Service:

Volunteering in this past year has been an amazing experience. As my first year went by, I helped in many events like fundraising for a soup kitchen, making sandwiches for the homeless, and making cards for children at hospitals. Surprisingly, I to garnered 20 hours of community service. I didn’t think it was possible for me to do 20 hours of service and be a full-time student, but with the extra time that I had I managed to do it, and I’m glad I did.

My most memorable experience of volunteering was participating in MLK Day of Service. This is a day where OSU students get to help in different areas in Columbus. I went with an organization called Ladies of Leadership. The service people assigned us to a senior home. I talked to the elders and they shared their life stories and lessons. I also helped set up books and cleaned a room. It was very eye-opening. I got to see the amount of work it takes to care for the residents and what a day in the life of the residents was like.

To summarize my volunteering experience, I worked with Muslim Students Associations to make sandwiches for the homeless every Sunday for a least an hour. With HSS, I made cards for those in need for an hour. I did a community commitment with my peer mentor for 3 hours which was amazing. I also helped with fundraisers like Columbus Aid for India to raise money for children in India.  It’s shocking how far the year has gone and how much I accomplished. I hope to do more in the future.

Yearly Review:

Coming to OSU has changed me as a person. When I first came, I was a timid girl who didn’t think I could achieve anything at a huge university. But after joining many clubs and meeting new people, I realized that my perceived notion was false.  I also thought that I wouldn’t make any friends as a commuter student but that thought was also false. I discovered more students who commuters and full-time students like me. It made me feel more welcome at the university.

The way I viewed college started to change. At first, I feared it and what the future would hold. Now as the year is ending, I view it as a place of opportunity and a place to grow. And I want to continue growing into my next year and the years following that.

My goals for next year is to mentor some incoming freshman so they don’t feel alone in the large campus. I also want to go out of my comfort zone and try something new like doing research, study abroad, or joining a club that I’ve never heard of before. Hopefully, my sophomore year will be a success.