Year in Review

[ “Year in Review”  is where you should reflect on the past year and show how you have evolved as a person and as a student.  You may want to focus on your growth in a particular area (as a leader, scholar, researcher, etc.) or you may want to talk about your overall experience over the past year.  For more information, go to: http://honors-scholars.osu.edu/e-portfolio. Delete these instructions and add your own post.]

G.O.A.L.S.

Global Awareness: During my time at The Ohio State University I hope to pursue Global Awareness in a variety of ways. The first way I intend on achieving this is by continuing to take courses like ESHESA 2577 Social Diversity and Leadership which teach me to appreciate the different cultures and identities that many people around me have. The second way is to participate in a mission trip to another country through a faith-based organization on or near campus. This would allow me to fully engage and interact with a new culture and become entirely aware of the unique aspects of the new place.
Original Inquiry: At Ohio State I have taken part in starting a student organization dedicated to service leadership and growing educational opportunity for high school students and hope to make this group successful. I also hope to begin researching effective education methods through the Education or Psychology department to help organize workshops and lesson plans to better my abilities as a leader and quite possibly a teacher in the future.
Leadership Development: I will continue pursuing opportunities for leadership through organizations I am involved in such as The iBELIEVE Foundation and The Ohio Association of Student Councils where I will be staffing and designing various leadership events for high school students. I also plan to become a student leader on campus by taking leadership positions offered by Students Consulting for Nonprofit Organizations and Mount Leadership Society down the road.
Service Engagement: In the future at OSU I intend to begin working with special needs students in the Columbus area through TOPSoccer and the Hilliard Soccer Association and continuing monthly service through Mount Leadership Society. These two service opportunities are very important to me in helping the society around me and have opened my eyes to purposefully and whole-heartedly investing my time and efforts towards something greater than myself.

Career

[“Career” is where you can collect information about your experiences and skills that will apply to your future career.  Like your resume, this is information that will evolve over time and should be continually updated.   For more information, go to: http://honors-scholars.osu.edu/e-portfolio. Delete these instructions and add your own post.]

Artifacts

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Throughout my four years at William Mason High School I invested a majority of my time outside of class to Student Government (StuGo). I held multiple positions within the organization such as Class President and Vice President, event co-chair, and Student Body President and Vice President. This involvement in StuGo not only led me to meeting my closest friends in high school, but opened dozens of doors for me to pursue my passions for leadership, growth, and community engagement. I was introduced to the Ohio Association of Student Councils and attended over 15 leadership events as a delegate and staff member; I was given the chance to speak in front of nearly 4,000 students at the beginning of the school year for class meetings; and I was able to work alongside staff and administration to influence positive changes in MHS. Towards the end of my StuGo experience, I developed Think Tank meetings to hear the voices of our 300 person delegation and the outside MHS community in a search for how we could better what Student Government was doing for both our members and the rest of the school. I learned valuable lessons in conflict resolution and efficient leadership from my peers and found my place leading compassionately rather than loudly.

For these reasons and more, my first artifact is the graduation cord I received for participating in StuGo. While at first this may seem like an average artifact to represent being in any high school organization, it carries a lot of significance for myself and the other seniors that graduated in 2015 because for the first time ever, MHS Student Government was rewarded cords by our administration. For four years straight we pushed to have our success in planning Kids Count, Community Babysitting, Homecoming Dance, Pep Rally, and Parade and many more community and leadership building events recognized and this past year, those four years of pushing paid off. Though it’s just a green, black, and white cord, it represents four entire years of my life in which I was blessed enough to learn from, grow with, and lead my peers.

About Me

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Hi there and welcome to a little view into my life. My name is Samuel Thomas Hodge – Sam for short. I am a first year student at THE Ohio State University in the Fisher College of Business. Currently I have yet to decide on a specific major, but I plan on studying in nonprofit business and marketing with the intent of starting my own business down the road.

I have a strong passion for leadership development which I am lucky to be able to pursue by interning for The iBelieve Foundation – a nonprofit service organization dedicated to empowering and growing leaders in Appalachian high schools throughout West Virginia and Ohio. Also following this passion, I was able to grow my own leadership skills by serving as Student Body President of Ohio’s largest high school, William Mason High School; chairing The A-Mason Race Against P.A.N.D.A.S. through WMHS’s National Honor Society; and serving as a staff member for the Ohio Association of Student Councils. I enjoy dedicating my time towards bettering individuals around me, whether that be by teaching them necessary time management and communication skills, or simply talking through their current goals for the school year – all of which are essentials to becoming a great leader.

I am a Christian, son, and brother of two sisters raised in Mason, Ohio. I enjoy spending time worshipping, reading, and occasionally blogging about my faith. While in Mason I attended the nondenominational ‘mega church’ Crossroads. Crossroads allowed me to grow in my faith by preaching the Word and connecting me to Christian student organizations like the Fellowship of Christian Athletes and Mason YoungLife in my high school. This year I plan on staying involved by attending RealLife services and bible studies each week and finding a church similar to my hometown church at Crossroads.

Thanks for visiting my portfolio. I hope you have a fantastic day!

Sam Hodge

|Go Bucks||Romans 13:12|