G.O.A.L.S. Update (SU20)

Some possible G.O.A.L.S. that I could conceivably achieve over this summer include:

  1. Academic Enrichment: Pass my class in the SU20 term. I had initially planned to re-apply for (and hopefully resume) my previously-held internship position over the summer, but due to the current COVID-induced state of general uncertainty, the intern currently occupying the position decided to hold onto it. With more time on my hands, I decided to take advantage of the online summer classes being offered. My chosen class (Sci-Fi and Fantasy) fulfills one of my major’s requirements and just seems like a fun class to take. This will also be my first-ever summer class at Ohio State, so this new experience will be an interesting endeavor to pursue.
  2. Academic Enrichment: Prepare for life in the AU20 semester. Because there has been talk of a potential second COVID wave occurring in the fall, it was determined that it would be safer for me to commute in the fall. I have never had to do this before (for college anyways), so this will be a learning experience for me in more ways than one. It will be interesting to see how I can balance my home life and my life as a Buckeye.

End-of-Year Reflection (Year 2)

Photo Credit: news.osu.edu

My sophomore year at Ohio State has been eventful, to say the least. I took my first specifically major-related classes last semester and came to realize that one of my majors (journalism) was not geared towards a career field that I can see myself working in. Classes relevant to my other degrees (an English major and a political science minor) have convinced me that I am more inclined to pursue them instead. I am still aiming to pursue a career that revolves around reading and writing (preferably as an editor), but I can no longer see myself doing so in the journalistic field.

Then, of course, I had to contend with our “extended spring break” that morphed into an unofficial end to sophomore year when COVID-19 struck. Everyone went home for spring break as usual, and then we just never came back. It’s honestly still a little hard to believe, seeing as how it happened so suddenly. We still took our classes online, of course, but by that point, it didn’t really feel like Ohio State anymore. I was still determined to try my best and attempted to adapt to this new way of learning. As I write this, I am currently poised to enter finals week. Let’s see if online learning has prepared me well enough.

The 2020 Spring Career and Internship Fair

Photo Credit: artsandsciences.osu.edu

As you might have guessed, one of my “artifact” experiences at Ohio State occurred a few months ago at the 2020 Spring Career and Internship Fair. I had always heard of the event as the Fair happens once per semester, but this was my first time actually participating in one. Freshman year was taken up with my personal goal of getting straight As and adjusting to generally just being on my own, and I failed to make it when it occurred last fall.

I initially thought that it would be informal like the Student Involvement Fairs held on the Oval, but as I looked into it more, I found that there is a whole procedure to events like these. Being a career fair, you are going to an event where you could quite possibly find your future job/internship. First impressions are everything, so you have to make the effort to look the part – grooming and dressing up are both musts.

Because of this more formal tone, I was a little intimidated. What if I said or did the “wrong” things without knowing it? However, when I actually got there, I was pleasantly surprised. I brought some copies of my resumé just to be safe, but I didn’t even need to hand them out. It really was just me going up to booths and having easygoing conversations with each business’s representatives. Everyone was cooperative and had answers to every question I had, and it was a surprisingly efficient process given how phenomenally large the event was, taking up two floors of the Union. There was no schedule, either, so I could come and go at my leisure. All in all, the Fair taught me that even though you may have to go a few steps further than you’re comfortable with from time to time, you shouldn’t let that ultimately stop you. This is your life, and events like these are for your benefit, so don’t be afraid to leap at an opportunity when it presents itself.

G.O.A.L.S. Update and Career Plan Reflection

As the Honors & Scholars community probably knows by now, our G.O.A.L.S. are expected to revolve around five key categories: global awareness, original inquiry, academic enrichment, leadership development, and service engagement. Writing from the end of sophomore year, here are some examples from my experiences that could be considered G.O.A.L.S.:

  1. Global Awareness: American history classes. As counter-intuitive as that may sound, I have gained a greater appreciation for the diverse communities of America through classes such as HISTORY 2001 and ENGLISH 2290 as they both try and incorporate perspectives from the various communities that make up the nation, from the involvement of women in the American Revolution / early republic to African-American perspectives on America in the antebellum period.

 

  1. Original Inquiry: Environment and Natural Resources 2100. During the course of this class, I was expected to write a full-length research paper written to scientific journal standards. For example, the only places we could pull information from were scientific journal articles, as they were considered to be the only true “primary sources” (contrary to what I had previously believed). We also had to have our rough drafts subjected to peer review, which is apparently different from / more scrutinous than the “peer revising/editing” process I was used to. The experience from this assignment led me to a greater understanding of the research process in general, so I believe it qualifies for the G.O.A.L.S. section.

