Year in Review Essay

First coming to Ohio State, I was somewhat nervous about what would happen, how I would change, and the newfound freedom that allowed me to do whatever I wanted whenever I wanted to. For eighteen years, I was forced to follow all the rules that were presented to me. Whether it were my parents, my soccer coach, or even my teachers, I was told what to do and when to do it because I was not old enough to make my own decisions. I did not know what was best for me, until I got the opportunity to decide where I wanted to go to school. That was one of the first times that I had full freedom to choose exactly what I wanted, without any outside input to convince me otherwise. I liked this freedom, I liked that I was able to figure out my future on my own, make my own decisions.

Even when I decided on Ohio State, I was still relying on those around me for so much, whether it be for money or advice. It was not until I moved in that I finally felt that feeling of independence; I was finally responsible for myself and all of what I did. That first day, I finally parted ways with my parents, on my own for the first time. This was both a nerve-wracking and exhilarating moment for me. Those months before leaving for school, I could not wait for move-in day, wanting so desperately to get away from my small town and find something new. I finally had that, I was finally free, and it was figuring out what to do with that freedom that was such an exciting feeling for me.

I was and still am a very dependent person, but in somewhat different ways. Before coming to school, I relied on my parents for everything. My parents gave me money, took me places, made my lunch, helped me with about anything and everything I could think of. I had to figure out a way to get away from these actions, trying to become a more independent person, being confident enough to do things on my own, taking full responsibility for everything I do. Though I was able to ween myself off of that, I noticed that I became dependent in a different way. I started more to depend on my friends. Throughout my entire life, I always had trouble making and keeping friends, picking people who only used me to copy my homework instead of liking me for the real me. This was a problem that I struggled with greatly all throughout high school, only amplifying the bouts of depression I suffered with in those last three years of school. Because I had all these problems on top of each other, I chose to isolate myself, try to prevent myself from getting hurt again. I spent a lot of my high school career alone, keeping to myself and all of my thoughts. This made me crave companionship and friendship even more than usual. Coming away to school, I was nervous that the same thing would happen, I would not be able to find good friends and everything would be miserable for the next four years. I am happy to say that I was 100% incorrect about that assumption. Since I have been here, I have been able to surround myself with such an amazing group of friends, friends that are so supportive of everything I do and helpful with anything and everything that pops into my head. Without this small group of friends, I honestly have no clue how I would have been able to survive this first year away from home. They have been able to pick me up whenever I fall back down into that deep, dark hole, cheering me up on even my worst days. Though I am still dependent on those around me, it is in a completely different way. I now lean on those around me for support and encouragement, both those things pushing me to accomplish whatever I set my mind to.

Since I have been here, I have had to learn how to take care of myself, trying my best for those bad days to be few and far between, making sure that I always had some amount of happiness and support in my life, no matter where it came from. I was finally responsible for my health and my well-being. I was in charge of what I did and why I did it. That was difficult to deal with at the beginning of the year, realizing that whenever something went wrong, I was the one that had to figure it out. I was the one that had to make sure that I was healthy enough to accomplish what was necessary for myself to succeed. There were a few times throughout the school year where the stress got to me and only bad things happened, but since then, I have learned how to deal with that stress in a healthy and efficient way. I have come back from that stress only bettering myself, becoming stronger each and every day of dealing with it. I have learned how to become a more independent and responsible person when it comes to my health and well-being, and it has only made me a better and stronger person.

Being a part of STEM EE Scholars has done nothing but help me transition into my first year here. Scholars has allowed me to not only be a part of a big group of people who have common goals and interests, but has also exposed me to the diversity that I never had the opportunity to see when I was in high school. Before STEM, I had only been exposed to those who are very similar to me in interests and cultures, coming from a very small area and high school. Since then, I have been able to learn about so many new and exciting ideas, things I never thought I would learn about coming to college, things that are not necessarily important to my major, but are important to my development into a new and more aware person. Not only has scholars been able to expose me to new cultures and ideas, but it has also been able to better prepare me academically for the future that is ahead of me. I have had the opportunity to learn about different ways of learning, ones that are more efficient and allow for better retention of information. Since becoming a STEM Scholar, I have gained better study skills, have learned how to reflect on myself and all that I have accomplished, and have been able to create relationships that I know will turn into life-long friendships. Coming to Ohio State and being a part of STEM EE Scholars has allowed me to become a better prepared and more confident/independent person and I can only wait to see what opportunities these two things hold for me in the future.

