My first semester has been a world wind. It’s been a lot of learning. I feel like I have definitely grown. Coming in I was worried about how I was going to handle myself now that everything was up to me. The time management wasn’t what I should have been worried about. I allowed myself to get behind in classes and earned grades that weren’t acceptable. But because of this I have learned how to be better in my studies. I learned new ways to study and it payed off big time in my Chemistry class. I may not have achieved the grades I wanted this semester but I learned what I have to do moving forward. Humanities has been a great experience. I wasn’t as involved as I would have liked to have been this semester though. I plan on changing that next semester. I want to get to more humanities activities and become more involved overall. I would like to be a Humanities mentor sophomore year and in order to do so I need to be more involved come second semester.

Last night I went out and helped collect canned food for the hungry.  This isn’t something new to me. My high school had a massive canned food drive every year where we visited half of the West Side of Cincinnati in an effort to fill semi-truck full of canned goods. It always amazes me when I see how generous people are and how willing they are to help. Last night was no exception. The people I talked to were kind and generous. They were thanking me simply for collecting. It’s a cool experience that really breeds a sense of community.  I got a chance to talk to some fellow Humanity Scholars I hadn’t talked to before and learned something new about them. The whole experience makes me miss high school a little bit because I just saw on twitter that the canned food drive was kicking off this week. I really enjoy activities like this that give me an opportunity to help in the community.

This is Alex Klas. He is a freshman from Cincinnati, Ohio. He grew up in middle class Catholic family on the West Side of Cincinnati. He had a pretty typical childhood attending St. James Grade School before moving onto St. Xavier High School where his mother has taught chemistry for many years. He made the decision to go to OSU because he wanted to get out of Cincinnati and go someplace different. OSU offered him a good scholarship and that combined with in-state tuition made it a contender. He visited it and fell in love with the campus. He is an engineering major and has been an A student throughout his life. He wants to go make a difference in the world and discover something. He loves physics and chemistry and wants to apply his science skills to something bigger than himself.

Coming up to Ohio State I was very excited to join a community I had dreamed of joining since I first knew what Ohio State was. It was the culmination of my dreams. At the same time I was very nervous. I don’t get homesick but I’m very close to my family so it was stressful to leave them. I’m also a bit nervous about over stressing myself this semester and be unable to cope with the independence that college brings. I plan to take steps to make sure I’m not overwhelmed. I’m looking into ways to set up a study plan that works for me. My first week has shown me what to expect in terms of classes in the upcoming semester. My classes seem to be very interesting and I can’t wait to start learning about the History of Rock and Roll. Overall I’m happy with how my first week went. I’m excited to explore all that the Humanities program has to offer. I’m enjoying the programs and events we have had so far. I wouldn’t say I’m a shy person but I am initially hesitant when meeting new people and events like the opening retreat and capture the flag have really helped me get to know my fellow humanity scholars. My expectations for the program this year is that I will be become closer with my classmates and gain a deeper understanding of what humanities really means.

[Artifacts are the items you consider to be representative of your academic interests and achievements. For each entry, include both an artifact and a detailed annotation.  An annotation includes both a description of the artifact and a reflection on why it is important to you, what you learned, and what it means for your next steps.  For more guidance on using your ePortfolio, including questions and prompts that will help you get started, please visit the Honors & Scholars ePortfolio course in Carmen. To get answers to specific questions, please email eportfolio@osu.edu. Delete these instructions and add your own post.]