G.O.A.L.S.

The Honors & Scholars G.O.A.L.S are Global Awareness, Original Inquiry, Academic Enrichment, Leadership Development, and Service Engagement. Below are my thoughts on how I will work toward these during my time at Ohio State.

Global Awareness: I went on a study abroad trip to Tanzania the summer after my freshman year. The trip focused on how HIV impacts the lives of Tanzanians today, and how it has shaped the development of their social structure in the past. My research group specifically studied how gender influences public perception and HIV care. In addition to academic learning, I also developed an appreciation for Tanzanian culture and its differences to American culture.

Original Inquiry: I am currently a research assistant in Dr. Ozkan’s Heterogeneous Catalysis Lab researching alternative fuel cell catalysts for PEM fuel cells. I will also be completing a research thesis.

Academic Enrichment: I am participating in the rigorous honors engineering program and will continue to pursue academic excellence both in and out of the classroom.

Leadership Development: I previously held a leadership within AIChE as the Professional Development Event Coordinator, and I will be continuing my involvement with the committee during my co-op with Nexceris. I will also be joining the Wellness committee within AIChE, and I plan on obtaining another leadership position in the future within AIChE.

Service Engagement: I am currently in the process of devising a service initiative within AIChE to provide college or technical school coaching and advice to high school students in our area.

Career

Career Goal

I am working toward a BS degree in Chemical Engineering with an expected graduation date of May, 2022.

My primary interest is in renewable energy production and storage, including battery research, solar cell research, and fuel cell research.

WORK EXPERIENCE

  • Undergraduate Intern, Heterogeneous Catalysis Research Group February 2020-Now
    • Investigate CNx catalyst’s viability for replacing platinum in PEM fuel cells.
    • Prepare CNx catalyst samples and analyze performance using half-cell testing.
    • Compile literature databases for new research projects.
  • Undergraduate Teaching Assistant, Process Fundamentals (CBE 2220) August 2020
    • Implement effective alternate teaching strategies to adapt to online learning.
    • Coordinate TA assignments and division of responsibility.

LEADERSHIP EXPERIENCE

  • AIChE Professional Development Coordinator May 2020-Now
    • Oversee professional development committee members and events.
    • Communicate with company representatives to schedule information sessions and recruiting events.
    • Implement Inclusion and Diversity Workshop series for members and certification program for officers.
  • AIChE First-Year Mentor September 2020-Now
    • Meet biweekly to advise one first-year mentee on the academic and social adjustment to college.
    • Liaise with corporate mentor and first-year mentee to foster professional growth.
    • Address mentee challenges unique to online learning and the loss of the first-year experience.

PROJECT EXPERIENCE

  • Inclusion and Diversity Workshop Series August 2020-Now
    • Pilot program aiming to improve the awareness of and respect for different cultures and identities within the chemical engineering department.
    • Collaborate with the OSU Multicultural Center to plan and execute events.
    • Coordinate with the department chair, advisors, and AIChE officers to market and incentivize participation.
  • FEH Robot Design and Programming February-April 2019
    • Collaborated to design autonomous robot to complete pre-set obstacle course competition.
    • Programmed, tested, and documented course completion scenarios as primary responsibility.
    • Placed in the top 16 robots of 66 teams on final competition day.
  • FEH Video Game Design December 2018
    • Aimed to develop a replayable game utilizing graphics capabilities on the PROTEUS microcontroller.
    • Designed and coded program logic and structure and created technical guide detailing its elements and operation.
    • Produced a replayable video game with functional difficulty levels, point accruement, and bonus minigames.

GLOBAL EXPERIENCE

  • Stigma in Tanzanian HIV Care Presentation July 2019
    • Worked to highlight inequalities in Tanzanian HIV care while gaining a global perspective on medical care.
    • Interviewed a local doctor, a NGO worker, and a student through translators on HIV and traditional gender roles.
    • Compiled comprehensive presentation and portfolio of the largest disparities in treatment and their causes.

About Me

I am a chemical engineering fourth-year at The Ohio State University and the former Professional Development Coordinator for the AIChE-OSU chapter. I am passionate about peer mentorship, which I fulfill as both a TA for chemical engineering classes and a member of the AIChE mentorship program. I am also passionate about educating myself and  others on social identities and forms of social injustice, which I have begun with the AIChE Inclusion and Diversity Workshop series this past academic year.

My academic interests lie in environmental sustainability research, specifically the development of green energy technology and the development of systems to filter harmful pollutants from waste before it enters the environment through water, emissions, etc. I have pursued this passion through my work in Dr. Ozkan’s Heterogeneous Catalysis Lab on alternative CNx catalyst materials for PEM fuel cells. For the rest of 2021, I will be working as an intern for Nexceris, a fuel cell company based out of Lewis Center, OH.

Outside of the classroom, I am most involved with the OSU Chapter of the American Society of Chemical Engineers (AIChE) as an event coordinator, as mentioned earlier. As the Professional Development Coordinator for the past academic year, I have worked with my committee to connect chemical engineering students with companies who are looking to hire for internships or co-ops. In addition, I began an Inclusion and Diversity workshop series through AIChE that aimed to educate our members on social identities and forms of identity-based oppression within the US. I will be continuing to develop this program over the summer to implement a new and improved version for the next academic year.