G.O.A.L.S. Essay

By being a part of the Scholars program here at Ohio State, I have been given the opportunity to both take part in and demonstrate the G.O.A.L.S. of the Honors and Scholars Center. These G.O.A.L.S. are the five qualities that we are encouraged to embody, tying them all together to create both a diverse and free-thinking student. I have been given multitudes of opportunities that have only allowed me to strengthen myself and my studies in those five different facets – global awareness, original inquiry, academic enrichment, leadership development, and service engagement. By taking part in the opportunities available in each of the five areas, I have not only been able to better myself in all of those areas specifically, but have also been able to become a more well-rounded student, connecting all of those ideas together and finding strengths in those little in-between places that I never thought to exist. I feel that both academic enrichment and service engagement are most applicable to me concerning my professional and personal goals, also allowing me to further both my success and involvement in and out of the classroom.

Academic enrichment means that a student is able to pursue knowledge and learning both in and out of the classroom, finding and putting new knowledge to use in new and exciting settings. This also means that a student is able to use this learned knowledge and apply it to both their future career and life choices. I feel that this is most applicable to me because pharmacy is an ever changing world and new things are being discovered each and every day. Being a pharmacist, one has to stay on top of news involving drugs, administration, and laws involving drugs. If something changes, they are responsible for knowing this. They are able to use this new found information to create the best possible outcome for the patient. Wanting to go into a career in pharmacy, this aspect of academic enrichment will definitely apply. I will constantly be learning new things, no matter how far into my career I am. I have always had a love for learning and the gaining of new knowledge, so the fact that I will be able to do this on a daily basis in the future only makes me more excited to continue on in my given career path. Another aspect of pharmacy that is very relevant to academic enrichment is the necessity of out of the classroom learning. When applying into pharmacy school, admissions will look at your GPA and your PCAT score, but what they want the most is experience. They look for volunteer hours, summer jobs, internships, anything that will provide the applicant with the proper experience necessary to succeed in the field. All of this out of the classroom time allows for learning that is not quite able to take place in a traditional classroom. By gaining experience in the field, I will be able to learn about and experience firsthand what I will be spending the rest of my life doing. Once in pharmacy school, I am also provided with the opportunity to do rounds in my last year as a professional student. By doing this, I will be able to learn about all the different areas of pharmacy that are available to me, which then helps to alleviate the stress in figuring out what to do after graduation. I believe that knowledge and experience gained both inside and outside of the classroom are so pertinent to success and I feel that this academic enrichment applies directly to how I will be spending the next part of my life.

Service engagement means that a student is aware of the social issues that are pertinent in society today and is able to take part in service that relates to helping/assisting to rid of or better those prevalent issues. This also allows the student to align their service with their major or areas in which they have interest. I have always felt that giving back to those who deserve it most is one of the best things you can do. By helping others, you are not only providing them with the help that they deserve, but also are bettering yourself, molding yourself into a kinder and more well-rounded student. Ever since I was young, I was always taught to give back, to donate both my time and my love to those who are in need of it, those who cannot survive without the help of others. I have been blessed with the opportunities to give back to my community over the last decade, whether it be volunteering for my church, through my school, or through various activities in the community. Because I have been able to give so much time back to my community, I felt it would only be right to continue this on into my future career. The main reason I want to become a pharmacist is because I want to be able to help people each and every day of my life, putting a smile on as many faces as possible. That is a pharmacist’s main role, helping those around them. I feel that I will be able to apply the service engagement aspect of the Honors and Scholars Center to what I will hopefully spend the rest of my life doing. The main purpose of service in the Honors and Scholars Center is to make the students aware of issues prevalent in society, one of which is mental health. I have been passionate about mental health for as long as I can remember and by specializing in that aspect of pharmacy, I wish to rid of the stigma and the generalizations that surround mental health. Just pushing it under the rug and basically calling it off as “fake” is a serious issue in society that, by helping those affected by it, I will be able to make those around me more aware of and figure out a way to rid of the stigma. I plan to incorporate this idea into my everyday life for the rest of my college and professional career. I feel that awareness and help to those who deserve it and need it most is something that should always be a part of my life and what I am doing with it.

