The most important thing I learned in my first year at Ohio State is how much I love it there. I was wary at first; I was unsure how to feel about being away from home and making all new friends. By the weeks before spring break, I loved OSU more than I ever had and I was closer than ever with my new friends. I have always loved learning and school, and my college classes were no different. As an English major, my first college literature class was an amazing experience for me. It was just a survey class, but it really made me certain that I was in the right major. In this class, I learned how much I love literature, even when it isn’t fast-paced, hard-to-put-down thriller novels. Reading and deciphering T.S. Eliot’s The Waste Land impacted me because it was the first piece of really difficult literature that I’d ever read. I learned a lot about difficult works and how to understand them. I think that reading this piece reassured me that I was in the right place. As I’ve been away from home, I learned a lot about friendship. I grew apart from many of the friends I had in high school, and found that I miss my college friends more than I’ve missed my high school friends. I learned what real friendship is and I found a community of best friends through ENR Scholars. As a person, I became more independent and confident. I became independent from my parents since I wasn’t living with them, and I noticed this the most when it came to eating meals. My mom wasn’t there to make dinner or have me or my siblings go pick up dinner; I had to order something or go get something myself when I was hungry. I am in a literature class this semester, Methods for Studying Literature, which has about 15 people in it. Before shifting to online instruction, we had a lot of discussions and class contributions. I was nervous and intimidated at first because I didn’t want to sound dumb, but the more I contributed and participated in discussions, the more confident I felt. I learned to speak up and share my ideas because my contributions are meaningful and I shouldn’t be afraid of sounding dumb. My favorite memories from this year are hanging out in the common room with my suitemates and people from the floor. We had a lot of movie nights that were really fun. We had a fish in our suite, and soon before spring break, the fish jumped out of the bowl and passed away. Our whole suite made a little paper casket for the fish and walked down to the river, playing Taps on a speaker, and gave it a viking funeral. Although it was sad that the fish died, this is one of my favorite memories because we were all together as a suite for, unfortunately and unexpectedly, the last time. Next year, I look forward to living with my same roommate again and living on the same floor as some of my other friends from Scholars. I also look forward to the classes I’m taking next year, one of which is a true crime literature class. I look forward to being back on campus and seeing all of my friends again.
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My Personal Leadership Style
My results show that I am an Enneagram Type 1. I am not surprised by these results because I have taken multiple Enneagram tests in the past and I always get Type 1 as my result. I agree with the results because I feel like I identify with or have the traits described in the results. According to my results and levels of development, I have to be careful to not fall into the unhealthy levels, as they sound very unpleasant and, as the name suggests, unhealthy. I need to be less critical of myself and allow myself to make mistakes, as not everything has to be perfect all the time. I should be careful to be understanding of others and avoid hypocrisy. I can work hard to be successful with my healthy levels, which will allow me to be wise, accepting, self-disciplined, and principled. I can apply this knowledge of my personality type to my time at Ohio State through my academics and extracurriculars. I can work toward achieving healthy levels of development through my academic work by being realistic, hopeful, and self-disciplined. I can be self-disciplined by making sure I have enough time to get my class work done before I move on to doing other things. Socially and in extracurriculars, I can maintain healthy levels of development through interactions with others, being accepting of others, and being patient with others.
Columbus To-Do List Part 2
In the remainder of my Columbus To-Do List experiences, I went to North Market and the Columbus Zoo Wildlights. I loved North Market and definitely will make time to visit again. I loved seeing all of the different stations and booths, and I thought it was really interesting that they were all so unique. I didn’t get to try very much food because I’d just eaten somewhere else, but I did have a donut from the donut booth. It was one of the best donuts I’ve ever had! There was a seafood booth that was decorated like the ocean and had a neon sign with a fish, which I thought was really cute. It was a bit crowded which made it hard to navigate, but I think that’s part of what gives it such an authentic market atmosphere. North Market is a lot bigger than I expected it to be, and there was so much inside to explore! I think it’s a really unique and fun place that I would definitely like to go explore more, and I would definitely recommend it to a friend. I went to the Columbus Zoo Wildlights as well, and I enjoyed it so much. I hadn’t been to a zoo in about 8 years, so I really loved being able to experience the zoo. The lights were amazing and exceeded my expectations. I liked that the different areas of the zoo had different themes of lights to match the region the animals were from. Since it was night time and it’s winter, a lot of the animals were not out on display, so I wish I would’ve been able to see more animals. There was an indoor exhibit to see elephants, which surprised me but was exciting because elephants are my favorite animal. I would love to go back and see the lights again, or go back when it gets warmer to see more animals, and I would definitely recommend the Columbus Zoo Wildlights to a friend. My favorite experience from the semester from this assignment was the Columbus Zoo Wildlights. I learned that there is a lot to explore in Columbus, and a lot of local attractions that can’t be found anywhere else. This assignment has led me to want to explore Columbus more. I’d like to go to more of the local coffee shops and restaurants when I have some free time. I also saw the art walks on the To-Do List, and I would love to explore those when it gets warmer outside. I would recommend that someone endeavoring to complete the same events explore the zoo and see the lights, and to set aside a lot of time to go to North Market.
