G.O.A.L.S.
Global Awareness:
As an Anthropological Sciences major, being globally aware is very important. My coursework is very focused on understanding other cultures and the impacts humans have on our environment and other organisms that we share it with. One course that has greatly impacted my idea of global awareness is Archaeology of the Pacific Islands. Before taking this course, I did not know the large number of the people and nations that exist within the Pacific. Furthermore, my understanding of Oceanic cultures was extremely superficial. After taking this course I have come to have a deep appreciation for the people and their cultures. Unfortunately, American and European colonialism is causing great alienation between the native people and their homelands and is destroying the Islander’s cultural past that is very much connected to the land. In addition to replacing the original cultures of the islands, Western Culture is currently turning the Pacific into an economic center that is destroying everything is was and leaving only trash and pollution in its wake. The Pacific is also becoming the foremost example of the consequences of climate change. Sea level rise is causing many atolls to sink into the ocean, and the warming of ocean waters is causing the deaths of many reefs that islands depend on for food, cultural products, and their own economy.
We are in the era of the Anthropocene, where human actions are having broad scale global effects that could greatly alter our future. I plan to continue educating myself on how our influence is destroying our connections to the past and could destroy the possibility of a future. With this information I want to help act. I hope to join the Undergraduate Student Government Sustainability committee and start to push for change within the university and hope to use OSU’s influence to possibly reach a larger audience. I believe that people can change if they are informed on how not changing will influence their lives and the lives of their children.
In addition to these plans within the university, I am also a member of the U.S. Army and will be deployed to the Middle East this coming fall. My unit’s mission overseas is to work with other military forces to train on chemical weapon defense and to share information. This will be a wonderful exchange of culture. This will also be my first time out of the country and a great opportunity for me to explore a section of the world that is generally cut off from civilians. I really hope to learn about the people in these areas and do my best to help protect them from harm. I’m very excited to expand my understanding of a people that the media seems to portray to their own advantage. I hope to be able to see these individuals in a more truthful light.
Original Inquiry:
I have great hopes to begin doing research on campus in the following years both in biology and anthropology. I want to apply to be a research assistant within a medical research lab during the school year. I also want to participate in a field research school during the summers to expand my knowledge of Archaeology, specifically focusing on human burial cites where I can expand my knowledge of human anatomy and study causes of death in the past. In this way I am hoping to help tie together my two majors.
Academic Enrichment:
I have chosen to be an Anthropological Sciences and Biology double major for the purpose of expanding my interests and completing coursework necessary to apply and attend medical school. My hopes are to be a doctor. Biology is an obvious fit for this ambition, as the coursework applies directly to the prerequisites required. I chose Anthropology as a second major to help balance the hard sciences with social sciences and remind myself to focus on people first. I think that it is important to be empathetic to others and have a general respect for their background and culture. I believe that a large part of helping someone heal is mental. In general, it is easier to focus on oneself and healing when those trying to help them can be trusted to understand their beliefs and respect them.
In addition to my hopes for both majors, I have found that Anthropology has opened my eyes to how humans are influencing our world and our health as well. Pollution and climatic change are killing our Earth, as well as harming our health and I truly want to apply this knowledge in a way that I can show human kind that there are serious consequences for our actions. I believe that as a doctor, I will have the credentials and platform to provide proof of these facts and push for change. No one wants to change until not changing will harm themselves.
I think that my coursework is rigorous enough to put me on the path to reach these goals.
Leadership Development:
As a member of the U.S. Army, leadership is a main quality that I focus on. I have been working hard to become a good leader, however the process takes time, energy, and the position must be earned. So far, I have displayed leadership qualities within the army by being a Platoon Guide for my basic training unit. In this capacity I was in charge of making sure my platoon was on time, prepared and I acted as a voice for the platoon to our Drill Sergeants. Platoon Guides are cycled out throughout training, but following this position I was given the job of Squad Leader. In this way I became responsible for a fourth of my platoon, but had larger responsibilities to them. I had to report their whereabouts to my PG, and I also lead them during field training missions. This required tactical knowledge, delegation skills, and making decisions under pressure. I also had a major role in ensuring that my squad stayed motivated and succeeded.
Following basic training, I entered Advanced Individual Training (AIT) for my Military Occupational Specialty (MOS). I am classified as a Chemical, Biological, Radiological, and Nuclear Specialist (CBRN Specialist) and this training was to teach me the skills of my job. Within this training I was also a squad leader. In addition to this, I also acted at the Guidon Bearer for my platoon, a responsibility where I was entrusted with the platoon Guidon (a flag with the platoon symbol). The Guidon Bearer is a representative of the platoon, and acts as the Platoon Guide’s Battle Buddy.
Entering my unit post training, I was chosen to compete in the Best Warrior Competition, only two months after arriving at my unit. My Platoon Sergeant chose me as a representative of our platoon and I was required to compete in many events to test military skills and ideas. As a Private First Class, I competed against Staff Sergeants (enlisted personnel three pay grades above me, with many years of experience to my one year). Competitors in these competitions are supposed to be model soldiers to be looked up to as leaders.
Currently, my goals are to become a sergeant while I am still serving in the Nation Guard.
Within the university, I am hoping to utilize and expand these skills further by becoming a key member of the USG Sustainability Committee. I also hope to be a Peer Leader for the College of Arts and Sciences for the 2020 – 2021 school year.
Service Engagement:
Service is very important to me, hence I volunteered to become a U.S. Soldier. I will truly get to serve my country this coming fall of 2018 and into 2019 during my deployment to the Middle East. This will be a great opportunity to give back to a country that has provided me many opportunities. Upon return, I also hope to volunteer at Children’s Hospital and gain medical skills and knowledge while volunteering my time.
For the future, I also hope to become a doctor in the Army and further serve by having the capabilities to help save the lives of others that serve as well. I don’t plan to spend my entire career within the Army, but I want to begin my career by giving back.