For my ten-hour project I chose to learn Spanish. I accomplished this by using an app called Duolingo alongside some notes from my sister’s Spanish class and the occasional help of a friend of mine who is a native Spanish speaker. I found that this project in general came with some interesting challenges. The first challenge that comes to mind is learning Spanish in ten hours. Learning a language in ten hours is not reasonable so I was hoping to nail down some basics. Which I did, to an extent, however learning a language in ten hours is incredibly difficult. As such, my grasp of Spanish is not all that strong, in fact there is a lot of room for improvement. I feel that it would have been much wiser to commit fully and devote much more time to learning the language. While this may not have been best for this project, I do believe it provides an interesting learning experience for next year’s capstone as the value of concentrated, habitual, and regimented work is clear considering the success of my capstone. Another challenge I found was balancing this project with my coursework and extracurriculars. Considering that this project was a semester-long, I knew that time would be a constraint if I saved it until the end of the semester. So, I decided to complete the ten hours at times in the semester when I knew I would be less busy. However, for my 40 hour capstone I will need to be working throughout the year, and time management will be of utmost importance. With this understanding I realize that I will need to set a schedule for myself to follow that is well thought out and contains pre-designed deliverables so that when it comes time to complete the project it will have been a steady and consistent effort.

With that said, I decided a good way to show my work would be to write a paragraph in Spanish and provide a translation. Here they are! 

English:

Hello, my name is Jack. I am a first-year at OSU and I am in the STEM EE scholars group. For my 10 hour project, I learned Spanish, I am not very good. I plan to take Spanish at OSU to improve as a person and a professional. I enjoy Spanish. It is fun to talk to my sister in Spanish and to listen to Spanish music. It is helpful that I took Latin in high school. This project was fun and useful. I am excited to learn more and to start my capstone. Thank you for reading! Have a great summer!

Spanish:

Hola, me llamo Jack. Soy un primer año en OSU y estoy en el grupo de eruditos STEM EE. Para mi proyecto de 10 horas aprendí español, no soy muy bueno. Planeo tomar español en OSU para mejorar como persona y profesional. Me gusta el español. Es divertido hablar con mi hermana en español y escuchar música española. Es útil que tomé latín en la escuela secundaria. Este proyecto fue divertido y útil. Estoy emocionado de aprender más y de comenzar mi capstone. Gracias por leer! ¡que tenga un verano estupendo!

For my spring project I will be spending 10 hours learning Spanish. I have had a strong interest in learning Spanish for some time and feel that this project would be a great way to get started. This should be especially helpful as I plan to begin taking Spanish at OSU next year to fulfill my language credit as well. I am hopeful that my knowledge from taking Latin in middle and high school will help me to learn. I am confident that I will have plenty of deliverables available as my project progresses ranging from translations to writing and beyond.

Earlier this year I was able to attend of the the College of Engineering’s Inclusive Excellence Certificate Program’s events. While I am no longer in the College of Engineering this event was a great experience. I have always been very interested and involved in diversity and inclusion and when I received an invitation to attend this event I was very interested. This programs goal of championing diversity in the field of engineering was evident from the outset of the event. There were a few speakers at the beginning of the event from the college of engineering that prefaced the rest of the event and spoke of the importance of diversity in the field and to the university. They validated my beliefs and idea that diversity is incredibly important and can lead to incredible results for each individual, the university and the field as a whole. After the speakers concluded the introduction, the event then moved into a panel with three speakers and a moderator. The three speakers were from various fields, identities and had different but similar points to make. They continued the message of championing diversity within the College of Engineering but they also spoke to their own experiences working in their respective fields and advancing diversity. It was very interesting to hear how diversity and inclusion had affected these three individuals both personally and in their careers. Hearing how not only they acted to help others in their respective fields but also how diversity had affected them. It was very interesting to hear that they shared many sentiments that I myself had experienced.

Having spent two of my high school years in an environment lacking much diversity to speak of and then transferring to a very diverse high school it was very comforting to see that OSU would seek to emphasize a message of diversity and inclusion. I found that my time in the first high school was much less fulfilling. It seemed as if there was really only one path and we should all follow it. However my time at the second high school allowed me to grow as an individual tremendously as well as seeing the incredible benefits emphasizing diversity and inclusion can have. I was able to explore new avenues comfortably such as theater, GSA, the Diversity and Inclusion club and things like Youth in Government and Model UN. Further, I was able to be learn so much from others experiences. Hearing stories and learning how people of different cultures, identities and backgrounds view th world was also very beneficial. Again, seeing that OSU is making an effort to champion diversity and put an emphasis on inclusivity was very good to see. I know that there are many ways in which the University does so through the many diversity events held around campus and through programs such as this one and the Morril scholars. I am hopeful and excited to continue to get involved in activities and groups like these as I continue my time at Ohio State.

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.

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