ENR Scholars Alumni Interview
I interviewed Jesze Doleh for my alumni interview. Jesze majored in zoology with a minor in education and is a zoo educator at the Birmingham Zoo. She says that this job is the perfect match for her, because it combines the skills she acquired from both her major and her minor. I learned a lot from our correspondence including things about Ohio State, professional skills, and important general skills. Jesze shared some information about her time at OSU, including her time as an an ENR scholar. She told me about her favorite classes and some of the extracurriculars she was involved in. It was good to know that she found a lot of community in ENR scholars after not knowing anyone when she came to OSU. She also made a point that she couldn’t always make it to ENR activities because of her class schedule, which I can relate to. She was in Zoology Club, STEP, and College Mentors for Kids. I learned the most from the professional/interview questions. Jesze said that her biggest advice for interviews is to just be myself. She said that employers are looking for genuine, true, and honest people. She said it is still very important to be professional leading up to the interview, and even though the interview process can be exhausting and defeating, there is a job out there for me. She also said that it is important to take care of myself and find a balance between school, extracurriculars, and personal time. She also encouraged me that it is okay to want to change what I’m doing or studying. I found all of the information she provided to be helpful. I plan to apply what I learned when I do interviews for jobs. I also will apply the information about self-care that she gave me, and make sure that I take time to relax and decompress. All of the information that I learned from Jesze was very helpful, and I’m glad I chose to interview her!
Columbus To-Do List Part One
For this semester, I have chosen the Coffee and Tea list. I look forward to trying a variety of local coffee shops. I love coffee and tea, and I’m excited to venture outside the typical choice, which is Starbucks. I also like to support local businesses, and I love the uniqueness of local shops. This semester, I hope to use this assignment as a reason and motivation to explore more of Columbus. Since Morrill Tower is far from High Street, I typically don’t find myself feeling particularly inclined to go to places off campus. With this assignment, I will definitely be going off campus to explore parts and places in Columbus that I probably wouldn’t go to otherwise. So far, I went to Stauf’s Coffee. The coffee shop is in a former church, so there is stained glass on the inside and outside, which is beautiful and unique for a coffee shop. It was also a stone building, which I find beautiful. I went to Stauf’s Coffee with a few other ENR Scholars. One of them has a car, which made the trip there very easy and quick. The inside of the shop was very light and open, which made it relaxing. There were tables of varying heights with chairs and there were big green couches, giving people options of sitting where they’re more comfortable. Nothing was confusing; it was straight-forward to order. The coffee was good and the atmosphere of the shop was relaxing and welcoming. I learned that local coffee shops have a lot more to offer than Starbucks in terms of ambiance and originality. I will definitely go back and would recommend it to anyone looking for a local coffee shop to try!
Welcome to my Honors & Scholars e-Portfolio
[The Home Page will show a running blog of your recent posts, which are categorized and show on that category’s page. Please delete this post or edit with your own information.]
Year in Review
[ “Year in Review” is where you should reflect on the past year and show how you have evolved as a person and as a student. You may want to focus on your growth in a particular area (as a leader, scholar, researcher, etc.) or you may want to talk about your overall experience over the past year. 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.]
G.O.A.L.S.
[ “G.O.A.L.S.” is a place where students write about how their planned, current, and future activities may fit into the Honors & Scholars G.O.A.L.S.: Global Awareness, Original Inquiry, Academic Enrichment, Leadership Development, and Service Engagement. 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.
- Global Awareness: Students cultivate and develop their appreciation for diversity and each individual’s unique differences. For example, consider course work, study abroad, involvement in cultural organizations or activities, etc.
- Original Inquiry: Honors & Scholars students understand the research process by engaging in experiences ranging from in-class scholarly endeavors to creative inquiry projects to independent experiences with top researchers across campus and in the global community. For example, consider research, creative productions or performances, advanced course work, etc.
- Academic Enrichment: Honors & Scholars students pursue academic excellence through rigorous curricular experiences beyond the university norm both in and out of the classroom.
- Leadership Development: Honors & Scholars students develop leadership skills that can be demonstrated in the classroom, in the community, in their co-curricular activities, and in their future roles in society.
- Service Engagement: Honors & Scholars students commit to service to the community.]
Career
[“Career” is where you can collect information about your experiences and skills that will apply to your future career. Like your resume, this is information that will evolve over time and should be continually updated. 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.]
Artifacts
[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.]