Statement of Action

With the conclusion of my sophomore year I have completed half of my time at the Ohio State University. Moving forward I plan on spending time really figuring out what I want to do after graduation. This summer, assuming the current state of the country doesn’t worsen, I will be working in a cancer research laboratory at the University of Chicago. I also want to gain more responsibility within my fraternity by running for Membership Vice President and coordinate recruitment events, retreats, and plan events with other chapters around the state. I am excited to study abroad in London and Paris, while learning about the history of biology next spring. I will also continue to take courses that will further me along my path towards my degree.

Welcome to my Honors & Scholars e-Portfolio

Hi I am Jack Filson, welcome to my ePortfolio! I am using this website to catalog my experiences during my time at the Ohio State University and give others a glimpse into my life, as well as understand my goals. I am a student within the Biological Sciences Scholars Program and so many of my experiences I share will be directly or indirectly influenced by this program.

Year in Review

This semester has been a large transition in my life. I left behind all my friends and family to come to Ohio State University; however, I have made many new friends and met a very diverse range of people. The shift in coursework has probably been the most dramatic and abrupt. Classes are much more rigorous and involve more out-of-class work than in high school. They have taught me how to better manage my time and my studying habits have improved, although I still have much more room for improvement. I also have been given many more freedoms, such as scheduling my own classes, doing my own laundry, and paying for everything. Overall, these freedoms have taught me responsibility.

The second semester of my freshman year, I was still adjusting, but felt much more acclimated to the Ohio State University environment. During the fall semester, I was concerned with adjusting so I did join any student organizations; however, this semester I decided to become more involved. I was recommend by a friend to pledge Alpha Phi Omega, a coed service fraternity. I was hesitant about joining Greek life, but decided to look into it. I pledged and soon fell in love with the extremely strong sense of fellowship that the fraternity had. It provided me with many fun service projects that I would not have heard of otherwise and I’ve made a lot of new friends of all years. I am very excited to return next semester and I hope to acquire a leadership position in the near future.

My third semester began my sophomore year at the Ohio State University. It gave me a lot of time to strengthen bonds and form new ones. I wanted to take more responsibility within my Fraternity, so I took up a position as a family head. Within Alpha Phi Omega we are split into seven different families, so as a family head I coordinated events for members of my family to come together and bond. I was also trained in first aid and began volunteering with the Red Cross FAST division. We work as first responders at events around Columbus including Basketball games and concerts. Both activities have given me a real sense of satisfaction and responsibility and I have really enjoyed helping others in a multiple of ways.

My fourth semester ended my sophomore year and it was certainly my most challenging semester yet. Specifically, my courses were very difficult and become ever more so once we were sent home for the second half of the semester due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It was very hard for me to stay focused and motivated while confined to my home, but I was able to finish the semester with my best GPA yet and I am very proud of myself. Before leaving campus I joined Doctors Without Borders. We were unable to complete our fundraiser, but I am excited to work with them next year. I enjoyed the responsibility I gained the last semester in my frat as a family head and continued as a family head this semester. I wanted to really gain more responsibility and give back to my fraternity so I ran in our elections for the position of Membership Vice President. I didn’t win the elections, but I am excited to work the Membership Vice President moving forward and I am determined on running again at the end of next year.

G.O.A.L.S.

Global Awareness

  • Keeping myself updated on, as well as making sure others stay aware about global issues is very important to me and I try to surround myself with diverse company so that I can continue to hear unique perspectives. Attending Ohio State University comes with many opportunities, one being studying abroad. I would like to study abroad at least, so that I can have the opportunity of immersing myself in a different culture.

Original Inquiry

  • I would like to obtain a position conducting research at some point during my career at the Ohio State University. If possible I would like to research something related to neonatology. I believe research can be very useful in expanding one’s knowledge and can definitely help one’s chances in an interview.

Academic Enrichment

  • I am currently taking chemistry and calculus to aid me in my pursuit of a biology degree, which I am pursuing to help me apply to medical school. I also plan on taking general education classes that both are the most practical in obtaining my degree, but also the ones I find most interesting.

Leadership Development

  • I believe leadership roles allow one to learn about themselves, as well as build one’s interpersonal skills. I would like to earn a leadership role at some point, by joining a club and moving up the ranks.

Service Engagement

  • Biological Sciences Scholars provides many service opportunities. This is very important to me, because I feel like everyone should give back to their community. Helping people is one of the reasons I decided to go into the medical field, so doing service now is the best way I can help my community.

Artifacts

During my senior year of high school, my Biotechnology career tech program allowed my fellow classmates and I to enter the Capstone Showcase Competition. Three classmates and I entered the competition, in which we competed against groups from our school and other schools from the nearby area. For our project we decided to research the effects of bacteriophage on antibiotic resistance, determining its efficacy as an alternative way to combat the rapidly growing population of bacteria that are no longer affected by antibiotics. To test this,  we grew cultures of E. coli and transformed the bacteria to become Ampicillin-resistant using plasmid DNA. Next, the bacteriophage chosen, Coliphage T4r, was added to the transformed E. coli. The E.coli was then spread onto the agar plates and left to grow. The data collected showed that the bacteriophage inhibited the growth of bacteria, supporting the hypothesis. We compiled our data and displayed it on a poster board. We took our findings to Sinclair Community College for the competition. We presented our project to the panel of judges, who asked us questions about our data, as well as how we could extend our project in the future. Later, we attended the awards ceremony and it was announced our project “Counter Culture” had won first place. This project taught me that by truly applying myself, I can accomplish almost anything and I will use this as an example to motivate myself in the future.

The Ohio State University Honors and Scholars Program hosted a tailgate before a home football game. I went with two friends that I met in my dorm building. At the tailgate they served pancakes and we met new people. I appreciated the tailgate because it increased my sense of community and made the Ohio State campus feel much smaller.

For Spring Break of 2019, I and a group of my friends decided to visit Hocking Hills. Being mostly Biological Sciences Scholars we were excited to be surrounded by nature. The weather was perfect and was just becoming warm. We went on many hikes and enjoyed the newly blossoming trees and streams. It was a great break from school work and rejuvenated me to handle the rest of the semester.

During my third and fourth semesters at the Ohio State University, I was given the opportunity to work with an advisor to develop a STEP proposal. Second-Year Transformational Experience Program (STEP) allows second year students to earn up to $2,000 in scholarships for a project they develop. I decided to work on a Study Abroad program called Scientific Roots in Europe. During this program I will travel to London, England and Paris, France to visit homes of important scientists and laboratories where significant discoveries were made. I am very excited for this opportunity, as it will give me new experiences, deepen my knowledge of biology, and strengthen my independence.

About Me

Hi, I am Jack Filson. I am part of the Biological Sciences Scholars Program at the Ohio State University. I am currently studying Biology and I hope to attend Medical School after I get my Bachelors Degree. In high school I was part of the biotechnology career tech program, where we studied how living organisms are used to enhance everyday life. During this class I discovered my passion for biological studies. Presently, I plan on becoming an obstetrician, gynecologist or something related to pregnancy and women’s health.