I have spent a solid amount of time in office hours, specifically for Chemistry and Precalculus. I have found this time to be extraordinarily helpful. Both of my TAs in those classes are very helpful and have taken time to not only discuss the work I have but also to discuss study habits and the general college experience. I have found that their advice is very helpful and is typically spot on. Further, it is very comforting to hear about the experience of people who were successful in those fields talk about their struggles and adjustments to hear that it is natural to need to adjust and learn new habits. I was speaking today with my Chemistry TA and he told me that Chemistry can certainly be an uphill battle but with consistent work and by using the resources OSU provides we can be really successful. He then made it clear that he is happy to help me with my studies and finding success in that class. My Precalculus TA also gave me some great advice for studying, he told me that consistent repetition is fantastic but also creating a study guide to keep main ideas on hand is key for success. I have also spoken with both of my lecturers in these classes. In both cases they made in effort to discuss not only the class and what I can do to succeed but also topics such as my goals, family, high school and interests. I very specifically remember my shock in the time Dr. Kroner took to ask about my goals and continue by giving me ideas about how to further them and where I could go to find resources. Further, it was very nice to see that he cared about my family and who I was beyond “just another student” and would go that extra mile to make me feel welcome. I have also sought support from a variety of mentors from STEM, COF and BMES as well as some of my friends who are upperclassman who have been incredibly helpful in the process of adjusting and doing a good job in class and with studying.

I fully intend to continue seeking out more opportunities such as the MSLC, Younkin Success Center and more. I know that OSU does an incredible job of supporting it students and I certainly intend to explore all of these resources as I progress. I have found it sometimes difficult to find time to make it to office hours and study cessions through COF with my class schedule as well as with being a commuter as I try to get home to study before it gets to be too late. All in all, I have found the resources that I have used to be extremely helpful and I certainly intend to continue using them. Further, I fully intend to maximize all of the other opportunities on campus that I can. Especially considering I am now in a new major I will need to find ways and opportunities for support in these new avenues I am exploring.

I was directed by my academic supervisor to look into BMES. After looking into it and seeing their presentations both at the mini involvement fair and prior to convocation at our first survey class I decided to join.  I went to my first meeting last week, where we were paired up with our mentor/mentor family. It was very enjoyable, coincidentally a couple of people I already knew were there and I got to meet a few others, including those in my mentor family. We did a series of challenges as well; these included the classic marshmellow tower challenge, catapulting skittles at a target and playing catch with balloons. My mentor family won the tower contest and ultimately scored the most points! This was a great first meeting, I felt as if I was able to talk and hangout with some new people including my mentor family but also some others. I hope to continue cultivating these relationships and build a strong community of friends in my major. I believe that I will greatly benefit from joining BMES as I will continue meeting\ people of similar interest as well as learning more about the major, the field and hopefully begin to create a network within BME.

I am very excited to continue as a member of this organization, a large factor in this is that I found the leaders to be very nice, smart and exciting individuals. In fact, I spoke with one the leaders after the meeting and he was very engaged and seemed to be genuinely interested in my questions. Further, they were very engaged in the activities and were clearly well prepared and brought loads of energy to the meeting. This was great, especially because I am a very high energy individual, seeing similar individuals leading the org made me feel instantly more comfortable and I was able to enjoy the meeting that much more. Seeing their demeanor also helped in that it showed that the leaders were my peers, and that I could potentially serve in such a role should I be lucky enough to be chosen. As such, I have turned in an application to be on a planning committee.

The vast number of clubs and various interests covered was a little daunting a first, however I believe I have found a couple of clubs that are very interesting and BMES is most certainly one of these. I can see myself being a member of BMES for sometime. Fortunately, finding this club was quite easy, it shares a name with my own major which only made it easier. However, I can understand the difficulties of finding the right club considering the sheer number of orgs. While I understand this sounds backwards, it almost feels as if it is impossible to see all of the student orgs offered and it is worrying that maybe the “right” club just has not been found yet. However, this is a perfect example of letting perfect be the enemy of good as there are so may incredible clubs to join and so much to explore therein which is an incredible strength of Ohio State.