Sophomore and Junior Year in Review (2019-2021)

I am writing this review two days before I am scheduled to receive my second dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, staring at the light at the end of the tunnel. The past two years have been a rollercoaster of emotion and fear, which is one reason why this reflection encompasses two years instead of just one. COVID-19 hit America in truth near the middle of the second semester of sophomore year, and my mind, like the mind of everyone else in America, was on far more pressing matters than reflecting. Since then, I have been existing in a world of zoom-based schoolwork and extracurriculars interspersed with brief ventures outdoors and into public spaces. Thankfully, this time is coming to an end.

Over the past two years, I have become increasingly involved with my major student organization, the American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE). I started as a member of the professional development committee and the fundraising committee my sophomore year, where I liaised with companies and planned information sessions and a pancake fundraising event. My junior year, I was elected as the Professional Development Coordinator, and I worked with my committee to plan virtual information sessions with companies, student and alumni panels to provide advice, and workshops for the Inclusion and Diversity series. Although I have decided not to continue on the AIChE Executive Board for the next semester in order to focus on my co-op, I plan to be involved with both the wellness committee and the professional development committee to help plan events and further our organization’s efforts to become more inclusive.

I have also had the privilege of furthering my chemical engineering education over the last two years. Two notable classes I chose to pursue as electives were Experimental Design in Fall 2020 and Fuel Cells in Spring 2021. Both of these classes gave incredible insight into the skills and knowledge I will need for my future career. In addition, I had the opportunity of serving as a TA for Process Fundamentals (CBE 2200), the very first chemical engineering class students take. I learned so much from my students about how to present material and how to take complicated material and break it down into a series of easy steps for students to understand. I hope to return as a TA after my co-op.

This summer and fall, I will be on co-op with Nexceris, a fuel cell company based out of Lewis Center, Ohio. At Nexceris, I will be working with their fuel cell business unit as an intern from May through December. This is my first co-op or internship so I am nervous, but also extremely excited! Since Lewis Center is just outside of Columbus, I will be able to stay at my apartment for the duration and still enjoy the AIChE events on-campus, which I am extremely excited about!

Honors Theater Class Project

For my Honors Theater Class, I collaborated to create a 10-minute skit highlighting the prevalence of sexual harassment and sexism still in the workplace today. Thanks to the brilliant acting of the sole male in our group, we tell the story of two female engineers, one who fits conventional definitions of beauty and the other who, despite being considerably more qualified, is only hired after the first refuses to sleep with the recruiter. In an all-too-common scenario, the second ends up quitting from her prestigious job when confronted with the rampant sexism that dominates her office. To learn the elements that went into its production and read the full script, click the link below!

Final Theatre Project

Freshman Year in Review (2018-2019)

Now that the year has come to a close, I find myself asking both “Where did the time go?” and “What took so long?” Autumn semester passed in a fury of lab reports and coding assignments for the Fundamentals of Engineering Honors (FEH) class, which saw me tackling programming using MATLAB and C/C++ for the first time. Despite the learning curve, I successfully completed the final Video Game Design project by programming a touch-screen enabled temple run-style game with minigames and score tracking. Spring semester provided another completely new experience: I collaborated with three other engineering students to design, program, and compete with an autonomous robot on a unique obstacle course requiring completion of a series of tasks. As team coordinator and head programmer, I coded and tested the entirety of the robot’s programming and navigation, as well as organized and delegated the documentation requirements. Despite initial interpersonal difficulties, my team triumphed by placing in the top sixteen teams out of 62 at the competition and earning an A on both our final presentation and our 80-page final report.

The experiences above, in retrospect, sound like those of a confirmed Computer Science and Engineering, which is why I still wonder how I convinced myself, a Chemical Engineering Major with no designs to switch majors, to complete any of the FEH curriculum. However, my experiences were invaluable, and I discovered a previously unknown love (and aptitude for) programming that lead to my decision to add computer science engineering as a minor. As I heard my TA describe it, FEH was “The best class you’ll never want to take again”, and I agree completely. It was an amazing learning opportunity that truly distinguished OSU from other universities, but it was also the most stressful course I am ever likely to take.

Outside of my classes, I have become involved in the OSU chapter of the American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE), where I serve as an event coordinator for the Professional Development Committee. While I am currently assisting other, more experienced members with their events, I am excited to begin planning my own during my Sophomore Year. Overall, AIChE is an amazing way to meet and connect with people in my major.

During the spring semester, my Eminence Fellows group began developing a few key ideas for our service project. We had identified both an interest in and need for action related to the Opioid Epidemic, Social Isolation of Senior Citizens, and Housing Inequality. Eventually, after doing research and listening to community members involved in each issue, we decided to address high utility bills in Columbus, which many residents struggle to afford and maintain a safe, healthy standard of living. Our organization was officially named PowerHouse Ohio, with the goal to empower residents to reduce their utility bills by installing weatherization kits around their house.

This summer, I will travel to Iringa, Tanzania for a month to research how the spread of HIV has influenced the social development of Tanzania since the Iringa region has the highest prevalence in Tanzania. The trip will allow me to experience another culture with different social norms, as well as learn basic Swahili. When I return, I will share my experiences and findings with my peers in an effort to spread awareness about the different challenges faced by HIV-positive individuals in Tanzania vs. America.

I have had amazing experiences over the past year, from attending an OSU-sponsored drag show to competing in robot competition. Next year, I look forward to taking my first classes in chemical engineering, becoming more involved in AIChE, and contributing to the development of my class’s Eminence Service Project.

FEH Robot Design Project

                                  

 

On April 6th, 2017 I participated in the 24th annual robot design project as a part of the first year engineering program, and placed in the top 16 out of 62 teams! Above are a few pictures of the robot in various stages of development. From top to bottom, we have the mock-up, the prototype, and the final product.