My junior year at The Ohio State University was full of growth and discovery. I arrived to campus more confident in myself and ready to tackle harder classes that covered more complex concepts. I also had leadership roles on campus, which helped me learn more about leadership. There was so much to do and I did struggle so much throughout the year, with handling my responsibilities and trying to do self care. Looking back at the year, I am very impressed at what I accomplished. It is difficult to remember all that happened, but this list shows the breadth and depth of what I do as a student!

Autumn 2018

• Spoke on my research experiences to about 30 first-year OSU students who are also Young Scholars in a Research Methods class (within a Summer Bridge Experience program) and answered questions about college, in early August
  • Presented information on Summer Research Opportunities Programs (SROPs) and briefly shared my own experience with them about University of Iowa SROP
  • Presented my own research poster from the summer and provided students with advice on poster construction and layout
  • Shared what interview coding was
• Served on student panel for the Young Scholars Program’s IMPACT Day for second-year scholars
  • Spoke about my experiences during the summer, with particular attention to Summer Research Opportunities Program and how it helps first-generation college students and students from historically underrepresented backgrounds
• Served as Public Health Student Ambassador for College of Public Health’s BSPH New Major Orientation
  • Assembled Safe Point kits for Equitas Health while mingling with newly accepted students into the Bachelor of Science in Public Health major
• Selected as student representative from Young Scholars Program to present speech at Office of Diversity and Inclusion New Student Convocation
  • Presented 7-minute speech detailing my experiences with the specific ODI program I am a part of, how YSP and ODI as a whole have helped me throughout my life, and some of my accomplishments in college thus far.
  • There were about 500 students expected to come; since this was not mandatory, not everyone made it but there were at least 100-200 who did attend. I helped get these first-years excited about college.
• Received additional support from my Student Success Specialist
  • Attended mandatory meetings and open office hours to discuss my goals for junior year and receive advice about various issues related to college and life in general.
  • My specialist is another resource for me at OSU, which is assuring for me emotionally and academically
  • I suggest to others to not hesitate to reach out to people for support!
• Attended a Dinner for 12 Buckeyes event, hosted by the Student Alumni Council
  • Met with alumni from the Asian/Pacific Islander (API) Alumni Society of OSU
  • Networked with fellow students and alumni
• Accepted as Student Assistant/Research Assistant for The Ohio State University’s Opioid StoryMap research project! This project is through the partnership of the Kirwan Institute for the Study of Race and Ethnicity, and a 2016 OSU President’s Prize winner.
  • With this research, students interview first responders (EMTs, police officers) in Columbus and surrounding areas and then people who have struggled with opioid use disorder in order to create narratives about use in our communities. We hope to reduce stigma against opioid use and addiction. We hope to gain a variety of perspectives and then make an online interactive story map that will help the public understand more about the epidemic and those who are impacted.
  • For autumn 2018, I did trainings to familiarize ourselves with the opioid epidemic in Central Ohio and how to effectively interview people using a trauma-informed model.
  • We awaited IRB approval this semester and we were still productive because we did cognitive interviews with our peers instead; we worked on developing good interview questions to later ask of the first responders and people in recovery.
• Resumed volunteering with Equitas Health – Ohio HIV/STI Hotline
  • Reduced hours from 8 hours last semester to 4 hours for fall
  • Assembled risk reduction kits, with condoms (or dental dams) and business cards
  • Learned new skills of copying and printing sheets for our Free Condom Project
  • Learned how to use USPS database to print off labels of mailing addresses for our clients of the Free Condom Project
  • Created social media graphics that receive over 100, 300, and close to 500 individuals engaging with the posts
    • Examples: National Taco Day, International Day of the Elderly, National Mole Day, National Nut Day
    • I should create a portfolio of all of the posts I’ve made for the hotline
• Volunteered with Equitas Health – Safe Point program
  • Conducted neighborhood clean up of Franklinton community, which involved finding and removing syringe parts on the streets. We looked around bushes, trash cans, and in parking lots.
    

    It turns out that my friends had also signed up to volunteer for the morning! The neighborhood was quiet and we saw plenty of cats roaming around. There was much litter as well, and we focused on grabbing syringes.

