assembled. (Apologies for the sideways photo!)

In the afternoon, I assisted an external affairs associate with researching donor addresses to add to their online database. The addresses were put onto labels that would then go onto envelopes. I assisted with placing the printed labels on the envelopes and stuffing inside donor receipts. Care Alliance has an annual Let’s Talk Turkey fundraiser around Thanksgiving time and at this major event/fundraiser, people bid on items during the silent auction portion, and the funds go towards Care Alliance to continue to serve people with medical and dental needs, among other health-related issues. In 2016, they raised $115,000! There were 508 bidders, 94 donors, 44 staff, and 46 sponsors, like Cleveland Cavaliers and Cleveland Botanical Gardens.

The third and final day, I helped an HIV specialist with preparing HIV test sheets that are filled in with patient demographics and test results. I also sat in on a session that a few staff members were conducting to prepare for the GRE test for graduate school. I got to learn more about the staff and their goals. Two of them were biology majors during their undergraduate years; one also minored in Public Health. The staff in Care Alliance all work very hard, and almost all are minorities! This inspires me to keep working hard because I too can be successful like them, and this health center is a friendly welcoming environment that I would feel comfortable in. I enjoyed getting to know the people here.

This mini-internship was an unpaid experience but what I learned about health access in Cleveland and how nonprofit health centers operate and the scope of their services will be invaluable to me and a price cannot be put on knowledge. My mentor, Carly, invited me to come intern with her anytime I was back in Cleveland. For spring break, I will most likely return to help out some more. Other staff members told me they will miss me and will be glad to have me back!

Winter break is ending but I know that spring will be just as eventful, if not more!

 

My First Semester of Freshman Year

One semester down – seven to go! I cannot believe that I am already halfway done with my first year at Ohio State. It seemed like yesterday I was just packing up boxes and bags to start my undergraduate career.

This semester, I learned a lot. Here’s some words of wisdom!

–Grades are not everything; your GPA is not the sole determinant of whether you will be successful or obtain a job. You are much more than a GPA! It’s just a number and your worth is not judged because of it.
This semester, I was very concerned with achieving a good GPA (ideally perfect), so that I would have a good start to college and because classes get harder as I get further into my major. I studied so much more than I ever did before: 15 hours a week, approximately. This semester, I earned a 4.0. It didn’t come without plenty of tears as I contemplated dropping out of school altogether and had existential crises, lost sleep, and skipped meals. I didn’t manage my time well enough. DO NOT SKIP MEALS OR SLEEP. Take breaks from studying and go grab fruits and vegetables and protein. When I was running on 5 hours or less of sleep, I couldn’t even think properly in class.

Some of my friends are disappointed that they did not make the Dean’s List (a 3.5 is needed). One friend is one of the smartest people I know. He is in Neuroscience Honors, and his classes were exponentially harder than mine, considering that he took chemistry, biology, and psychology all at once. It is not his fault at all; it’s hard to get a 4.0 straight off the bat in college. Do not think it is the end of the world if a grade ends up being lower than anticipated; brush yourself off and come back stronger the next semester.
From my experiences, I know now to manage my time better. I will go to office hours! I will make sure to start all assignments as early as I can, especially my papers, because they actually take longer than expected to write. There’s brainstorming, editing, peer proofreading, and more editing involved in the process of writing. I talked to advisors and peers about study habits and simply through those discussions, I realized what mistakes I was making and what I could do to improve.

–Learn how to do laundry as early as you can. Also, use Tide pods! – In early August, I learned how to do laundry. This is a skill that I should have learned a decade ago, but didn’t learn until college. My advice is to do it during high school.  Also, bring several rolls of quarters for the machines! You can use BUCKID but if you want to add 15 minutes to your time, just add a quarter instead of swiping the card again (for me in Park-Stradley Hall, it is $1.50 to wash and $1.25 to dry). Sometimes everyone is washing and drying their clothes at the same time, so find the times that no one is down in the laundry room (I go on Thursday or Friday nights, or early Saturday mornings!) Pods make it much easier to clean clothes instead of dragging along jugs of detergent! It doesn’t have to be the Tide brand.

Tide Pods! Step 1) Throw them directly into the washer! And you’re done!

–Friendships from high school will change. Most of my high school friends attend school in Cleveland; a few have ventured out-of-state! I am less close to them because they have found new friends. However, I still speak to them occasionally and make plans to hang out with them during breaks. These friendships can still work; understand that it takes effort and that they’re still friends but can’t physically be there for you all the time.

–You will be busy! I can’t do EVERYTHING even though there’s so many opportunities available. Don’t try to join every single club that you are interested in. Make a list and then narrow it down. I joined three (one meets weekly, one meets bi-weekly, and one meets monthly), and I found it challenging to attend all their meetings. Additionally, don’t feel obligated to attend every college party or other social event. You may feel like you are missing out but it’s important to strike a balance. 🙂 Set up a study party. After all, the main point of college is getting an education.

–Some things are not meant to work out; you may be rejected by a program, internship, employer, or person you were romantically interested in. Do not take it personally. Sometimes rejections happen because there are better things coming our way.
This semester, I applied to different things (Honors & Scholars Programming Board, Health Sciences Scholars Leadership Council, and a volunteering position at the James Cancer Hospital). I made it past the application stage for all three of those, but the interviews for all of them went not as well as I had hoped. I also learned that I wasn’t right for the positions after all. Make sure you actually want the position and are ready to commit to it, and not just apply to look good on an application.
One interview I had so far this school year was successful; that was mid-August when I applied to a campus job with the College of Public Health, which is where I am today! It’s a great place to work.

–Think about your actions and consequences in the future. Ask yourself if what you are doing is going to be beneficial for you in the future. Sometimes I can’t always go to Polaris or Tuttle mall every weekend. Ask yourself if what you are buying is something you will use often. (I spent so much $$$ my first semester, on clothes and food. I made a budget soon after). Make wise decisions!

–Talk to people about your feelings. I learned not to let my frustrations or negative emotions stay inside. Find someone like a friend to confide in. Let your advisors know you. No man is an island, and it’s normal to acknowledge your emotions.

–Do have fun in college! Do not lock yourself in your room or in the library. Explore Columbus. There was a free night at COSI, a science center, and thousands of students attended. I had fun there too, learning more about technology. With the Discount Tix (D-Tix) program we have, you can get discounted tickets to the Columbus Zoo and Botanical Gardens, to name a few places. Eat in the dining hall across campus once in a while. Play Frisbee in the Oval. Visit random students down the hall from you.

I cannot wait for Spring semester when I know I will make better choices and be a better student than I was before.

Hopefully my advice helps someone (even one person!). Let me know in the comments if you agree or benefitted from my suggestions, or even if it didn’t.