Summary of Mentorship Experience – Leadership Development

My first-year mentee was Ranajha who is a social work major from Columbus, Ohio. Over the year, I really enjoyed learning about her and checking in to see how her year was going. Some things that we had in common were our hometowns, as we were both raised in Columbus and were able to bond off of our varied experiences in the city. We both also have a passion for helping others and talked a lot about our different experiences of service. A big difference that we had was our majors, as she is a social work major and mine is environmental policy and decision making. Even though we had different major we enjoyed talking about academics and learning about each others areas of study. Something that I believe Ranajha grew in throughout the year was her confidence in her academics and studying habits. In the beginning of the year, she expressed that she was unsure of how what she learned in high school (studying wise) would transfer over to a college setting. By the end of the year however, Ranajha was confident in her studying abilities and was able to achieve above a 3.5 GPA both semesters. Ranajha also became more confident in the college experience as a whole. At the beginning of the year she didn’t really know what she wanted to become involved in or what kind service she wanted to immerse in, but now she has shared with me so many different clubs and service opportunities she has participated in and seems very confident about taking advantage of all the Ohio State has to offer.

When I first started the mentorship program for ACES, I was very apprehensive about my leadership skills and how I could help a freshman in their transition to college life. After participating in this experience, I can say that I grew a lot as a leader, mentor, and friend. I never knew how much my knowledge could help someone transition to the college lifestyle and I think that it was really cool to see how I could help out in different situations, whether it be helping Ranajha find service hour opportunities or telling her about the clubs I am involved in on campus. One of the biggest things I learned was that a lot of what being a mentor entailed was being a friendly face and a helping hand to my mentee. I think that it was nice for her to know one more person around campus and have someone that she could reach out to if she had any questions about ACES or college life in general. As far as my leadership skills I think I gained a lot of confidence in giving advice and just being there for someone. I also think that an important skill that I grew further during my time as a mentee is admitting when you don’t know something. Sometimes, Ranajha would ask me a question that I didn’t have an answer for and instead of just making something up to act superior, we learned together and sought out the resources to answer her question. I also think that it is important to note that Ranajha was not the only person learning from this experience. I learned so much from Ranajha if not even more than she did from me and I am very grateful for her willingness to share her experiences with me. I gave Ranajha a lot of advice about how to get service hours for ACES including what clubs I am involved in and suggesting opportunities I thought she might be interested in. I also gave her advice on how to be successful and make the most out of the ACES program by going to as many activities as possible.

Some of the benefits of the mentorship program were that I was able to become friends with someone outside of my normal ACES friends. Sometimes I find it hard to branch out when all of my close friends are also apart of this scholars program, so I thought it was really nice to be able to get out of my comfort zone and spend time with someone new. I think that both me and my mentee gained a lot from our relationship and I also think it was helpful for Ranajha to have someone older to turn to when she had questions. Overall, I really enjoyed this program and found that it aided in my leadership development greatly. I do not think that my college experience would be the same without this program that I was fortunate enough to be a part of.

 

Mentor/Mentee Second-Semester Interview

Although this Second-Semester Interview Assignment was done somewhat unconventionally due to COVID-19, I still think I was able to learn even more about my mentee, Ranajha. We completed this interview over facetime, and had a nice chat about how COVID-19 is personally effecting us and our learning. We chatted about how our college experience has changed in the face of this pandemic and how we both had to drastically alter our study habits in order to be successful. Here are the questions Ranajha answered:

Are you enjoying your major? Why or why not?

Ranajha expressed that she is enjoying her major because she is learning about people and how she can help them in various situations. She is also learning about the different services that are available for people in need. She also enjoys being able to advocate for policies that encourage livable conditions for all.

How do you manage your time between your involvement and academics?

Ranajha expressed how she often often prioritizes school work first and then when she has free time then she gets involved in issues she is passionate about. She talked about how balance is the key for her and she feels that she needs to have involvement in her life to feel enjoyment.

Have you enjoyed the ACES living-learning community in Smith-Steeb? Why or why not?

Ranajha told me how she has loved living in smith-steeb floor 5 because she has met so many new people and her best friend. She also expressed how it is so nice that all of these people shared similar goals and were passionate about service such as herself. She said that she loves how living in this environment has enabled her to experience so many different activities and opportunities for service. She expresses how she thinks this is so valuable to her development as a person and it is really helpful for her major and what she wants to do in her life.

Have you had the chance to explore your desired career through internships, field experience, etc.?

Ranajha expressed how she has had so many volunteer opportunities that have given her experience related to her major of social work. She also said how she hopes to find summer internships in the future that relate to her major and will help her gain real life experience.

What kind of goals have you set for yourself for this semester?

