Artifacts

In order for me to travel to this institution and embark on this new journey, the method of transportation required for me is flying; this is due to the vast geographic distance between my hometown and Columbus. Without the concept of airplanes, logistically it would be quite difficult for me to leave the state of Florida just for the purposes of college. Airplanes have allowed me to broaden my horizon and experience an entirely new culture here at OSU, and that’s why an airplane ticket is so representative of my college experience holistically; it is crucial to my experience even existing.

About Me

My name is Nick Gonzalez, and I’m a freshman pursuing a BSBA in marketing. I was born and raised in Wellington, Florida, which is a suburb of West Palm Beach. My passion for business was ignited during my time in high school, being enrolled in the marketing academy and competing in DECA conferences. I was able to qualify for international competition my sophomore through senior years in sports and entertainment marketing and professional selling events, including my senior year where I finally placed first in Florida in professional selling. Besides competing, I also had an internship within Wellington Regional Medical Center’s marketing department in 2015. Other interests and hobbies of mine include playing drums, as I was in my school’s marching band as a snare player, playing basketball with friends, and reading and writing.

Although Ohio State is considerably distant from my hometown, I was drawn to attending the university because of the strength of Fisher, the uniqueness of the Business Scholars program, and the endless amount of opportunities both educationally and socially that are available to Ohio State students overall. So far, the university has challenged me intellectually and has forced me to get out of my comfort zone in terms of experiencing a new culture and having to manage my time better, but this undoubtedly has allowed me to mature as a young adult. There are still many more things I aim to accomplish within my four years here and additional concepts I need to learn, such as what I ultimately want for a career, but I have developed a general sense of direction and have great support that will push me to be successful. Being a member of the Business Scholars Program has assisted well in making my transition more seamless and providing a foundation for future involvement, and I am especially grateful for the close friends I have made within the program. Aside from BSP, I am a member of the American Marketing Association, and aim to receive a bid from a business fraternity, get hired as a University Telecounselor or Ambassador, and join a couple of other organizations both in and out of Fisher within the next year. Overall, I love this school so far and am thankful that I can attend such an excellent institution.

Year in Review

This has been quite the year. After getting well acquainted to college my freshman year through voluntarily inserting myself within an entirely new culture, in a state where I didn’t know a single individual, a focal mission of mine for my sophomore year was to build off this initial burst of momentum I had attained. I ideally intended to make this happen through becoming more involved, developing professionally, learning more about myself, and simply having fun. I’m proud to say that while my collegiate journey is nowhere near over, and much room for growth still exists, I generally achieved all of these objectives.

A big component of Business Scholars that is clear from the very start in one’s participation in it is its emphasis on getting heavily involved within Ohio State’s campus community. There are a few particular student organizations, specifically within Fisher, that are highly idolized among my fellow Scholars, and while I certainly respected the great things these organizations accomplish, I recognized this past year that carving my own path based on MY unique interests would be best for me personally. After getting hired as a University Telecounselor and as a marketing intern for Starwood Retail Partners in the summer, I began to realize that directly impacting other individuals is a concept that provides me great joy; because of this, I decided to pursue involvements on campus my sophomore year that reflected that interest. I was selected to serve on the logistics committee for Peers Advancing Literacy in Students, the Semester of Service Program, and the FisherCares Buck-I-Serv Spring Break trip to Glasser-Schoenbaum Human Services Center. Giving back to others has allowed me to constructively use my time in contributing to the greater good of society, and in turn, I’ve gained great experience in an extracurricular sense that will help further broaden my perspective as a young adult, which can also be applied to a professional context.

Through coming to the realization that helping others gives me great self-fulfillment, I’ve developed a clearer picture of how to properly present myself and what my goals are for the future, especially in being aligned with marketing. I aim to be a man one day whose role in society revolves around face-to-face interactions with others to help them with their problems/fulfill their expressed or even unexpressed needs, and this aspiration has allowed my initial pursuit of a marketing specialization to come full circle; at a collegiate level of understanding, I know I am in the right major. With this in mind, I am still unsure of what particular industry or even marketing role I’d like to perform my duties in, so I have continued to pursue a diverse array of internship/work experiences to give myself more exposure to the various real-world functions of marketing. In this pursuit, I’ve not only developed my self-awareness, but have polished my resume, cover letters, and interview ability, utilizing resources within Fisher such as the Alumni Undergraduate Mentor Program and the Career Coaches to assist me. Being inspired to reach for more through this extreme improvement, I’ve decided to continue utilizing other Fisher resources next year, now being enrolled in the Dean’s Leadership Academy and Industry Immersion. In terms of what the improvement has done for me, I’ve recently been offered 5 separate internship opportunities; I decided to take one with BG Inc., a marketing/advertising consulting agency in Palm Beach with a 28 year-old reputation for providing small agency responsiveness with big agency expertise throughout South Florida and beyond, working with some of the most prominent clients in the area in several different fields ranging from retail to hospitality to healthcare. While I did receive more lucrative offers from larger companies, I know that BG will put me in the best position to enhance my technological ability, as I have much room to grow in this field, and ultimately provide me with the most dynamic and meaningful responsibilities. I know this experience will make me more marketable for my 2019 internship, and I’m excited to get started next month.

 

Through all of this, my GPA has continued improving, and my friendships with my core squad within BSP have grown stronger, with eight of us having lived in Busch House between four doubles this year despite no longer being required to. It’s been a blast, and I’m looking forward to seeing how we all grow together over the next two years; these are truly the best years of one’s life.

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.]