There is an incredible wealth of resources available on campus, and I have found a couple to be tremendously helpful thus far. A great thing about these resources is how readily available they are, we were made immediately aware of all of the different avenues in which we could seek help and the University makes continuous efforts to keep us in the loop regarding these resources.

The first resource I have found to be very helpful is the LRC in Celeste lab. At first I was a little skeptical of how helpful it could be but then I visited to seek help from my TA for my next midterm. The time I spent in the LRC that day was incredibly helpful. I have since made multiple visits and each time my TA is always willing to help me and others work through any problems or question we may have. Additionally, I have seen TAs help students with their lab reports and homework however I have not yet used the LRC for help on those. I am an especially big supporter of the LRC because it is very convenient in both location and timing. I very much appreciate that we can come and go as we please. Further, I like that we can go and work on whatever we need and get help when we need it. I have always appreciated being able to work at my own pace and this allows me to do just that.

A second resource I have found particularly helpful is the Off-Campus mentorship program. Being a commuter I face some unique challenges and am  further presented with situations that it is very helpful to get help from someone who has the same sort of experiences. My mentor is very helpful, she frequently emails me about opportunities to get involved on campus, events and more. Further, we meet about twice a month to make sure that everything is still alright and to clear up any questions I may have. That being said, she made it clear that should a question arise I can email her at anytime and she is happy to help with is fantastic.

Finally, I have found my academic advisors to be very helpful. As I started in BME and am now in PPE(Philosophy, Politics and Economics) I have had two and they have been tremendously helpful. Notably, they helped make my transition between majors very smooth. However, they have been very helpful in making resources available, providing information, advice and more. Quite a lot of the information I received in conversation with my advisors and in my survey class has proven to be invaluable. One example of this could be the degree audit which has allowed me to create a rough plan for my next few years at OSU.

I have found that there is a plethora of resources on campus, all very important and readily available. I really appreciate the effort the University places on providing us with the means to be successful. While I have only used a few to this point I fully intend on using many more as the year progresses and capitalizing on all that I can.

The STEM EE Scholars seminar class has been very helpful in understanding my responsibilities as a STEM Scholar. Further, the class has been helpful with generally adjusting to life at Ohio State. I have genuinely enjoyed the activities we have done in class as well. I have already done my paper presentation and I found that it was interesting to read a paper and then concisely provide an explanation to the core of the paper. Further, I enjoyed the debate we did in class. My group debated for the use of alternative energy sources and while we lost we did a great job of creating a solid argument as a team and using our combined knowledge, research and resources towards a shared objective. I also very much enjoyed taking the enneagram test. While I understand there is a common skepticism around the accuracy of tests created to categorize oneself I have always enjoyed to process of taking them. I find it very interesting to look at each question and take an honest inventory of myself. I have often found that these sort of test have helped me to better understand my strengths, weaknesses and more. Again, not so much because of the result but more so the process of truly doing some internal thinking. Interestingly, the type I got from the enneagram and the type I have gotten on other such tests were rather similar and did reflect some of the strengths, weaknesses and characteristics I believe I have. I am excited to continue on the interview project as well. I have already gotten off to a strong start and am very interested to see how the rest of my interviews go.

I have also found a lot of the topics we have covered to be very helpful. I very much enjoyed discussing the types of perfectionists and study habits. It was interesting to hear how other Scholars have been adjusting, how their classes are going and how they have felt about the start of the year. Further, it was interesting to hear about how certain study habits translate to success for certain individuals. I have also enjoyed discussing topics such as identity, mental health and other important issues that are generally not covered in the classroom.

I have also very much enjoyed STEM EE events. While I am a commuter so I am often not around the STEM Scholars community I have found that the events are fun and the community is always welcoming. Namely, I went to the roommate challenge and the trivia night and very much enjoyed them. I have also found the scholars mentor family to be a great thing. My mentors, Peyton and Molly, have been very helpful giving me advice and offering to meet to discuss study habits and more. In summary, I have very much enjoyed my first couple of months as a STEM EE Scholar and I am very excited to see what opportunities being a member of this community has to offer.