 

  1. Original Inquiry: Get my desired internship position. As internship experience has become increasingly important when trying to get a job, I started looking for a position that was related to my preferred field (editing) during freshman year. I caught my eye on a student editor position located on campus, only to find that it was limited to sophomores and up. When freshman year concluded, I applied for the job and received it for the summer as the ordinarily full-time intern was pursuing another internship elsewhere. When they returned in the fall, the position reverted to them until their eventual graduation, at which point I plan on reapplying.

 

  1. Academic Enrichment: Get straight As in freshman year. I’ve always considered getting good grades to be almost a given in terms of personal goals, but this year in particular was more important to me as I wanted to start off college on a strong note, despite the more intense workload. To that end, I tried to perform as well as I could in every class, and eventually ended up achieving this goal. Getting good grades still remains important to me, but I feel that now that I have proven to myself that I can succeed academically, I can afford to get a B here and there so as to focus on the social aspect of Ohio State as well (which is arguably just as important).

 

Career Plan:

After focusing on GE courses for the first two semesters, I decided to start taking major-/minor-related classes at the beginning of sophomore year. Two semesters later, I have decided to drop my journalism major, but continue pursuing my English major and political science minor. I felt that having a journalism degree would make me look more appealing in the “reading-/writing-related jobs” industry, which still remains my goal, but I feel that I am not passionate enough about journalism to stake a full-time career on it. While less insistent on getting straight As, being a Humanities Scholar has encouraged me to nevertheless maintain high academic standards for myself and act accordingly. As for the more immediate future, I aim to reacquire the student editor internship position in the fall that I previously held last summer. By that point, I will hopefully be back on campus and ready to take up a position that will undoubtedly help me gain work experience directly relevant to my preferred field.

End-of-Year Reflection (Year 1)

Photo Credit: Pinterest.com

The end of my first year at Ohio State didn’t really sink in for me until I was literally leaving Baker Hall East for the last time on move-out day. The general commotion probably just reminded me of move-in day, but to think that an entire year had gone by just like that really hit me when I realized how far I’d come.

When I first came to Ohio State, I had no idea what to do since my freshman year made it so I had to adjust to general adult life on top of college life. While I still had a lot to learn (and still do), I made it through with my sanity intact, which showed me that maybe I could get this whole “adulting” thing under control after all. I also achieved my personal academic goal of getting straight As in both semesters, so I now feel fully confident in my ability to handle the increased difficulty that comes with college-level coursework.

Looking back from the end of sophomore year, I don’t really recall having had too many goals for the summer/upcoming academic year. Since I had proven to myself that I could handle college-level classes, I decided not to get too stressed out about getting straight As in future classes, though I would of course still do my best. The only goal I can recall having back then was getting a summer internship at the Office of Marketing and Strategic Communication as a student editor, which I ultimately ended up getting. All in all, I rounded out freshman year on a high note, hit the ground running in the summer, and was ready to see what sophomore year would bring.

The Mobile Digital Literacy Narrative Project

 

 

Of all the classes that I took freshman year, I’d have to say that ENGLISH 2269 shaped me the most. Formally known as Digital Media Composing, this class taught me how to see the world differently in more ways than one. As part of my English major track (Writing, Rhetoric, and Literacy), I would have ended up having to take it anyways, but I chose to take it early simply because it sounded like a class that I could learn a lot from.

I wasn’t wrong, either – the projects assigned to us over the AU18 semester required me to do things that I’d never had to do before. The most notable project by far would have to be the very first one – the Mobile Digital Literacy Narrative project, which you can see me working on in the picture above. As the name implies, we were to tell the class our narratives about how literacy entered and changed our lives.

The writing/storytelling part was not new to me, so I was able to craft my narrative just fine. However, we were supposed to tell the class our stories by composing a video about it with minimal text, which was completely unexplored territory for me. A project is a project, though, so I had to learn, and learn fast. Over the course of that assignment, I learned how to incorporate video, audio, and visual storytelling into my work, all of which came in handy during my Writing and Editing for Media class about a year later.

As nerdy as it may sound, it really goes to show that it’s wise to invest myself into my schoolwork when at college. It can definitely be hard at times, but that’s more than likely because I’m learning how to do new things on top of learning new things in general. The social aspect is definitely relevant too (arguably of equal importance), but projects such as the Mobile Digital Literacy Narrative showed me how much personal impact a single assignment can make, so I try to see each new assignment as an opportunity to grow.

My First Semester at OSU

When I first came to OSU, I had high hopes but low expectations. I obviously wanted to find my niche here and do as best as I could, but I was simply not sure what to expect as I made this huge transition. Not knowing what exactly I’d be learning was concerning enough, but on top of that, I was literally leaving behind everything I had ever known, and I was intimidated as I got used to this brand new environment.