Artifact #1: First Year STEM Welcome Event – Ropes Course @ Summit Vision in Columbus, OH

Artifacts Picture

First coming to Ohio State, I was especially nervous about meeting new people and finding people that would hopefully turn into life-long friends. The day of move in, all of STEM Scholars got an email about a first year welcome event the next day at eight o’clock in the morning. All it said was dress comfortably and meet in the lobby of Taylor Tower. We as a group had no clue what we would be doing or anything that was planned for us for that first full day. That Sunday, all of the first year STEM Scholars met in the lobby, not knowing each other, anxious about what the day ahead held. I was nervous about what we would be doing, wondering if it was something that involved getting to know all of my fellow STEM Scholars. This was especially worrisome to me since I am not too fond about meeting and talking to new people. When our Scholars coordinator finally showed up, she split us into groups of two, both groups participating in team-building activities, but each of them starting at a different destination. I got split up from all three of my roommates, some of the only people I really knew on that first full day, which made me even more nervous. We were told to split into the vans and we would find out what we were doing once we got there.

Once my van finally arrived at the destination, we were told that we would be participating in a ropes course at Summit Vision. After all of the scholars grouped together, we were sat down and introduced to the facility and all they offer. They told us about what we would specifically be participating in and we were then taken to our course, all of the students there being split into two groups. Doing this again, I was nervous about continuing on, knowing only one other scholar in my group. We were introduced to our course and all of the safety precautions we were to follow. We were then provided with our harnesses and helmets and were allowed to go on our way. Climbing up the initial ladder, it was very nerve-wracking, realizing how high up I was, not knowing what I was getting myself into. We had a variety of different paths we could take to get to the end of the course, higher levels being more difficult than the lower ones. I chose to stay with the lower ones at first, testing out the waters to see how well I could handle the course. The more I went through the easier levels, the more confident I became in the course itself and the more confident I became in myself. I was then able to move to the next level of paths, feeling more and more comfortable as time continued on. Once I started to get tired, I chose to make my way to the end of the course. Once I got to the end, I got to choose to slide down the slide or do a free fall at the end. Wanting to keep the streak going and try something new, I chose to go down the slide, knowing that it would be quite some time before I would get another opportunity to do something like this. Once the slide ended and I began the free fall, it was once of the scariest and most exhilarating things I ever experienced. I never felt so free, just gliding down that rope to the end of the course.

I feel that this was the best possible way to start off the semester and my years in STEM Scholars. It was such a fun and interesting way to meet new people, people that I did not realize at the time would become some of my best friends in the following months. When completing the course, we were required to have clearance from a fellow scholar before switching our carabiners from path to path. By doing this, I was able to brush up on my teamwork skills. This showed me how important working with others is to my own success. Without the other scholars on that course, I would not have been able to successfully complete my chosen path to get to the end of the course. I was also able to meet many new people and form many new relationships that later turned into friendships. Though nervous at first, I was able to put my communication skills to use, talking to others, learning things about those that I would be surrounding myself with for the next two years. That day, I not only grew as a person, becoming more confident in my abilities and what I could accomplish, but also became a part of a group that would later turn into a family.

Resume

By participating in STEM EE Scholars, I have been able to not only further expand already existing skills that I possessed, but also develop new skills that will allow me to succeed on my given career path. Taking part in the many STEM events that have been offered to the group over the course of the year, I have been able to learn about many new and exciting topics that I knew little to nothing about before attending the event. While attending these events, I was forced to learn new material very quickly. Without doing so, I would not have been able to keep up with and understand the information being presented. I have been able to better my critical thinking skills and just quick thinking in general because of this.