Some goals that Ranajha had for this semester was to participate in one activity a week and to also have a GPA of over 3.5. She was very happy to share that she had achieved both of these goals and had a really successful and enjoying semester because of these goals.

What is your favorite memory from last semester?

Ranajha said that her favorite memory is from this semester is when her and a few other ACES members went to the North Market and to Shake Shack to escape campus for an evening.

Even though this interview had to be conducted in a somewhat unconventional manner due to COVID-19, I still learned a lot about her semester from this. I still hope to stay in contact with Ranajha throughout next year and I hope that I am still able to help her through her college experience. I really love the opportunity that ACES gave me to be a mentor and I loved showing Ranajha the ropes to campus life and helping her throughout the semester. ACES has been a highlight of my time at Ohio State University so far and I hope that I passed along a little of my knowledge to Ranajha to help her throughout her time here.

Autumn Semester Explore Columbus

I had a lot of fun with my mentee, Ranajha, during our Explore Columbus. Ranajha and I decided to go to Condado Tacos because we both talked about our love of Mexican food. I thought this would be a good option because Condado is located on the COTA bus line so Ranajha could go again whenever and it is also a reasonably priced option, with cheap food available. I was really excited to do this explore Columbus with my mentee because I love Condado Tacos and I like the atmosphere and overall experience it provides. We both found time in our schedules early in October to take a break from our studies and get dinner.

To get to Condado, I picked Ranajha up in my car and we drove there. Even though Condado is located on the COTA bus line we decided to drive since both of us had pretty tight schedules. The drive was fun and we ended up discusses various things such as music and other things in Columbus that we passed. Once we got there, we were immediately seated and it was cool to look at the art that was plastering the walls. I find the artwork in Condado to be so intriguing and I could spend hours looking at it. While at Condado, Ranajha and I did the First-Semester interview which sparked a lot of interesting conversation.

Some of my favorite things about Condado are the atmosphere, the cheap tacos, and the good food (especially the queso). I love the chill vibe that Condado offers and I find that it provides for a good place to chat. Also I love how the tacos are really good and also only $3.00 a taco. My favorite thing about Condado though is the queso because it is so smooth and the chips are so good. The most confusing part of Condado is how to order tacos since you do it on a piece of paper. At first I found this kind of confusing but it is actually pretty nice because you can customize your taco exactly how you want it.

I loved the experience that I had at Condado and have been back since I did the Explore Columbus with my mentee. Ranajha also really enjoyed our trip to Condado as we both really enjoyed our food and the atmosphere. I like how close it is to campus and later that month I took my friends back to Condado.

Since Ranajha and I are both from Columbus, we are pretty familiar with a lot of things in the city but the Explore Columbus provided Ranajha with a cool new food place that she had not been to before. I am excited for our next Explore Columbus because even though I am from Columbus I love doing things near the city because it reminds me how cool of a place Columbus is. Sometimes I can get caught up in the hustle and bustle of student life and often I forget to take a breath and just explore the city that we are surrounded by. Explore Columbus is a perfect opportunity to get out of the campus bubble and take a breath.

Being Ranajha’s mentor has felt very easy as we get along really well and found a lot of different things to discuss during our meal. Whether it be about different classes or Zumba that is offered at the RPAC, we always had something to talk about. Ranajha is a really fun person to be around and I am really glad that I get to be her mentor throughout this year. I love trying to help her out and just be someone that she can talk to and ask questions. Having a resource on campus, like a mentor, I think is really important especially for your first year. Because of Ohio State’s size sometimes it can be confusing and overwhelming and I found that having someone I could go to ask questions really helped ease my transition into college life.

Overall, I found the Explore Columbus to be a really enjoyable experience and I think that my mentee, Ranajha, enjoyed it took. It was a nice break from our busy lives to get to know each other and just chat. I gave Ranajha a few tips about academics and dorm life. I also learned a lot from her about various opportunities on campus. Overall, I found Condado to be a really fun experience and I would recommend it to anyone looking to explore more into all the amazing cuisine Columbus has to offer.

Mentor/Mentee First-Semester Interview

I learned a lot about my mentee, Ranajha Maye, during the First-Semester Interview. Ranajha’s major is Social Work and below I have listed the questions that I decided to ask her.

1.How did you decide the major you have chosen?

Ranajha decided this major because her mentor throughout her childhood was a social worker. From this she got an introduction to the field and decided that enjoyed and wanted pursue this as a career to help others. Ranajha hopes to focus on areas of troubled teens and wants to possibly work as a probation officer.

