G.O.A.L.S.

The University Honors & Scholars Center at The Ohio State University serves high-ability, motivated undergraduate students. While embracing diversity in both ideas and people, the Center fosters purposeful learning communities that enhance students’ academic and social experiences. The Center facilitates impactful, rigorous, and unique opportunities that further student success and involvement in our G.O.A.L.S.: Global Awareness, Original Inquiry, Academic Enrichment, Leadership Development, and Service Engagement.

G.O.A.L.S.

Now that I am in my second year at OSU, I am working on getting a clear idea of my priorities during my time here. I strive to be in organizations and spend my time on things that I am truly passionate about, so that my experience here can be as fulfilling as possible. A lot of my current commitments as well as ideas for the future fit in with the Honors and Scholars GOALS.

In terms of Global Awareness, right now for me that actually means learning more about diversity within the US. Since I lived abroad before coming to OSU, my time here is my chance to explore what being American means to me and what this country is really like, as I become immersed in a country that I had somewhat lost touch with. At the same time, by being away from Spain, where I grew up, I am also learning about it by thinking about the differences with the US. At the same time, I am taking advantage of GE classes to learn about countries that I am less familiar with. For example, in the Russian Literature class I am currently taking, I am learning a lot about Russian history and culture, which is making me appreciate how each country’s specific history and experience changes its people’s perspective.

Original Inquiry is a part of GOALS that I have not really paid attention to so far, mostly because research is very intimidating to me. However, I have been thinking about how I need to overcome this fear, and I am now looking into research opportunities that I can get involved with.

Part of why I have not spent a lot of time on research is because I am very focused on my academics. Working hard and learning as much as I can is one of my biggest priorities during my time here. While I have been doing well in that sense, this year I am in harder classes and I hope to maintain the standard I had last year. At the same time, I want to balance my academics with my other interests and possibly combine them through things like research.

My experiences with leadership and service during my time at OSU have mostly been related to my scholars group, Mount Leadership Society, which focuses on leadership and service. Last year I learned about my leadership style through Mount activities, and this year I am working on how to incorporate what I learned in my experiences. I often struggle with leadership because I can be introverted and indecisive, so my leadership style is mostly about keeping harmony in a team and making sure everyone is heard and appreciated. I am slowly embracing the importance of this role and becoming more comfortable with the skills necessary for it. Finally, service is a big part of sophomore year in Mount. For Year of Service, I am working with two very different organizations (Wexner Medical Center and Clintonville-Beechwold Community Resource Center) and I am already learning so much about the importance of service in the community. I’m very excited to continue my work with these groups.