Being a part of STEM EE Scholars, I also was required to attend a Scholars Seminar class both first and second semester. By participating in class discussions and attending the lectures, I was able to discover my strengths and how to further develop them. It also allowed me to better both my organizational and study skills, knowing and understanding the most efficient way of learning and retaining information. This has proven useful both inside and outside of the classroom, allowing me to stay on top of tasks and deadlines.

I have also been able to continue on with my passion for helping others. Throughout my entire life, I was taught the importance of giving back, giving your time and effort to something that is important to you. From junior high all the way through my senior year of high school, I dedicated a lot of my time to volunteering both through local charities and my local church. Coming to school, I was afraid that I would somehow lose that, that my busy workload would get in the way of my ability to give back to the community. Through STEM, I have been given the opportunity to give back, while also being able to instill new knowledge in the minds of those who are younger than me. I have been able to do this by tutoring middle schoolers at Columbus Performance Academy and volunteering at COSI. These opportunities to give back have allowed me to further my communication skills, learning how to teach others what I know and how to help them best retain the information taught. This skill is very important for someone pursuing a career in pharmacy, a pharmacist having to be able to explain how the prescription works and why the patient needs to take them, essentially teaching them about the medications they need to take and I feel that I have only been able to further develop it since becoming a part of STEM Scholars.

I feel that being a part of STEM EE Scholars has better prepared me for my future and the goals I have set out for myself. I have been able to develop skills that will be necessary for my success, which will in turn help to provide me with the opportunities to gain that experience that is necessary to succeed in the field of pharmacy. The skills I have learned and developed over the course of this year have only bettered me as both a student and a person and the extent to which they have helped me cannot be summarized in a few bullet points on a resume.

Alyssa DeMatteo_Resume

My Top Five Strengths

My top five strengths include empathy, input, restorative, learner, and developer. I believe that all of these strengths represent myself and my values. Looking back onto my life now, I can see how all of these strengths have been prevalent in both my failures and successes. These strengths have allowed me to achieve any goals I have ever set for myself, while also helping me get through any of those rough patches along the way. Even though I may have never acknowledged some of these strengths before, I can see when they have been helpful to me without even realizing it at the time. Now knowing what my top strengths are, I am able to expand upon them, while also learning how to manage my weaknesses.

Empathy, my top strength, can be defined as feeling what others are feeling as if their feelings are my own, intuitively seeing the world through their eyes. I honestly believe that this strength is very relevant in my current life. I feel that I have always had a knack for listening to people, helping them through their own problems. I love being able to provide my insight into what is bothering them, looking at it from their point of view. I also have always been able to notice when someone is upset or something is bothering them. I can also see this strength playing a role in my academics. With sciences, it is all about seeing things from a different perspective, looking at things in a way no one else can do. By looking at things from different people’s points of view, it allows me to gain that different perspective. My empathy for others will help in my pursuits of understanding things academically and scientifically throughout my college career. I do believe that this strength does nothing but support my future goals. Wanting to pursue a career in pharmacy, I will have to help people each and every day. Being able to see things from their point of view will give me a better understanding of who they are as a person, which is important, now especially, as the patient-centered pharmacy practice is growing. Empathy will allow me to make those connections with patients, something that is so important to the care that is provided to the patients themselves.

My second strength, input, can be defined as a love for asking questions, my mind always finding something interesting. I can also see this strength on a day to day basis. I constantly ask questions, thriving for knowledge of the unknown, whether it be a concept I do not understand, or an idea that just popped into my head. I always want to know more, craving something new each and every day. This idea would be a major benefit to my academics. Though I sometimes complain about school work, or how I feel that it is all unnecessary, I still love the feeling of learning something new. Even though I do not always come out with my questions, sometimes being too afraid to ask them, they still exist. I let them build up inside my head until I finally build up that courage to figure out the answer. This strength will support my future goals. Working in pharmacy, I will always have to be on my toes, being able to make a decision at the drop of the hat. But I also need to be able to ask the correct questions that will lead me to solving the issue or figuring out the correct way to approach a situation. This strength will only enhance my abilities as a pharmacist, always craving that knowledge that is so necessary to the ever changing field of medicine and pharmacy.

