Year in Review – Sophomore Year
My sophomore year has been going great, and I have made a lot of progress at Ohio State since I first arrived. Of course, I have been focusing on the G.O.A.L.S., and I will review my time at OSU based on these goals.
My global awareness has developed immensely since I have arrived. Not only have I met people from all over the world in my classes, clubs, and other activities, but I have also learned a lot about the world through the classes that I have taken. Specifically, I recently took French 2101 as a prerequisite for my french minor, which is a class about french literature, pop culture, cinema, basically an introduction to all studies french. This class was fascinating to me and introduced me to a different style than the one I’ve previously known, increasing my global awareness. I have also learned a lot through other classes, like my Greek mythology class. I learned a lot about ancient Greek and Roman cultures, which of course corresponds to their cultures today (although not 100%) and enriched my understanding of the world. I plan to continue taking courses like these, especially classes that will expose me to more french culture that will be part of my minor, to continue to work towards my goal of being globally aware.
I feel as though I have made the most progress in the original inquiry aspect of the G.O.A.L.S. I have been working in a research lab on campus for over a year now, and I have fostered a very close relationship with the faculty member that runs the lab. For the last couple of months, I have been working on my own project, and the more data I collect the closer I get to publication of my work. In addition, I am participating in STEP, and will likely use this money to attend the annual meeting of the Biophysical Society in February of the next year. My faculty mentor has been fantastic in helping my learn about the research process as well as the biochemical and physiological effects of the work that we do, and I have learned a great deal and will use a lot in the future. I plan on continuing to work in his lab for the duration of my undergraduate career and expect to have some publications as a result of this.
I am submitting my Honors Contract this semester, and I believe that my contract demonstrates my commitment to the goal of academic enrichment. My major has remained as biochemistry, and the coursework that is required for this major has content that I love and will most definitely use in the future. The courses that I plan on taking will provide me with knowledge about biochemical systems and related concepts that will be useful for me in graduate school and throughout my career. I plan on attaining a doctorate in biochemistry, molecular biology, biophysics, or some other related field, in which an undergraduate degree in biochemistry will be incredibly valuable. In addition to those classes, the GE classes and my minor will be useful in maintaining a well-rounded education. These extra classes outside my major will help me think from different perspectives and keep an open mind in situations where a scientific mind will not always solve problems. I believe these courses help demonstrate my commitment to excellence, as well as my future goals and plans for my career.
Through my second year on campus, I have become involved in multiple activities on campus. Primarily, I am a peer leader for the Chem 1612/1622 series. I lead a five or six student section of students in Chemistry 1610 or 1620, the general chemistry courses for chemistry and biochemistry majors. In these sections, I guide discussions on chemistry concepts and mainly do practice problems with the students, making sure they understand the process of solving the problems and common mistakes that are made. I also help them with study skills, time management, and test taking skills. In addition, I also have a leadership position in my fraternity, where I am scholarship chair. In this position, I set up study tables for members to have quiet study time, I communicate information about scholarship and career opportunities, and I organized a system for members to write reviews about classes and professors that will be useful for future members. These leadership positions that I have are related to my future career because their involvement with chemistry, and with academics. My end goal is to be a professor, to teach and do research, and as a chemistry peer leader I get an experience in teaching the science that will be useful to me. As scholarship chair, I am gaining experience in organization and academia, which will benefit me in the future.
Finally, I have become involved in service engagement on campus. Mainly, I have been involved through my fraternity, but I also participated in BuckeyeThon for the first time this year. The fraternity events include anything from small events, such as cleaning up local streets around campus, to larger events, such as hosting a concert where all the funds go towards the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. One of the other events that I participated in recently was volunteering at the Ohio History Center’s night at the museum. At this event, I worked at a crafts station and helped children create paper chains of varying symbols of Ohio. In the future, I plan on continuing to volunteer at various organizations through my fraternity, and I also plan on participating in BuckeyeThon for the next two years to raise money for the children’s hospital.
G.O.A.L.S.
As part of the Arts & Sciences Honors Program, the G.O.A.L.S. are very important to me. This is broken down into Global awareness, Original inquiry, Academic enrichment, Leadership development, and Service engagement.
To develop my global awareness, I strive to learn about different cultures and ideas, specifically French and francophone culture through a French minor. I plan to specialize in French for the professions so that in the future, I will be able to use my skills acquired here at Ohio State in my career to work with French companies and institutions. The classes that I will take will also not only focus on French language and culture, but will also turn my attention to other francophone countries and regions. For example, in my French 3 class I am currently taking, we talk about France as well as Quebec and francophone countries in Africa. In addition to these classes, I plan on studying abroad in Paris for two weeks at the end of the spring semester my sophomore year. This trip will immerse me in Parisian culture for 14 days and will expose me to other ways of life.
