2nd Year Service Project

This spring break I spent a week in Nags Head, North Carolina doing work to help better the environment. My service group helped the local conservancy group reinforce old trails by raking and mulching, assisted the National Park Service by completely cleaning the inside of a lighthouse (Bodie Island Lighthouse), cleaned up a beachside campsite before it was set to open for the season, inserted a firebreak in the woods close in proximity to residential areas, and many more random jobs.  It was great to work outside in the elements and experience nature, because we tend to lose sight of that while studying all hours of the night in Thompson library. I became well connected with the supervisors for the National Park Service and the Nags Head Woods Conservancy, and they made what seemed like back breaking work feel like a hobby because they were so genuinely nice and willing to work alongside us.  Overall, it was a great experience that I would absolutely do again and recommend it to all.  The beaches are great, and there are some beautiful trails to walk on too (patting myself on the back).

Below is the link to my symposium powerpoint.

https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1A_wCSeTjJrVzN7IKpaZhgs8eqEbAKOyOpjQXYhzwPbA/edit#slide=id.p

Academic Enrichment (Professional Interview)

For my professional interview I decided to interview my ENT, Dr. Grischkan.  He is a graduate of Ohio State for his undergrad, and Case Western University for medical school.  I asked him how he got involved at OSU when he attended, and some of what he did that made him stand out above the competition when applying to med school.  He told me that your GPA and MCAT are obviously crucial, but every applicant for the most part has both of those things, it’s the extra-curriculars and how personable you are that matters.  At OSU he was a part of AED, a pre-med honorary on campus, and was highly involved and even held a leadership position, which helped him connect with doctors and gave him great experiences while shadowing with them.  Not only did it show on an application that he was involved, but that he also formed a bond with doctors and even gained some patient interaction and helped him develop a good bedside manner.  Something else he really wanted to highlight was his research experience.  He worked for 3 years for a senior biochem professor at OSU, and because of the length of his research, he formed a tremendous relationship with the professor and received an outstanding recommendation letter.  Since grades and metrics are a necessity, med school is all about what makes you different than the rest, and being well networked in the medical field can set you apart from them, so I really appreciated Dr. Grischkan’s words.  Hearing that information from some random person I’m not close with begins to sound like a broken record, but hearing it from a close friend like Dr. Grischkan really spoke volumes and I’m glad he could share and emphasize what was important for him on the road to medical school.

 

Career

fullsizerender fullsizerender-1 img_5093After completing the different modules for Health Science Scholars seminar, I am more confident in my career choice, and am excited to see what my future holds. The “Finding Your Focus” module helped point out my strengths, and made it easy for me to see how those strengths correlate with the necessities for my major (biology). For example, through the “Finding Your Focus” module I learned that I am mainly “investigative”, “social”, and also “enterprising”. Learning this helped assure me my strengths will help me greatly in the future as I go down my career path. Doing the major exploration work sheet at the Health Science Major Fair helped me realize that I was on the right track. Another helpful module was, “Health and Wellness”. This module emphasized the importance of balancing my own health and well-being with my academics and also my extracurricular activities. Ohio State provides many resources in regards to time management, studying, tutoring, etc. and also activities to get involved with.  It is my goal to find a balance, where I contribute to society, stay on top of my academics, and also stay healthy throughout college. The amount I’ve grown overall since move in day is incredible, and I hope that this growth never stops! I have learned so much about myself already, and know I’m capable of much more.! I am convinced that Ohio State is the best college in the world, and I’m excited to experience the next few years of my life as a student at this university.  O-H-!!

About Me

My name is Andy Goins and I’m a freshman from Columbus, Ohio, about 10 minutes west from campus. I’m a biology major on the premed track.  My main goal is to become an ear/nose/throat doctor due to being hospitalized a few years ago, and grew close with my ENT doctor in the process.  In high school I was involved with Jag Ambassadors, National Honor Society, and Class Cabinet, all of which provided volunteer opportunities and lead to my interest in applying for HSS. I like a all kinds of sports, specifically baseball, basketball, and of course Buckeye football. In my spare time I like to read, work out, watch The Office on Netflix, and take an occasional nap. I’m looking forward to meeting my fellow HSS members, go bucks!!

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.

[ “G.O.A.L.S.” is a place where students write about how their planned, current, and future activities may fit into the Honors & Scholars G.O.A.L.S.: Global Awareness, Original Inquiry, Academic Enrichment, Leadership Development, and Service Engagement. For more information, go to: http://honors-scholars.osu.edu/e-portfolio. Delete these instructions and add your own post.

Global Awareness: Students cultivate and develop their appreciation for diversity and each individual’s unique differences. For example, consider course work, study abroad, involvement in cultural organizations or activities, etc .
Original Inquiry: Honors & Scholars students understand the research process by engaging in experiences ranging from in-class scholarly endeavors to creative inquiry projects to independent experiences with top researchers across campus and in the global community. For example, consider research, creative productions or performances, advanced course work, etc.
Academic Enrichment: Honors & Scholars students pursue academic excellence through rigorous curricular experiences beyond the university norm both in and out of the classroom.
Leadership Development: Honors & Scholars students develop leadership skills that can be demonstrated in the classroom, in the community, in their co-curricular activities, and in their future roles in society.
Service Engagement: Honors & Scholars students commit to service to the community.]

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

[Artifacts are the items you consider to be representative of your academic interests and achievements. For each entry, include both an artifact and a detailed annotation.  An annotation is a reflective description of the artifact that attempts to communicate its significance.  For more information, go to: http://honors-scholars.osu.edu/e-portfolio. Delete these instructions and add your own post.]