2. What kind of involvement are you interested in on campus?

Ranajha is interested in joining a dance team here at OSU, because she danced in high school. She is also interested in the OSU Pen Pals club to help reach out to elementary schoolers in Columbus City Schools. Ranajha also discussed her interest in learning American Sign Language and possibly joining a club or taking classes involving learning ASL. She also talked about her desire to be apart of a mentorship program to reach out to troubled kids in Columbus Schools.

3. Why did you choose ACES?

Ranajha chose ACES because she wanted to be involved with service, volunteer work, leadership, and advocacy, which are things that ACES offers. She talked about how ACES aligns very well with her own interests and values since in high school she had over 300 service hours.

4. What is your dream job and why?

Ranajha found this question somewhat difficult to answer but she discussed how her ultimate goal is to help change the lives of troubled teens. She explained how she would like to help reform the foster care system and the children service system overall since she believes that these areas are largely underserved.

5. What has surprised you about Ohio State since arriving on campus?

Ranajha talked about how she was really surprised by the diversity on campus and how even though the campus is so large, she still feels like she can express herself and find a community that she enjoys. She also loves the different cultures and groups that she can learn about and experience here at OSU.

Reflection:

I loved learning more about Ranajha and giving her advice on various things around campus. Since she talked about her large workload this semester and next semester, I plan to check in with her to make sure she is taking time to destress and take care of herself. I also plan to help her follow through on her involvement interests by showing her resources on campus and various clubs. I am super excited to learn more about Ranajha over the rest of this year and I hope that I am able to help her out in different ways. Even though this is a mentorship program, I feel as though I am learning a lot from Ranajha since we have such different backgrounds. I loved hearing her talk about diversity on campus and it was really interesting to hear how she has had first hand experiences of troubled teens in her neighborhood. Ranajha also introduced me to a few clubs and programs here at OSU that I did not know about before. One thing that I find so interesting about this campus is that you could probably do a different thing every day of you undergraduate degree here, and still have more things to be involved with and do once you graduate. The vast amount of opportunities is one of the reasons that I find OSU so great and I love all the different people that I get the chance to meet and interact with.

A Kid Again Service

An activity that I participate in that is apart of the Honors and Scholars G.O.A.L.S., Service Engagement, is my participation in the club, A Kid Again. This club holds events and gives support to kids who have a terminal illness and their families. Although being apart of this club is extremely emotionally challenging, I know that being there for these kids and helping them have fun and let loose is extremely valuable and important. Also, holding these events allows the parents to get a much needed break from all of the responsibilities of raising a child with a terminal illness. A Kid Again hosts many events such as holiday parties, thanksgiving feasts, and many others. Going to these events is so eye opening and rewarding because seeing these kids have a good day and having fun makes the families so happy. These kids deserve so much in their lifetime and I think that A Kid Again helps them gain some fun and significant memories.

Extended Essay

Another project that I consider extremely reflective of my academic interests and achievements is the extended essay that I wrote my senior year of high school. This essay was to receive my IB Diploma and consisted of a minimum of 4000 words and was around 20 pages. The question that I addressed for my extended essay was “how do bees play a vital role in our society?”. This question was extremely interesting to me since I am very passionate about our environment and especially to dwindling bee population that is crucial for agricultural production. This problem is extremely troubling to our food dependent and agricultural crop dependent world. This essay taught me extremely valuable lessons about the research process and the entire process of writing such an extensive paper in general. This truly opened my eyes to a whole other academic world, where writing such extensive papers contains so much motivation and work. 

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.]

Dominican Republic Mission Trip

One activity that fits into the Honors and Scholars G.O.A.L.S., Global Awareness is the mission trip that I went on to the Dominican Republic. On this trip my church and I visited a orphanage called ‘Centro De Educación Dominica’. The whole point of this trip was being present with the children and also teaching lessons during the day for school. On this trip I learned so much about the struggles that these kids and the community face on a daily basis. I also discovered much more about the diverse culture that is present in the Dominican Republic. This trip focused on global awareness because it was all about getting to know people from a different culture and forming relationships and community. This trip was so life changing for me because I learned valuable lessons about community and I also realized how fortunate I am in my life and the desperate help that so many other countries need.

ACES Film Project

One item that I consider to be representative of my academic interests and achievements is the ACES Film Project. My film was called Lost For Life and it focused on the problem that is present when juveniles are convicted for life without parole. This is problematic because of the lack of brain development that these young individuals have and the potential they have to change. This film project taught me a lot about collaboration in groups and public speaking skills. I learned so much about the social justice system and the problems that juveniles face when convicted for life without parole. These juveniles have their whole lives ahead of them and are now stuck in the prison system for the rest of it. This project was the largest project this year for the ACES course and was extremely important for my grade and worth in the class. The ACES film project was extremely valuable in many different academic and social aspects.