Band is more than just playing music…

The one class that I knew I was going to take first semester no matter what I got credit for from my AP tests, and no matter what my major would be, was Athletic Band. I was very involved with music throughout all of middle and high school and I wanted to continue that. My problem was, that I knew if I just did a voluntary band, I wouldn’t truly commit to it. So I had to take a class. Athletic band was a great opportunity to take a ‘class’, without sacrificing the music I like to play. I was always more of a pep band music kind of person and this band provided that.

The main part of this artifact however isn’t the class itself, it is the effect the music has had on me. I very much underestimated how stressful college was, and practicing hard music for band relieves stress for me. It may stress some people out to try to read challenging music, but for me, it uses a different part of my brain and I love doing it. I’ve already spent countless hours sitting at my desk going at a practice pad to figure out just a measure or two that are especially hard. This practicing has also given me some of the drive I have to have when I don’t think I can do an assignment or that it is too complicated. I work through the work like I’d work through a hard piece of music.

I’ll personally use this experience in the future when I need to calm down but not just do nothing. I can use it to refocus if I am having an extended study session. I love band and I love what music has done for me in college.

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 information, go to: http://honors-scholars.osu.edu/e-portfolio. Delete these instructions and add your own post.]

G.O.A.L.S. Reflection

Although I find all of the aspects of G.O.A.L.S. to be very important for all first year students to commit some of their time to, the two that I feel are most important are ‘Original Inquiry’ and ‘Service Engagement’. For me, these are the two that one has to go out of their way to truly do well with, and therefore these are the two that should be most focused on. For Original Inquiry, one has to go out their way to try to gain a range of experiences on campus. To me, this doesn’t mean hanging out with friends or doing new things for classes, but it instead means trying new things for the sake of just doing so. As for Service Outreach, service is something that everyone should take part in, but people aren’t always sure how to get involved. STEM provides a good range of opportunities to do service work that also tend to relate to many of majors of STEM Scholars.

Being a STEM EE Scholar has helped me get out of my comfort zone a bit by making me go to different events and meetings I wouldn’t have gone to otherwise. This is why Original Inquiry speaks to me so much. I have always been an outgoing person, but like most, I avoid things that make me uncomfortable or make me feel inferior. For my long-term STEM event I have gone to a number of Big Date Analytics Association (BDAA) meeting this semester. I have always been interested in data analytics, but much of what we discuss in BDAA meetings goes over my head because I don’t know all that much about the topic. Even though I may not understand all of it, I’m glad I’m broadening my knowledge outside of the classroom. Service Outreach speaks to me for very different reasons. I have had the privilege to work with the Wonders of Our World (WOW) program this semester and it has been such a valuable experience. I have gotten to teach kids science through different experiments and seeing all of the kids faces when I tell them something they didn’t know has been magical.

I plan on really trying to experience new things and doing service work for many years to come, but in the next year specifically I hope I can stay with both BDAA and WOW to continue learning all I can. This upcoming spring semester I will have more time to possibly visit some other clubs and volunteer more with WOW which I am very excited about. Following that, throughout college I do still hope to be involved with these organizations, but I also hope that I can also venture into work with other groups that may more directly relate to my major and my future career. Seeing that my major still doesn’t feel definite, I will just have to see where I end up in regards to what clubs I join. Then looking down the road about 10 years, I think that my main goal is to make sure that I still keep myself involved in some sort of community group as well as some sort of volunteering. I believe it is important to carry these G.O.A.L.S. into ones life once they graduate, so I plan on doing so.

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 information, go to: http://honors-scholars.osu.edu/e-portfolio. Delete these instructions and add your own post.]

Artifacts

The first week of classes when I went to the involvement fair, I had a realization. I was involved in so much in high school, but now there was no way I could juggle 5 activities, being in a scholars program, and then of course actual classes. My senior year I was in National Honor Society, Marching Band, Mock Trial, my churches youth group, bowling, and ‘Link Crew’ which was a mentoring program for freshmen. Obviously I had to cut back on the number of things I did and there were two of those of which I just listed that I decided I had to commit myself to here. The first was Band but that is an actual class I’m taking so it’s required I do certain things for it. The one that I had to actively go search for a way for me to continue was bowling. To keep this activity going, I decided to join the Ohio State Bowling Club.

One of the main reasons why I was so dead set on wanting to continue bowling is because I knew it would be a good way for me to stay involved at the university, while giving me activity to occasionally get my mind off all of my school work. I’m a strong believer in the idea that all people need a break sometimes. And while bowling gave me a ‘break’, I knew it would also make me work very hard. Although I was good in high school, bowling at a college level is much harder and takes more skill.

Another reason I decided to join the club is because bowlers tend to very specific types of people, and I like those kinds of people. I already knew a lot of people on campus because I’m from Columbus, but to get to know more people, I thought it would be great to interact with people that are already interested in the same kind of thing as me. And my assumption of the kind of people on the bowling team was right because they’re all amazing and I can’t wait to get to know even more people as my time with the club goes on.

About Me

Will Flaws is in his first year of Undergraduate Studies at The Ohio State University and is currently seeking a major in Mathematics. Will graduated in the spring of 2017 from Centennial High School in Columbus, Ohio in the top 5% of his class. Throughout his experience growing up in a progressive city like Columbus, he has developed a strong belief in the fact that everyone should be treated based on who they are as a person and that if one sets there mind to something they can get it done if they put in the effort. Because he has set his mind on getting at least a Bachelors Degree, Will hopes to learn a large range of new skills in college and graduate in four years set up well to venture into the real world. The main category that he hopes to focus on is general mathematics and learning about STEM fields in general because he is a first year STEM EE Scholar.

Will is interested in possibly going into personal accounting, banking, or other careers that would deal with handling numbers and general problem solving/numbers. He has always been a number oriented person even outside of the classroom and believes careers that involve this would lead him to happiness and therefore being successful. Hopefully Will will be able to find some sort of job along these lines in Columbus once he graduates and help people along they way with his knowledge of numbers and money.

Outside of the classroom and planning for his future, Will enjoys drumming, meeting new people in various ways, and he is currently on Ohio State’s Club Bowling Team. He loves to introduce people to both drumming and bowling in a more serious way than most people take either hobby, but still in a fun way.