  •  Prepared risk reduction materials for clients who utilize Safe Point – I quickly assemble bags with syringes and sharps containers for people
  • I earned 30 hours of service here as part of a service learning course I took through the Women’s Studies department, Feminist Perspectives on Addiction
  • Although I was behind-the-scenes for the most part, besides one time where I shadowed an interviewer, I was able to learn more about substance use. This was very eye-opening for me.
• Served first semester as Co-President of Global Health Initiative at The Ohio State University
  • Organized general body meetings, which entailed emailing potential speakers and coordinating with them to present to the organization.
    

    Marketing matters when attracting and retaining members for a student organization!

  • Oversaw our various committees: local volunteering, international volunteering, educational outreach, event planning, and marketing. Communicated with each group about concerns and progress.
  • Regularly maintained emails and responded to them promptly.
  • Maintained email listserv of over 6,000 people and monitored student subscriptions and removals.
  • Coordinated Simply Rolled fundraiser event.
  • Presented a couple of general body meetings: I lead one on Equitas Health and one about self-care, which was supported with research articles that talked about mindfulness, mental health, racial disparities, and affirmation-speaking.
  • Volunteered with Clean-Up Columbus on numerous occasions with fellow executive board members to raise money for GHI while simultaneously giving back to Columbus and beautifying it. We picked up recycling and trash along sidewalks on streets that were close to campus.
  •  Prepared executive board meeting agenda and kept minutes. Presented updates to the team.

  • 

    I designed this informational flyer for GHI!

• Presented poster on my Second-Year Transformational Program (STEP) Signature Project, which I completed in Summer 2018, at the STEP Expo on November 1st, 2018
  • Spent $10 on 36″ by 48″ poster

  • 

    I frequently have an issue of putting too much text onto a poster. I just always have so much information and insights to share!

  • Poster link: Melinda Dang – STEP Poster PDF
    
• Participated in Buckeye Pen Pals, from the Student Alumni Council
  • Matched with a mentor who graduated from OSU with her Master of Public Health in Epidemiology
  • Regularly communicate with mentor about career plans, academic goals, and other aspects of college life
• Served on student panel at regional NAFSA international education conference on November 5th, 2018
  • Spoke about experiences with my education abroad program in May and challenges I faced, from financial to social to cultural, etc.
  • Was one of four student panelists; all of us were Young Scholars
  • Our panel was called “Access and Affordability: Lessons from Young Scholars”
    

    This was my first time participating in a panel at a conference! It was a large room and we had no microphones. It was especially a struggle for me with my softer voice.

• Attended luncheon with Mrs. Brenda Drake (wife of President Michael Drake of The Ohio State University) along with three other female students at OSU who are scholarship recipients themselves. The room was full of women professionals and we were able to talk over a meal.
• On November 30th, 2018, I was informed of my offer of admission into the College of Public Health’s combined degree program for my BS/MPH in five years!
• Planned and participated in MUNDO’s Puerto Rico 2018 Winter Break Experience: Se Levanta
  • Met with Action Team for an hour/hour and a half weekly beginning in August to plan experience.
  • Created informational flyer to advertise and promote experience, and also created flyer for the Pre-Travel Meeting for those accepted for the experience.

  • 

    This is a very eye-catching flyer and includes the details of the trip as well as how it connects to MUNDO’s pillars of service, learning, and leadership.

  • Researched areas of interest related to cultural immersion, immigration experiences and history, and environmental sustainability.
  • Reached out to potential sites for volunteering in Puerto Rico, but it was difficult to find sites that accommodated our group size and were accessible to us.
  •  Emailed alumni of OSU who were in Puerto Rico and was able to secure six of them for a dinner with the students.
  • Throughout the experience, I kept constant communication on GroupMe to remind participants of the day-to-day activities and what to keep in mind while exploring.
• Planned MUNDO’s Spring Break 2019 Experience in Washington, D.C. area
  • Met biweekly with action team for Autumn 2018 semester
  • Focus was on laying out itinerary and later on, recruitment of participants
  • I created a flyer to advertise the trip.
• Achieved a 4.0 GPA and Dean’s List for the semester!
• Wrote an analytical paper that will be provided as an example of exemplary writing for a course called Gender and Pop Culture (WGSST 2230)! I was surprised when my instructor reached out to me to ask if it was alright for them to show this paper for future classes.