To learn about original inquiry, I plan on joining a research lab during the spring semester of my freshman year. I very much enjoy the research process, from reading articles and going in-depth into scientific topics to performing experiments and analyzing data to providing explanations for the data. I have already completed an original research project last year during my senior year of high school, and that experience only cemented my desire to do research. I plan on staying in a lab my whole undergraduate career, completing an honors thesis and presenting it at the Denman my senior year, and then going on to graduate school to obtain a Ph.D and do research as a career. In addition to research, I will also work towards my goal of original inquiry by taking upper level general education courses, to expand my knowledge on subjects that I do not know much about and to challenge myself to think critically on topics other than the sciences.
On of the most important aspects of the G.O.A.L.S. to me is the academic enrichment. Understandably, this is a large part of the reason that I came to college in the first place, to learn about new topics and to expand my knowledge of those topics that I am already familiar with and that I am interested in. This is exactly what I plan to do here at Ohio State. I am majoring in biochemistry because I love the sciences, particularly biology and chemistry, which can be combined into biochemistry. I find molecular biology fascinating, and I look forward to taking upper level biochemistry classes. In addition, I plan to learn about new topics with the general education classes that I will be taking. I will be taking either honors or upper level general education courses, demonstrating that I am genuinely interested in the subjects that I will be learning about. I am excited for some of the upper level classes, for example the sociology of sports or the politics of sub-Saharan Africa. At the end of my four years here at Ohio State, I will have gained a wide new breadth of knowledge, not only in the topics that I already know about, but also on those that I have not studied before.
Shifting the focus to outside of the classroom, as an honors student I am dedicated to become a leader in society. To do so, I plan on obtaining positions where I can develop some leadership experience. For instance, I organized and was captain of an intramural soccer team this past fall, and I will be again for an indoor soccer team in the winter. In addition, I had a position as a referee of the intramural soccer games. I had refereed for six years before coming to Columbus, so it made sense to me to continue this profession in college. It is important to be a leader in this job, and it is not always easy. One must remain confident in the face of a challenge, and manage the game from the get-go; it is necessary that the players see you as an authority figure that they must respect, not one that they can bully. I plan on moving up in the ranks in the coming years for this job, eventually becoming a supervisor for the soccer games.
Finally, the last section of the G.O.A.L.S. is service engagement. To develop this quality, I will participate in various service programs here at Ohio State. I plan on finding a club that I can join that will engage me in programs that involve community service that will help me build on my educational experiences. I have already attended some meetings of the chemistry and biochemistry club, but there are other clubs that are more service oriented here on campus that I will explore. In addition to this, I will actively seek any opportunities that arise for me to participate in service through other means, such as the chemistry department or any programs that are made available to me through my dorm. I already have multiple friends who are involved in service here in Columbus, and I plan on using these connections that I have made to get myself involved in some of the programs, with the ultimate goal of extending my growth beyond the classroom while I am here.
Artifacts
This is my first ever lab report that I wrote in college. It was for the lab “Quantitative Analysis of a Sports Drink” for Chemistry 1910H. Although I participated in research and already have some experience in writing scientific literature, this report is the first time that my writing was reviewed by others in academia. At the end of this semester, I will include my final lab report from this class to demonstrate the improvements that I know will have been made in my writing after just one semester. This marks the beginning of my career in scientific writing.
About Me
I am Garrett Hauck, a first-year honors student at the Ohio State University. I was born and raised in a suburb of Chicago, Illinois, I have one brother and two dogs, and I love to play soccer. I value kindness and friendship, and I believe that anything is possible if you set your mind to it. Here at Ohio State, I plan on majoring in biochemistry and pursuing a minor in French. One of my reasons for choosing Ohio State and one of my main goals is to participate in research as an undergraduate. I want to gain valuable laboratory experience and gain knowledge from my courses that I can then use to attend graduate school and obtain a Ph.D in molecular biology. I am particularly excited for the 5000-level biochemistry courses that will begin in my fourth semester, that will delve deep into the chemistry of cells and organisms. As a career, I hope to participate in medical research, and possibly secure a position as a professor at a university. My ultimate goal is to be a part of or even to lead a research team that tackles some of the toughest questions that will lead to discoveries that will save multiple lives.
