Presenting my Second-Year project at the International Affairs Symposium was extremely rewarding. At first, I was loath to present my poster (IA powerpoint REAL-1whkjvu) to the individuals who came. However, after a short time, I realized that they were actually interested in what I had to tell them. My second-year project was working as a Page at the Ohio House of Representatives. While I worked there, I was promoted to Constituent Aide for House District 89. It was the most rewarding job I have ever had. Sometimes, it was tedious- I would open mail and respond to mass emails- but other times, I had the opportunity to effect real change for the district’s constituents.

I loved explaining this to the people who came to see my poster. I have always had an affinity for public speaking, and describing my job to the variety of individuals who attended the Symposium was a blast. I feel that this experience helped me to grow as a student and a speaker because it gave me the opportunity to present the information I worked so hard to learn to the variety of the symposium’s attendees. I certainly would do it again if I could.

As you probably know, I spend a lot of time competing in Mock Trial. This year, I was our Vice President of Travel, which came with many responsibilities and difficulties. For example, at a tournament the hotel only reserved one room instead of six. I believe that this experience, in addition with my experience as an executive board member overall, helped me hone my problem-solving capabilities and helped me understand myself better. By taking responsibility and learning from my mistakes, I believe that I have become a more welcoming and inclusive person. I have learned to say what I mean and mean what I say. I have learned to be straightforward, and to be firm in my opinions. But most of all, I learned the importance of loyalty to my friends, to my teammates, and to my program. Without this loyalty, we are just a group of individuals trying to succeed. When we work together, we are a team with the capability of winning.

Pictured above is my team at our last tournament this year. I feel so lucky to have had the opportunity to meet and compete with this talented group of people. Without them, my Ohio State experience would not be the same- they have become some of my closest friends.

At the beginning of 2016, I joined Alpha Phi Omega, a service fraternity here at Ohio State University, and it has been one of the most rewarding experiences of my college career. Through Alpha Phi Omega, I have developed friendships, performed service, and grown as a leader. This organization has provided me with so many opportunities to grow as a leader and as a person.

This is a photo from our initiation last semester, when my family grew by four people. It shows my closest friends in the organization, and shows our expanding family. It shows how everyone has a niche in the organization, and it shows how everyone can find their niche at Ohio State.

 This is a picture of my Mock Trial team this year. Mock Trial is a student organization where we receive a case and argue it as attorneys and witnesses. We are a part of the American Mock Trial Association, a nationwide community that hosts these tournaments and provides the cases that we argue. This year, my team qualified for the national semifinal tournament, called ORCS, which took place in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. We worked incredibly hard, and our hard work paid off. Although we did not qualify for nationals, we plan to work hard and qualify next year. Mock Trial is my favorite community on campus because we consistently support each other. I met two of my best friends on this team, and I was recently elected to the executive board as the Vice President of Travel. This means that I will be in charge of logistics for the tournaments we attend next year. I would highly encourage anyone who is interested to try out for Mock Trial: joining has been the best decision I have made this year!

 Attending Ohio State football games has been an integral part of my Ohio State experience this past year. These games gave me the opportunity to participate in the OSU culture and make friends who I might have not met otherwise. I met my friend Morgan, on the right in the picture, at an OSU football game. This gave me a common experience to share with the rest of my class and the school. It was the first time that I experienced the overwhelmingly welcoming culture here. Roaring in the stands and cheering “O-H-I-O” with 50,000 of my closest friends was the first time I felt like I was truly a part of the student body at Ohio State.

This is an example of the Islamic style of art we saw in the Aga Khan and the Ismaili Center.

This is the outside of the Aga Khan Museum.

Over the last weekend I went with 28 other International Affairs Scholars to Toronto. We went to many different areas in the city, including three different museums and group bonding activities. We went to the Royal Ontario Museum, which is a fascinating history museum with extensive Egyptian and cultural history exhibits. We also went to the Casa Loma, which is an old mansion that looks like a castle. It is absolutely stunning, and I learned a lot about the history and culture of 1920’s Canada. Additionally, we visited the Aga Khan Art Museum, which contains rare Islamic Art from centuries past. We also went into the attached Ismaili center and had the honor of visiting their prayer space. The entire experience changed my perspective on Canada’s internationalism. I learned that 30% of Toronto’s population was born abroad, and that Canada has promised to take in many new refugees by the end of the year. I visited different neighborhoods of the city: Chinatown, Little Portugal, and Kensington Market, an area full of colorful hole-in-the-wall shops. This trip was eye-opening and made me realize just how globalized the world is.

IA Millennium Goal 6

This artifact is the Millennium Goal that I researched this semester: diminishing disease, specifically, AIDS, HIV and Malaria. I presented this project to our International Affairs Scholars class this November because it is an important aspect of international relations today. My group and I created a PowerPoint and a presentation to present to our class.

The millennium goal was supposed to be accomplished by 2015, and in some ways it has been accomplished. However, in many regions of the world, it has not. Specifically, in southern Africa, many improvements must be made before the goal could be considered to be accomplished. I learned that even though the United Nations sets out goals, it is up to different regions of the world to implement these goals. Much depends on the efficiency of the government and their focus on human rights and the United Nations.

This project helped me learn about an area of the world that I do not know much about, and the ways different cultures approach important situations. The project opened my eyes to the worldwide problem of disease and how different cultures treat it. I feel more educated about world affairs and problems as a result of this project.