At the start of my sophomore year, I was excited to begin my major courses at last; the first one I took was the introductory course in the Molecular Genetics major: Mol Gen 4606. This class really impacted me because it was the first molecular genetics course I took and it really confirmed how passionate I am about the subject. Even though I was just learning the basics, the content prepared me well for future mol gen classes and I still reference some of my notes to help me with current classes.

If I could describe Year 2 in three words, it would be: thrilling, challenging, and informative. It was nothing short of what I expected from the college experience I had been hoping for despite the pandemic the previous year; however, I still have much more to learn and improve upon from here. I have finally reached the halfway checkpoint in my college experience, and I can’t wait to see what the future brings.

As for this year, the beginning felt a bit like a slap in the face. The majority of my classes were in-person, I started taking major courses, I had new roommates, I started hanging out with a completely different group of friends, and much more. Even though I was expecting a lot for this year, the transition from an inexperienced freshman to a growing sophomore was hard. I felt like I had to have everything figured out all of a sudden, since high school was far enough in the past and the pandemic was no longer an obstacle. I wasn’t ready for the intense schedule and strict time management that would come with actual paper exams in a classroom and club meetings that are halfway across campus instead of on Zoom in my dorm room. All in all, I felt a little misguided and unprepared for the rigor of this year.

After some self-reflection over what went right and wrong, I’ve come to the conclusion that it’s harder to grow into myself than it is to grow into adulthood. It was hard for me to really figure out what interests I wanted to focus on and where I wanted to go with my major. After all, OSU is home to so many people with diverse interests, backgrounds, majors, and future goals; finding out where I fit into all of that was one of my biggest challenges. I also found it a bit hard to rekindle the study habits and time management that I hadn’t needed to use as much the past few years. Because of this challenge, I struggled a bit m0re to find what helped me be most successful in academics and extracurriculars.

For the future, I hope to keep growing and learning about myself, and it’s rewarding to reflect on how far I have come in just a year. I can’t wait to put my best foot forward in the coming years and finish my undergraduate degree strong.

If any semester could be described as a roller coaster of bumpy, jolting, unexpected events, my first semester as a freshman in college would be the one!

Though this semester was far from a disappointment, the raging COVID-19 pandemic did not contribute to any of the thrill. From no visitors being allowed in my dorm to ordering food through GrubHub to struggling through an online general chemistry course to spitting an absurd amount of saliva in a vial for weekly testing, I can safely say I learned a lot about adjustment, flexibility, and resilience this semester. One of the biggest challenges for me was making friends, as I was not able to make many in my dorm, classes, or even the Scholars program due to safety measures like social distancing and mask-wearing. Though I took a whopping 18 credit hours of courses, I only ever got to meet my professor and classmates as well as have the opportunity to learn in an academic building once a week for less than an hour, which is a situation I would have never imagined prior to this semester. However, I can’t complain too much about having the ability to attend my Zoom classes in pajamas with unbrushed teeth and bed head each morning. Of all my classes, Chemistry 1210 with the lovely Dr. Loza was by far the hardest; having taken AP Chem works wonders at first, but it only got me so far.

Despite this semester’s shortcomings, it has been absolutely unforgettable in a number of good ways. One of the most pivotal points of enjoying the college experience is getting along with your roommate, which is an achievement I can gladly check off my list. This was one of the many times I realized how much worth Biological Sciences Scholars has — if it weren’t for this program, I would have never met my roommate, who has been there for me during 3 AM existential crises and movies marathons while munching on McDonald’s fries and shakes. Furthermore, despite the importance in meeting others, college coupled with the pandemic has taught me a great deal about myself. I’ve been able to learn how I want to live my life through developing a daily routine, who I want to be friends with, what hobbies I find important and value, and much more. Lastly, though I’ve messed up quite a bit academically (may I briefly mention how I almost ended the semester with a C in psychology because I forgot to turn an essay in), I have maintained higher grades than what I had initially suspected and learned how to cope with the bad ones.

In the spring semester, I would like to continue growing as a person and academically, but need to add a few goals to my agenda. I would like to continue my involvement in the clubs I have joined, such as Molecular Genetics Club, Medical Innovations Club, Women in Math and Science Club, Health & Life Sciences Consulting Club, and American Red Cross Disaster Relief Club. I would also like to start looking into undergraduate research opportunities and reaching out to faculty whose work interests me. Finally, in order to spur some more academic responsibility in myself, I would like to start attending more office hours to get to know my professors and the material better. With that in mind, I am exhilarated to see what the upcoming semesters have in store.