Katie is a mathematics education major. In her second semester at OSU she is thoroughly enjoying her major. She loves her math classes and had a positive experience at her First Year Educational Experience Program placement in a middle school. Even though her math classes are difficult are require a lot of work, she has developed good study habits which helped her be successful. Some of these habits finding good study spots across campus instead of trying to study in her dorm room and making sure to write things down and stay organized. Katie’s career plans have not changed but she has had the opportunity to become more involved with her future career through the First Year Educational Experience Program, tutoring middle school students, and home schooling the children she babysits. This has helped her gain experience that will help her decide if she wants to teach middle school or high school when she graduates, since her degree certifies her to teach both.

Throughout the second semester Katie has gotten much more involved on campus as well. She rushed a sorority and joined a dance club called studio dance. Though it is difficult to manage her time she has found that doing work throughout the day and getting everything, she needs to get done for the day early and then doing fun activities after dinner has worked best for her. She is enjoying Studio Dance because it gives her an opportunity to do one of her favorite activities from high school and is also happy with her sorority and plans to live in the house next year.

Katie has also enjoyed being involved in ACES. Her favorite memory from last semester is Community Commitment. She loved the opportunity to volunteer and to meet people in ACES since this was one the first times they were all together. She also really loved the ACES Seminar because she got to know more people in ACES and thought that the professional development activities were very helpful. Katie loved the ACES living community in Smith-Steeb. She went with a random roommate in ACES and was nervous about not choosing her roommate herself but is very glad she did because they ended up getting along very well and are still great friends even though they no longer live together. Katie and her roommate even scheduled their move out times at the same time so they would be able to see each other one more time before going home for the year. Going into ACES Katie felt prepared and was not surprised by any elements of the program, but what surprised her most about Ohio State, is how often she sees people she knows on campus. Even though OSU is huge she finds herself seeing the same faces all the time while walking around. This semester her goal was to stay more on top of her volunteer hours and to make a better schedule, both of which she was able to achieve. Katie’s only recommendation to improve ACES is to have more was to communicate online with fellow ACES, such as a GroupMe, so the cohort can stay more connected when they are no longer together, especially if we are unable to return to campus in the fall.

I asked Katie all of the second semester interview questions except for “Do you think you will keep your same involvement next year?”

Kafe Kerouac

For our first semester Explore Columbus, Katie and I decided to go to Kafe Kerouac, a coffee shop north of campus. We decided to go here because we had both already eaten lunch and wanted to go somewhere to get coffee and a snack. We had heard great things about this coffee shop and thought it was a good idea to try it out. I was most looking forward to trying the baked goods and seeing if the café would be a good study spot to come back to later in the semester, when I get tired of going to the same places to study all the time. After meeting in the Smith Steeb lobby, Katie and I took the COTA to Kafe Kerouac. The bus ride was quick and easy ride up High Street. Once we got there, I ordered a cookie and Katie ordered tea. The atmosphere of the coffee shop was very calm. Everyone there was either doing work or reading a book. The walls of the one of the rooms was covered in books. It was somewhat difficult to find somewhere to sit. There were two rooms with seating for customers, but most of the tables were taken. Once Katie and I found a table and chairs for both of us we enjoyed our cookies and tea and had a good time chatting and getting to know each other better. The room we sat in had a stage for live music which Katie and I thought would be enjoyable to see. After we were finished, we took the COTA back to campus. We had to walk a little to get the nearest bus stop, but the journey back was a quick and easy as the trip there. I would definitely go back to Kafe Kerouac. The calming and relaxing atmosphere would make it the perfect place to study. It is a great way to get off campus and try something new without having to go too for or spend a lot of money. It would also be fun to take friends to see a live music night. Kafe Kerouac is a great representation of the city of Columbus, even though it is not far off campus there were all kinds of people there. College students doing work and people reading books or catching up with friends. From this experience I learned that you can escape the stress of campus with a quick ten-minute COTA ride. You do not need to go miles of campus to experience different parts of the Columbus culture and community.

Melt Bar and Grill

For my first semester Explore Columbus with Hannah, we decided to go to Melt Bar and Grill in the Short North. I was very excited to go to Melt because their specialties, grilled cheese and mac and cheese, are my favorite foods. They are also some of Hannah’s favorite foods, which is why we decided to go there. I was most looking forward to trying one of their unusual grilled cheese combinations. After meeting in the Smith Steeb lobby, Hannah and I took to the COTA to Melt. We were concerned that it might be a little difficult to get there because I had heard that there was construction in the Short North and that some of the bus stops were closed; however, we were able to get off at the stop we wanted and only had to walk a short distance to get to the restaurant. Once there we were promptly seated and ordered our food quickly. I got a grilled cheese with mac and cheese on it with a side of fries and Hannah got a grilled cheese with pizza rolls on it with a side of fries. We both really enjoyed our meals and the atmosphere of the restaurant, which was very relaxed and a great place to chat and catch up. The most surprising thing about Melt was the portion size, which was very large, so we defiantly got our money’s worth. The bus stop to get home was a little further away from the restaurant but still easy to walk to. I would definitely go back to Melt Bar and Grill and recommend it to a friend. Since you are able to create your own sandwiches and mac and cheese there truly is something for everyone. The atmosphere was also very inviting, and servers were polite and good at their jobs. Melt Bar and Grill is a most go restaurant in the Short North. It is in a great location with many shops to browses and other restaurants to get dessert from. The Short North is an integral part of the Columbus community with experiences for everyone to enjoy. Getting to try new restaurants here and taking advantage of the city of Columbus is an exciting part of being a student at Ohio State. My advice to anyone who wants to try going to Melt is to go hungry because the large portion sizes.

