Year in Review

I have enjoyed many classes during my time at Ohio State, however one that I really couldn’t get enough of was my Abnormal Psychology course that I took during my second semester of my sophomore year.

Not only did the course material interest me, but I really connected with my professor as well. I have always had an interest in learning more about different mental illnesses and how they affect a person’s daily life. I’ve wanted to go into a career that works with patients that live with mental illnesses, so this class was very helpful for me and allowed me to gain information that I can apply to my future career. We learned everything from alcoholism, different types of eating disorders, depression and anxiety to schizophrenia, OCD, and many more.

I hope to take more classes in the future where I can learn more in depth about each of these disorders, which will allow me to become more knowledgeable on this topic to help me succeed in my future career.

Each year gets better here. I now know the campus like the back of my hand, I have mastered my studying techniques after 4 semesters, and after being indecisive about what I want to do as a career, I finally have decided. Through each class I have taken at OSU, it has made me learn more about myself in some way. Recently, I have really been trying to narrow down my perspective while in class and think to myself, “Can I see myself studying this for 2 more years during my undergraduate career?”. I have learned a lot during my time here, but most importantly I have learned to follow my heart and my dreams, and do what is going to make me happy in the future. This has been something that I have struggled with my whole life. I always try to please others and fit their descriptions of how I should live my life and it hasn’t given me the outcome I have wanted. I am so excited to say I am finally studying what I enjoy and can’t wait for the next two years at Ohio State!

During this year, I went through the recruitment process and got inducted into Phi Sigma Pi National Honor Fraternity! Then, I got elected to be the Scholarship Chair for the fraternity! I also was elected to Vice Chair for the Biological Sciences Scholars group and have really enjoyed being on the board for that. I completed my STEP requirements this year and set up my trip studying sustainability this summer, however sadly that was cancelled until next year. I also got to participate on a Buck-I-Serv trip which included travelling to Minnesota to a camp called “One Heartland”, where we volunteered for a week completing renovations on the camp and getting it prepared for the new group of kids that would be staying there the following summer.

Due to COVID-19, this year was cut short for the students. I had to move out of my dorm and lose my job as an Office Assistant due to the virus. All of our classes got moved online which was a crazy changed to adjust to! However due to leaving my dorm, I got to move into my first apartment which was so exciting for me! I started a new job at Target while finishing out my last semester as a Sophomore.

This year has truly been the best. I have made new friends in my residence hall, joined new clubs and activities, achieved my goals academically my second semester of my sophomore year, and made so many memories! I am finally feeling at home in Columbus, and I cannot wait for the rest of my time here!

What a crazy, interesting and successful semester! Academically, this has been the best semester I have had this far at Ohio State. I have finally learned how I study best, and applied those tips to this semester and my grades have never been better. On top of achieving my academic goals, I have moved to the position of Vice Chair for my Biological Sciences Scholars group, and I was elected as the Scholarship Chair for Phi Sigma Pi National Honor Fraternity. I finally decided on what I wanted to do for a career after going back and forth about it, which took a lot of unnecessary stress off! Unfortunately, my time on campus was cut short due to COVID-19, and I had to move off of campus and I lost my campus job, therefore I have to find another job. My STEP trip got moved to next year and all of our classes went online. Although it was a struggle to get into a new habit of all online classes while juggling a full time job to pay for my apartment, I was able to do it successfully. Now I only have two more years left as a Buckeye, I am halfway done!

This semester challenged me. It challenged me more than any previous semester I have had. The classes I had were a lot for me to juggle and manage, and I admit that I did struggle more times than I can count. I doubted my abilities more and more as each week went by, and did not really know what I want to do in the future as a career. Luckily, I had supportive friends, family and advisors to help me through this challenging semester. I learned so much about my learning habits and needs from this semester and I cannot wait to use them in the future! I now know how I learn best, and what I need to do to be the best possible student I can be.

During this semester I did get to begin my STEP meetings and I love the atmosphere those meetings gave me. For a couple hours each week, I got to do something to focus on what I need to do to reach my goals, planned a STEP trip for next summer studying sustainability in California, and exploring all that Columbus has to offer. I began my first campus job this semester as an Office Assistant in my dorm and this has allowed me to learn many new skills that I can apply to future jobs! I am also serving as a Team Captain for BuckeyeThon and have had a great time recruiting scholars to join our group! This semester I was inducted into Phi Sigma Pi National Honor Fraternity and this has opened so many new connections up to me.

I am thankful for these important lessons I learned about myself from this semester, and although some things were tough for me, I had another great semester at Ohio State. I am ready for a fresh semester to excel in academically and improve my skills.

This was a year full of meeting new people on campus through classes, activities and organizations, learning new things such as living on my own for the first time and becoming more responsible and independent, and being challenged academically and learning how to get out of my comfort zone in many different situations. Each day here makes me even more thankful I became a buckeye and I am so happy I chose Ohio State as my college. In my first year, I have gotten to experience my first football games, explored campus and Columbus with my roommates, did activities with my Scholars group including volunteer opportunities, sports games, lab visits, research panels, getting ice cream in downtown Columbus, and so much more!

Seeing how much I enjoyed my time as a Scholar, I decided to apply to be on the board and got elected to be the Service Chair! This position has allowed me to take my fellow scholars to different volunteer opportunities around Columbus. I have already enjoyed being in this position so much, and I am happy to continue serving for another semester! I have become more involved in MEDLIFE, which is an organization I joined my first week as a buckeye. I am hoping to eventually get to go on a service trip with MEDLIFE in the future. I participated in BuckeyeThon this year through being on a team with MEDLIFE. I really enjoyed this dance marathon and can’t wait to continue participating in it in the future!

I consider my first year as a buckeye successful. I have had the time of my life being here, had great roommates that will be lifelong friends, and have made so many wonderful memories. I can’t wait to continue my journey as a buckeye!

Looking back on this semester, I can confidently say I am starting to grasp this college life. I have started making more connections with peers and professors, and I have been taking advantage of the things offered on campus to help students adjust and succeed in our classes. At the beginning of this semester, I started becoming more involved in my MEDLIFE club, and got selected to be the Service Chair through my Biological Sciences Scholars group. Also, while continuing my volunteering through the James Cancer Hospital, I started a new role as a Restful Nights volunteer. With this, I have the opportunity to visit patients and offer them complimentary items to help them feel more comfortable during their stay. Additionally as a part of the Biological Sciences Scholars, we previously volunteered at Star House. I really enjoyed my time there, so decided to sign up for orientation and become a direct engagement volunteer. This semester has really allowed me to grow, and I am sad that it is already over! I look forward to starting my Sophomore year as a buckeye in just a few short months.

This semester has presented many obstacles that I have had to face. I have learned new things that I never knew about myself until I had to live on my own, take care of myself on my own, and still remain responsible with my school work and grades. I have had to experience break downs and growths that I never had to when I lived under my parents’ roof. Through all these personal experiences, I’ve grown, learned, and discovered resources to help me adjust to the amount of changes I have had on my journey. Even though it has taken a good portion of the semester to adjust and realize the changes that needed to be made to result in success during my time here, I’m relieved to have discovered these important changes before it was too late to change my ways. I have gained new friendships, especially in my scholars program, and participated in volunteer opportunities that have helped me adjust to my first semester here. On top of doing social activities, I have also found effective study spots around campus that allow me to have time to focus on my school work and create future goals for myself.