For our second Explore Columbus, my mentee Eliza and I went to the North Market, in the Short North off of High Street. We went on April 15, 2021 after discussing many different days/times that we could do it. Since finals are approaching, and move out is dwelling on us, we wanted this experience to be fun and relaxing so that we could take our minds off of the end of the semester. We chose the North Market because it has a variety of restaurants and cafés inside, so we were not limited to just one thing. Eliza told me she had only ever been one time before, and didn’t get to see it all. For this visit, my mentee and I were joined by the mentorship pair of Abby Williams and Abby Jarrold. Abby W. is one of my best friends (who I met through ACES) and Abby J. and Eliza both joined KKG a month or so prior after recruitment, so we thought that we could all enjoy each other and hang out. I actually picked up Abby W. before our mentees and took her to get her vaccine prior to going out. After waiting her 15 minutes, we headed to Smith Steeb to pick up our sweet mentees. As we were jamming out to the radio and on our way to eat, I unfortunately passed the street. This seems to be a common denominator for these exploring trips because I also had directional troubles last semester. I made a quick turn, hoping to go around in a circle and then get back to where I wanted to go; little did I know, construction would ruin my plans yet again, and led me to the highway. Have no fear, we plugged into the GPS, but BAM! The exit we needed to take was also closed, just our luck. The thought of parking on the highway and scaling the wall up to North Market occurred for a split second haha. But nevertheless, we persisted and finally made it to our destination. North Market is in the center of downtown, a public indoor market with a ton of different restaurants, merchants and farmers. It is local and fresh, which is something that I love. Being from Georgia, the North Market kind of reminds me of Ponce City Market right off of I-85 in the heart of Atlanta. There are many other independent restaurants, shops and apartment buildings surrounding the area, and it reminds me of why I love Columbus so much. The afternoon was grey and a little rainy, but we made the best of it; as soon as we stepped inside, we were met with so many colors, sights and smells and immediately started exploring. We walked around the first floor, just taking everything in, and admiring all that we saw. We stopped at almost every stall and looked at what they had, all while trying to decide what we each wanted to get to eat and drink. I decided to get an authentic New York egg bagel with their secret recipe Jalapeño cream cheese. Abby W. decided to get pasta (that she would save half for dinner). Abby J. decided to get strawberry bubble tea, which I was tempted to go get because it looked so refreshing. My mentee Eliza decided to wait and get ice cream as a little dessert treat after we all finished our meals. We then wandered upstairs to find a nice place to sit and enjoy. Luckily, we found a big (socially distanced) table enough for the four of us to sit around and chat about different things. We talked about our classes this semester, and what we wanted to take in the fall, plans we had over the summer, and how this year has been for us. After chatting for about an hour, we all walked back downstairs, washed our hands and waited in line for the jewel of Columbus: Jeni’s Splendid Ice Cream. The server was so sweet and struck up great conversation. We headed back to my car, and drove down High Street taking in the views and people on our way back towards campus. I dropped Eliza and Abby J. off at Smith Steeb, and then took Abby back to her place. Everything about our visit was great, and was really needed for a little self-care/friendship break! Doing this trip with Abby W. and Abby J. was super enjoyable, and I hope we can all get together next semester when we are back on campus.

Talking to my mentee Eliza for our interview this semester was really fun, especially since we have grown a lot closer this year (even if it wasn’t as “normal” as we would have liked it to be). Eliza and I did our interview outside of our Explore Columbus, unlike last semester; this semester has been really hectic for the both of us and this is what worked out best! Aside from the questions on our sheet, we both got carried away and talked about a ton of different things in our lives. Eliza has finally declared her major after coming into Ohio State as an undecided and she is actually now a Human Development and Family Science major. Since we now share a major, we talked about classes that we’ve loved, professors to look for, and different opportunities to take! She said that with her new major she is really enjoying the material but doesn’t think she has learned/retained as much as she hoped with all of her classes being online. Her study habits have improved now that she has realized that she needs to separate room and work, so she usually goes to the library or finds a spot outside to do work/study. Throughout this semester, campus has still been dull because of the pandemic but has opened up a bit. My mentee has taken the opportunities to join a couple more clubs and actually went through recruitment and joined a sorority. Here’s the craziest thing; she is now in my sorority (Kappa Kappa Gamma) and is actually my little sister in the chapter! So, we are not only mentor/mentee pairs but Big Sis/Lil Sis pairs as well! It has been really fun to share something that I love on campus with her, and see how this has made campus feel more like a home to her. On the topic of ACES, I asked her some different questions. First, how was her first semester in the program and what surprised her the most. She said that it had honestly been kind of tough since everything had to be virtual but she is excited to get more involved next year when we can do more. She was also surprised at the variety of majors that participate in the program, and how it is not just limited to education majors. Just like last semester, she also told me that she loves living in Smith-Steeb and living around people that share similar interests and values to her, but it is really cool to see how everyone is different and the environment is really accepting. She said she’s going to miss the vibes of Floor 5 next year, which I can attest to missing myself (Room 524 forever). Some recommendations that Eliza had for the program is of course waiting to see how things will be next year when (hopefully) we can do things in person, specifically service events and knowing more about them ahead of time because she is sometimes overwhelmed with school and work so she found it difficult to fit in events if they were announced last minute. I told her that my first year, events were announced with a pretty good time frame in advance so that people could have it on their radars, but we have all had to adapt to the pandemic life. We then moved on to the topic of career plans, and she has not had any change of heart about wanting to become a child life specialist. Just like last semester she has not had any opportunities for internships or field experience but is hoping for it in the fall. One of the final things she talked about was what her favorite memories were from last semester; exploring Columbus with new friends and meeting new people took the cake. She told me that this year she has really been focusing more on her mental health and wants everyone around her to take some time for self-care as well. Eliza is truly one of the best people I have met on Ohio State’s campus, and I am truly so grateful that ACES led us to meeting. We really want to see each other over the summer, and are planning to visit each other’s hometowns. Maybe you will get to see a little ACES x KKG reunion in the next couple of months.