One semester and roughly three months later, I can confidently say that I have largely gotten used to the regular flow of life on campus. I have my class routes practically memorized, Carmen keeps me up to date with what is expected of me academically, and I can adequately understand what I am being taught. The only remaining concern is my social life; apart from my roommate, I don’t really meet up with anyone I know on a regular basis. That is a problem I intend to tackle next semester; perhaps I’ll join a student club.

Fortunately for me, I am already technically part of a “club:” the Humanities Scholars. Like everything else with OSU, I had no idea what to expect from this group at first, but like everything else, I’ve grown accustomed to them as the months passed. Though they all seem quiet at first (in our monthly meetings, anyways), every Scholar always has something engaging to say when you talk them up, and will always listen to what you have to say. They’ve made it easy to get involved as well, with our group having a literal calendar filled with possible events. The Humanities Scholars always make sure each member feels involved and has something to do. I personally am unsure how I will be involved in Scholars going forward, but with a group as inclusive and active as this, I’m sure I’ll find something. I look forward to seeing what new opportunities are waiting for me next semester!

Humanities This Week

 

After two and a half months into the year, I have learned much more about what it means to be a Humanities Scholar. As a result, I am starting to see the humanities everywhere around me. Within the last week, I have seen several examples of the themes our group has discussed, including:

Language: Whenever I go to the Thompson Library to study, I see various instances of embracing other languages. There are engravings all over the ground level’s floor that contain the alphabets of various languages, from Korean to Braille. There are also various signs that carry common messages in multiple languages (Welcome!, Bienvenido!, etc.).

Literature: The Humanities Scholars program offered an optional Book Club this semester, studying the works of OSU alumnus R.L. Stine. We’ve been reading his books for over a month, which would definitely be considered a good example of humanities influencing my day-to-day life.

Culture: I personally saw an example of culture when Halloween rolled around. There were no formal events scheduled on campus for the holiday, but most of the students seemed to celebrate it anyways, from wearing costumes to class to smashing pumpkins.

As previously stated, these all happened in about two and a half months. If these events are any indication, then I can only expect to encounter the humanities much more frequently as my time here at OSU progresses.

 

Humans of OSU

OSU alumnus Jay Danner never planned on becoming a teacher, but after being one for 14 years, he can honestly say he does not regret the decision. After undertaking several different academic pursuits, Jay ultimately ended up in the Communication department as his acquired credit hours fit in best there. He graduated in 1986 with a Bachelor of Arts in Communication, but could not find an adequate job where he could apply those skills.  As such, he resumed his education and graduated from OSU in 1992 with a Master’s degree in Social Work. For most of the next decade, Jay worked as a child and family counselor in Lancaster, Ohio. During his time there, he noticed that the most successful children who came into his office shared one distinct trait: they all had supportive parents and were lucky enough to have good teachers and principals in their lives. He gave serious thought into returning to OSU to pursue a Master’s degree in education, but his wife Julie (also an OSU alumnus) met the founder of a relatively-new charter school while on jury duty. After hearing about Jay purely through their small talk, the school’s founder offered Jay a position at the school. After both of his kids reached school age (he was a stay-at-home dad), Jay ultimately accepted the position in 2004. He currently teaches transitional kindergarten where approximately half of the children in his class have special needs and the other half are neurotypically developing.  He continues to do volunteer work for the school on a regular basis. He even takes first-day-of-school pictures each year, like the one above. Jay always does these pictures “with enthusiasm” to make sure that people know that he genuinely loves doing what he’s doing.

My First Week at OSU

I honestly had no idea what to expect when I started my time here at OSU. This was not just your average back-to-school welcome; this was the beginning of an entirely different life. Practically everything here was an unknown variable to me. What would my dorm be like? What would the classes and the workload be like? Did I really have to rub Oxley Thompson’s head at the library for good luck? I had so many questions running around my head and no answers to make them go away. I was overwhelmed – excited to be coming here, excited to be a Buckeye, but completely overwhelmed. 

That was me on Move-In Day, less than two weeks ago. 

It is almost disturbing to see how much my attitude has changed since that point. A quick search on Google Maps told me everywhere I needed to go, from classrooms to dining halls. A quick in-class tutorial on Carmen gave me all the information I could want on my classes and provided a place where I could keep up on my work. Then, of course, there was the Buckeye community itself, which is frankly one of the most supportive, helpful, and welcoming groups I have ever been a part of. Virtually all the concerns I had on Move-In Day were erased within a week; the questions running around my head had largely been answered. 

I still have some problems to cope with – as I said earlier, I have a whole new life to adjust to, and that will take time. Yet, I am no longer overwhelmed as I was before. I know now that it is perfectly fine to not have all the answers and that I am not the only one who needs them. I know that there are still obstacles in this path to be beaten; however, thanks to my first week at OSU, I also know that I can overcome whatever those obstacles may be. I had a wonderful time during my first week here, and I look forward to seeing what is in store during the weeks to come.