Restorative can be defined as a love for solving problems, enjoying the task of looking at the symptoms, seeing what is wrong, and figuring out the solution. I can see this strength playing a role in my daily life. I know from personal experience that there will always be some bumps along our journey to success and happiness. If we are not able to handle these problems, no progress will be made and nothing will happen. Because of this strength, I am able to look at those bumps and figure out a way to deal with them, finding a way to get closer to my set goals. Especially in college, there will be a lot of bumps, so being able to look at the situation, figure out what is wrong, and find a way to fix it will help me keep moving forward without stressing myself out. This strength will also allow me to excel in my future career goals. I can use this strength to my benefit, being able to look at a situation, look at someone’s diagnosis, and figure out what the correct approach at solving the specific problem would be. I will be able to create a better outlook for patient’s, providing them with the best possible care that will hopefully help them in their pursuit of health and happiness. My ability to be restorative will benefit not only myself, but also those who I will help as I continue on my journey to become a pharmacist.

A learner is someone who simply loves to learn. The process of going from ignorance to understanding is one in which they believe is very important. This strength can be tied together with input. My love for asking questions helps to satiate my love of gaining new knowledge. I have always loved learning, being raised on the idea that education is one of the most important things that we can ever be given and to never take it for granted. Though I have not always enjoyed school, complaining about the workload or the information being taught, that thirst for knowledge has always been there. This is especially evident outside of the classroom. I just love learning about new things, whether its knowledge I gain just by looking up from my phone and noticing my surroundings, or having a meaningful conversation with someone I may not have known. The knowledge that is not necessarily taught, but is rather hidden in experiences, is the type of learning that I have always and will forever enjoy. This love also plays a key role in my academics. Even though I may not always enjoy what I am learning, I still appreciate the knowledge being given to me, because one day it may come in useful to me. We will never know what the future holds for us, so it is so important to grasp every bit of knowledge that comes our way. Over the years, I have learned to appreciate that knowledge that I may not want to receive at the time. This strength will also support my future career goals. Pharmacy is something that is every changing. Something new is always being discovered, some new drug is going to be found, and it will be my responsibility as a pharmacist to know these things. By keeping up to date on information that surrounds that line of work, I will be able to provide the best care possible to those who need it most.

My last and final strength is a developer. This means that I see each and every person as a work in progress, seeing the potential that they may not recognize on their own. I feel that this strength is fairly evident in my life today. I always try to look at the positives in people, showing them how important they are, how they can achieve so much if they just believe in themselves. I love being able to bring people up, raise their own morale, and just bring an overall happiness to their life. Bringing that joy to people’s lives makes me the happiest person in the world. I feel that as long as I can make an impact on someone’s life, as long as I am enjoying what I am doing, then I am successful in life. I feel that I can apply this strength to my academics. I am always much harder on myself than I could ever be on anyone else. But with this strength, I can somewhat alter this way of thinking, the constant criticizing of my work and abilities. I feel that if I can lift someone else up from their slump, if I can see them as an unfinished work of art, then I can see myself doing the same. This strength will allow me to pursue my academic goals with a more positive point of view, which will allow for a better outcome in the end. This strength will also help in my pursuing a career in pharmacy. Now that pharmacy is becoming a more patient-centered practice, a lot of time and effort is put into one person’s health and medications. These people may not always have the best outlooks on life, especially if they are facing something so severe that has caused them to lose all hope. I want to be able to help them find that hope again, seeing that there is nowhere to go but up and that they can get through even the roughest of battles. I want to specialize in the mental health area of pharmacy, so this idea is very evident. Sometimes people get this idea in their head that they are no longer “good” for the world, that their existence, or lack thereof, would not affect anyone at all. By showing people all that they can accomplish in the world, by helping them realize all the potential that they have inside of them, I feel that my journey as a pharmacist would be successful. If I were to change just one person’s life, showing them just how special they really are, then I feel that I have been successful in my career. This strength will allow me to do exactly so.

