My mentee and I, Dayna Snow, chose to go to Zest Juice Co to combine our second-semester interview and explore Columbus assignment. While we were there, we talked about how Dayna’s semester has been and her recent experience getting the Covid vaccine. She expressed that she is optimistic about a normal college experience in the fall. The questions that I chose to ask Dayna are as follows:
Are you enjoying your major? Why or why not?
This was a question that I was especially excited to ask Dayna because she had recently changed her major. Dayna was in the process of changing her major when we met up first semester, so I was eager to hear how she was doing in her new major. She said that she was genuinely enjoying this major more than she enjoyed her original major. She is now a Political Science major, and she likes it because she is learning a lot about the world in general. It is something that she is genuinely interested in, so it doesn’t really feel like schoolwork when she’s in her classes. I expressed that this is how it should feel. I am excited to keep checking in on her progress in her major and I hope she continues to enjoy it as much as she expressed when we talked.
What class on your current schedule is most challenging and why?
Dayna found Data Analytics to be her most challenging class so far. It is a GE class for Political Science. This class involves coding, and the coding is very specific. While I was not able to provide help with this because I am not a math person and have never attempted coding, I validated how she was feeling about this class and encouraged her for a great end to the semester in this class. She expressed that she is excited for it to be over because she is almost done with math in college.
Do you think you will keep the same involvement next year, why or why not?
This question was a difficult one to answer, since this year has been unprecedented and, as Dayna expressed in our first meeting, it was hard to get involved as a freshman. I figured that this would be difficult because I personally enjoyed the involvement fair when I was a freshman, and their involvement fair was completely virtual and somewhat confusing. Dayna said that she does look forward to getting a little bit more involved next semester, but for the most part she is content with her current involvement. We also discussed that she will be more involved in ACES, because of her new position on the leadership council. I celebrated the accomplishment of this leadership role with her and highlighted some of the things that I loved about my role as Communications chair on leadership council this year. I will use what I know about her excitement for involvement and try to send her opportunities to get involved in the future.
What recommendations do you have for improving the ACES program?
Dayna did not really have any recommendations in this category, because she has enjoyed her experience in the scholar program so far. Her only recommendation, as expected, is more in-person events. Of course, that will depend on the precautions in the fall semester. We were both optimistic that she will get to experience more in person events for her second year in the ACES program. She also mentioned that more interactive community meetings could be helpful, since many people in her grade in the program do not know each other. Her and her roommate live on the sixth floor of Smith-Steeb instead of the fifth, so it has been difficult for them to meet other ACES.
Have you had the chance to explore your desired career through internships, field experiences, etc?
Dayna just changed her major from Early Childhood Education to Political Science this semester, so she has not had a chance to check career opportunities or internships out yet. However, in her survey class, she had to look at Handshake for an assignment and saw many cool internships and career opportunities for the future. One cool internship that she looked into was for NPR. I look forward to seeing the opportunities that open for Dayna in the future as she gets deeper into her new major.
What is your favorite memory from last semester?
Last semester, during a nice day, Dayna and her friends went to the Short North and got sushi together. During this little adventure off campus, they also checked out some of the cool local shops located in the Short North. I shared with her some of my favorite places in the short north, and we discussed our experiences with transportation to get there.
I have enjoyed connecting with Dayna this year through the Mentorship program, and I look forward to continuing building our friendship in the future.