One of my peer mentors is Rachel Armstrong. Rachel hails from Grove City, Ohio, a whopping 20 minutes from OSU’s campus, which is, in part, why she chose to attend OSU. Rachel also chose OSU because she had many friends here already and it just made sense. Rachel is studying early childhood education and is currently shadowing a third grade class at Buckeye Woods Elementary School-her very own elementary school with her very own third grade teacher! She’s also involved in College Democrats and OSU Penpals with Columbus City Schools at OSU and played softball and was in choir and drama in high school. Similarly to me, Rachel joined PSL because she was interested in politics in high school and wanted to learn more, and was considering a career in politics. Also, she was excited to live in Smith-Steeb as a freshman. She decided to apply to be a PSL peer mentor for several reasons, the first being that she was a mentor in high school and really enjoyed it. Secondly, she had great peer mentors last year and wanted to continue the excellence. Rachel’s passion is working with children, as is evident in the fact that every job she’s held has been related to that in some way. She’s hoping to make the world a better place one child at a time!

G: The way in which I want to accomplish global outreach is by studying abroad during my time at OSU, preferably in Ireland or Germany, and to immerse myself into their culture and bring home with me things that I can improve upon in my own community.

O: The way in which I want to accomplish original inquiry is by conducting my own research before I graduate and hopefully be published as an undergrad.

A: The way in which I want to accomplish academic enrichment is by keeping a high GPA and being on the Dean’s List.

L: The way in which I want to accomplish leadership development is by getting involved in organizations that can help build my leadership skills and also by being an officer of a student organization.

S: The way in which I want to accomplish service engagement is by helping take steps toward solving the opioid crisis which specifically impacts my hometown of Dayton, Ohio.

Artifact

My artifact is the thing that I believe most defines me and who I am as an individual. My artifact is music. For as long as humans have been around, music has been essential to community, a tradition that has not slowed in the slightest. I have been heavily involved in music since I was five years old and at that time, would never have even been able to know how much of an impact music would have on my life. I met my best friends through music, I shared my experiences and emotions, something that is not easy for me to do, and I became who I am because of music. I have won two outstanding arrangement awards, and singing groups I have been in have won four competitions. However, I am not studying music, but rather psychology. Psychology fascinates me unlike anything else, other than music of course. I will surely continue in music as a hobby, because without it I am not myself. I’m sure that I will find a way to incorporate music into my everyday life in the psychology field, but I do not have an answer as to what that looks like.

About Me

My name is Jacob Ely and I am a member of The Ohio State University Class of 2022, a psychology major, and a Politics, Society, and Law Scholar.
I grew up in Dayton, Ohio and graduated from Chaminade Julienne Catholic High School. As a child, I was a birthright Buckeye fan, as my both of my parents graduated from OSU, and so I was naturally drawn to Ohio State as my own college application time came about. I selected to attend Ohio State due to its excellence in academics, its Scholars program, and its financial aid.
I have worn many hats throughout my life, and been involved in an insane amount of both co-curricular and extracurricular activities. I played soccer for two years in high school and recreation basketball. I have participated in musical theatre for thirteen years of my life, choir for four, band for two, and a cappella for three. I have won awards for acting, singing, and arranging music. I was heavily involved in National Honors Society at my high school and was the treasurer my senior year. I participated in my high school’s Junior Council on World Affairs (JCOWA) for all four years, and through that, was a member of a team that placed in the regional World Affairs Council of America (WACA) Quiz Bowl all four years, receiving fourth place, first place, second place, and again first place. My team then went on to twice compete at the WACA National Competition in Washington D.C., however I was only able to attend once due to a prior engagement that conflicted with the competition. I am very excited to see what the future holds!

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.]

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.]