Katie Patty

Katie is a mathematics education major from Mentor, Ohio, a suburb of Cleveland. She chose this major because she really enjoys math but knows that she would not enjoy a desk job, which is most jobs in the mathematics field. After college Katie’s dream job is to be a teacher and middle school cheer coach in Mentor, Ohio where she grew up. So far in her college career, Calculus 2 has been her most challenging class. Since it is 5 credit hours Katie finds it hard to go to the same class every day; it is also difficult and very face pace. This is helpful information to me as a mentor because I can help her find resources such as tutoring or clubs that involve calculus. In addition to class, Katie has started to get involved at her new community at Ohio State. She is currently in a club called Charge and would like to rush a sorority in the spring. She was very involved in high school, including National Honor Society, cheer leading, and track, and would like to continue to be involved in college. I can use this information to help Katie find other clubs she may be interested in. Katie has also enjoyed her ACES experience thus far. She decided to join ACES because she wanted a “home base” that helped the large Ohio State community feel smaller. She is most looking forward to getting involved in the Columbus community and has found getting her community service hours the most challenging aspect of the program thus far. Katie wants to hopefully find a consistent volunteering opportunity next semester to help make getting her hours easier. As her mentor and the community service co-chair on the leadership council, hopefully I can help Katie find service organizations and service events that she is interested in to help her get her ACES community service hours and help her become more involved in the campus and Columbus community. One of the most important things Katie has learned since coming to Ohio State is that she likes to be around people. She has learned that being around people and making time to hang out with friends is important to her college experience and mental health. The most surprising thing about Ohio State is how good everyone is at things. In her high school Katie was in the top of her class and was very successful at cheer and track. College has been an adjustment for Katie, since here everyone was very successful in high school and is as good or better than her at the things she is doing. The information Katie provided in her interview will greatly help me mentor her throughout the year. This interview was a great opportunity to get to know Katie better. I enjoyed learning why she chose her future career path and the circumstances that have led her to where she is now. I also enjoyed learning how her semester is going both socially and academically.

Hannah McCoy

Hannah McCoy is a social work major from Raleigh, North Carolina. When she applied to Ohio State, Hannah originally wanted to be a nurse but changed her mind. She still wanted to be a mental health advocate for people who need one and learned about social work and how she can help others, which is why she chose to pursue it as her major. Hannah is in the 4+1 social work program and wants work for the military and possibly enlist after getting her masters. Her dream job is to work to help improve the military’s mental health services, especially the mental health checks after a service member returns from deployment. She believes that improving these services can help improve the transition from a war zone to home life and make the lives of veterans better overall. Thus far in her academic career, Hannah’s most challenging course has been biology. She has a hard time getting the information to stick because it is not interesting to her. This information is helpful to me as her mentee because I can use it to help provide information about tutoring for this class. She has found the reviewing her notes and studying in her friends’ room, the common area of her dorm, or the 3^rdfloor of the Ohio Union is the most beneficial way for her to prepare and study for exams. Hannah is involved in a pride club called Out in Business and wants to possibly rush in the spring and get involved with speech and debate club. She was highly involved in high school including ROTC, speech and debate, acting, future business leaders, and show choir. This is useful to me as her mentee because I can help find information about clubs and organizations, she may be interested in joining. Hannah decided to join ACES because she is passionate about service and advocacy and wanted a scholar’s group that focused on these things. The part of the programs she is looking forward to the most is having a mentee of her own next semester. As her mentor now, I can make sure she has a positive experience with the mentorship program so she will still be excited to participate in the program next year. The most important things Hannah has learned since coming to Ohio State is that being so far away from home is okay. Before coming to Columbus, she was concerned that being several states away from her parents would be very difficult, but after spending several months here, the transition has not been as difficult as Hannah expected. Hannah was also surprised by how expecting people at Ohio State have been. I enjoyed my time interviewing and getting Hannah. The information she shared during the interview will be beneficial for me as the year continues and helped learn how to be better help Hannah as her mentor.

The ACES Pillar project was a group project I completed for my ACES Seminar class, that focuses on applying the pillars of ACES to documentaries focused on social justice issues. My group decided to  watch Sounding the Alarm: Battling the Autism Epidemic. This film explores the challenges people with Autism and their families face. It begins by sharing the story of the founding of the organization Autism Speaks. This organization helps fight for legislation that makes it mandatory for insurance companies to help pay for the expensive therapies necessary for children with Autism to be successful in life. They underscore the importance of this by sharing the stories of families struggling with this problem. One family was forced to move a completely different state just so they could afford to play for therapy. It also highlights the lack of funding for programs for people with Autism who are past school age. One man turned twenty-two during the middle of the week making him ineligible for the program he was in and without any new programs to be a part of. This means that now him and his family without support for possibly the rest of his life.

Watching this film and completing this project opened me up to the struggles of families who have children with Autism that I would have not otherwise know about. It also helped me to better understand and connect with the pillars of ACES.  Working with a group helped to consolidate my ideas and get a firm understanding or the most important parts of the film. Working with other people and presenting the project also helped with my communication skills.