About Me

Hello, my name is Alyssa DeMatteo. I am from New Castle, Pennsylvania, a small city about an hour north of Pittsburgh. I am a first year student here at The Ohio State University, majoring in pharmaceutical sciences, hoping to eventually minor in psychology. Coming into my first year, I am also a part of the EAP (Early Admissions Pathway) Program that is through the College of Pharmacy. While in this program, I will graduate not only from the scholars program, but also from the honors program. Being in this program, it allows me to automatically matriculate into pharmacy school here on campus.

Ever since I was twelve years old, I have wanted to pursue a career in pharmacy. I attended a career day at my school when I was in sixth grade and one of the three careers I got to hear about was pharmacy. The instant I heard about what a pharmacist does and how they contribute to the greater good of society, I fell in love. I knew at that moment that for the rest of my life, I wanted to help people. With this career in mind, I want to specialize in the mental health/mental illness aspect of pharmacy. I want to not only raise awareness for mental illnesses, but also rid of the generalizations that surround these diseases.

When I was fifteen years old, I began to go through bouts of depression and social anxiety. It was hard for me to just get out of bed, having absolutely no clue what was going on inside my head or how to deal with it. I never shared this with anyone, which means that I never got help with this problem. I have noticed how it changed my life, how I would rather lay in my bed all day long than go sit in a room full of people. There are always people that make fun of illnesses such as these, making generalizations, saying that these people that suffer are just “acting” or “pretending” to get attention. It bothers me that we live in a world where things like mental health problems are considered a joke instead of a serious matter. I have been suffering with these problems for the past three years, and hearing the things people say about these serious issues makes me want to change the entirety that surrounds them. I want to bring that awareness to people too oblivious to realize what is actually going on. I want to be able to bring that comfort and help to people who need it most, something that I craved for so long. Pursuing a career in pharmaceutical sciences will allow me to achieve these goals I have set for not only myself, but for the rest of society.

The STEM EE scholars program is all about giving back to the community, about providing knowledge and education to those who need it most. That was one of the main reasons I applied into this program. I have always had a love for volunteering, for giving my time to something far more important than some of the trivial things I spend my time worrying about on a day to day basis. Knowing that I would be able to combine my love for learning and helping into one, I knew that the STEM scholars program was a perfect fit for me. We live in a world where some things are valued over education, that children just need good test scores to succeed in life. I would love to be able to show someone how to fall in love with learning, and how knowledge and understanding is much more important that doing well on standardized tests. This service will help prepare me for my desired field, allowing me to gain experience in different scenarios and different types of emotions and actions. Being a part of the STEM EE scholars program will change both my life and my education for the better, learning how to appreciate my education and everything that comes my way.

Welcome to my Honors & Scholars e-Portfolio

Hi, welcome to my ePortfolio. My name is Alyssa DeMatteo! I am a first year student here at The Ohio State University, majoring in pharmaceutical sciences with hopes of minoring in psychology. I am on the pre-pharmacy track and am part of the Early Admissions Pathway (EAP) Program, automatically matriculating into the College of Pharmacy here at OSU after my four years of undergraduate studies. I am also a part of the STEM Exploration and Engagement scholars program and could not be more excited to get involved in all that comes along with it. Living in a small town, I was not exposed to as much as some, but it allowed me to grow in a way no one else could. I was able to accept defeat whenever necessary and learned to ask for help even when I did not want to. Being so close to so many of my classmates, I now know how to collaborate with others, which is something that will be beneficial to myself and my career down the road. I have always loved helping people and have known from the start that I wanted to go into a health profession. Pharmacy has interested me ever since I was in elementary school, so I have been pursuing that dream since then. I hope to specialize in the mental health/mental illness aspect of pharmacy, bringing awareness to and ridding of the generalizations that surround this serious issue. Being a part of not only this university, but also a family-like community, is something I know I will fall in love with more and more every day I am here.