Spring 2019

•  Accepted as a participant for the Public Health Perspectives: Japan experience with the College of Public Health!
  • Our group has about 17 or 18 students and this was a competitive process. After applying, there were short interviews with the program director.
  • In spring, we have two orientation sessions to get ourselves ready for the program.
  • Also in spring, we have individual and group assignments to complete before the program. Then while abroad, we still have work to do!
• Organized and executed MUNDO’s Spring Break 2019 Experience in Washington, D.C. area “Roots of Revolution, Social Change, & Activism in America”
  • I have a separate blog post for this experience!
    

    OH-IO at the Capitol!

• Served on Office of Diversity and Inclusion Research Panel in February to discuss how I got involved with research.
•  Hired as one of two semester student assistants at the Kirwan Institute for the Study of Race and Ethnicity.
  •  Receptionist duties: greeting people
  •  Make copies, scans, and retrieve printed documents
  •  Stock Kirwan’s reports around office and in conference room
  •  Set up, check in, and tear down of Weekly Forums that occur in spring and fall
  •  Help with special projects, such as inputting data from business cards
  •  It has been great getting to know the researchers and staff at Kirwan and understand all that Kirwan has to offer, as well as the many partnerships we have in the community.
• Awarded Alan Vander Molen study abroad scholarship, for students who are studying certain topics related to health and wellness, sustainability, and other areas.
• Awarded an Honors & Scholars Enrichment Grant! Only 10-15% of proposals are accepted and I was awarded the full amount I asked for.
• Awarded an ODI Education Abroad scholarship to help with study abroad.
• Recognized as MUNDO’s Most Outstanding Member for spring 2019! I had the most points for attending MUNDO events.
  • We celebrate the very last general body meeting of MUNDO with a Mexican tradition called cascarones.
    

    We had a large group partake in this colorful tradition this year. Good luck and go Bucks!

• Continued as Global Health Initiative’s Co-President for the semester.
  • Helped transition executive board members to become Co-Presidents.
  • Monitored executive board member applications and provided updates and acceptances on a rolling basis.
• Awarded a Summer 2019 College of Public Health Global Health Travel Award for my study abroad program.
  • I will write a summary of my experience and its connection to global health.
• Awarded Asian American Studies Best Undergraduate Research Paper or Critical Essay.
  • I submitted a paper that I wrote for my Gender in Pop Culture class, which I learned a lot from!
  • My paper analyzed a music video’s representation of women, and furthermore, Asian American women. The song I chose was Chris Brown’s “Fine China.” This assignment was fun and fulfilling, and it was also eye-opening.
• Awarded summer funding from College Now Greater Cleveland; I asked this external donor for funds to help with meals and transportation during my program and I was excited to hear that they will support me!
• Awarded fellowship for first year of graduate school, which will cover tuition, expenses, and provide me with a stipend!
• Accepted into the Summer HIV/AIDS Research Program (SHARP) as a 2019 cohort member!
  • I am delighted to be a scholar in this extremely competitive summer internship program that involves research, mentorship, community outreach, workshops and seminars, and more! This is a great step in my public health career and will help me narrow down what I want to do in my future. Furthermore, I will get to live and work in a different environment and meet dozens of individuals. I look forward to these relationships and I am super excited about this opportunity. Look out for several blog posts about SHARP.
• Earned Dean’s List honor for spring 2019 semester!
• Shared my story on mental health and breaking the stigma for podcast called Hidden in Plain Sight, co-founded by two students at OSU; more information on the podcast is here: https://neurosciencemajor.osu.edu/hidden-in-plain-site.
• Shared my story about mental health stigma as an APIDA with an editor from The Lantern, a student-run newspaper! I was excited to be a part of the campus conversation on mental health within the APIDA community and my unique experiences with my identities. I hope to continue advocating for mental health resources for everyone and that everyone can access these resources; not only that, but these resources and providers need to be culturally sensitive and intersectional in their approach, so that they look at the whole person and see what is all going on in their lives. There’s so much to mental health I want to talk about and explore further myself, in my personal life as well as my professional career.

Once again, the 2018-2019 school year has had a myriad of ups and downs but I learned about myself in the process. I cannot believe the year is over, but I am glad because I have been incredibly tired. I did not imagine myself getting involved and taking part in these amazing opportunities at Ohio State and outside of this campus, this state, or even this country.

Tomorrow, if things go as planned, I will head to Tokyo, Japan to start my adventures in another country! Then next month, I begin more adventures in a new city, all the way across America, in San Francisco. I’m so thankful for these opportunities.