Journal #3

For my spring project, I would like to tackle something that will provide both academic enrichment and service engagement. Though I have a few ideas floating around in my head at the moment, the most interesting to me thus far would be to get involved with an organization that works to plant and maintain the greenery around the city of Columbus. Whether this is through the Chadwick Arboretum & Learning Gardens, Buck I SERV, or even on my own, I would like to find a way to learn more about different flower species, how to maintain a garden, and how creating beautiful spaces impacts a community. I believe that doing so will help me begin to develop my ability to use gardening as an art form, while also potentially cleaning up an area of the surrounding community lacking maintained green spaces.

I plan to begin this project after returning from winter break. I would like to take the cold months to do more thorough research about possible volunteering opportunities, common annuals and perennials, and how I can make more of an impact through this hobby. This research would be my first step, and my second step would be sending emails/making phone calls/ taking visits to these organizations to try and get a better feel for what their organization looks like. The final portion of that second step would be making a decision on what organization I plan to dedicate my time to. Since these steps would not take a particularly long time to complete, I do not think that it is unreasonable that they would be done by the end of January (Jan 31st).

I am looking forward to seeing how this project develops!

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 guidance on using your ePortfolio, including questions and prompts that will help you get started, please visit the Honors & Scholars ePortfolio course in Carmen. To get answers to specific questions, please email eportfolio@osu.edu. 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.]