For the last year, I have been a member on the ACES Leadership Council, as a Member’s Relations Co-Coordinator. This position has been a great opportunity for me, in so many ways. Below, I have chosen three categories which I feel have been closely linked with my time in Leadership Council. These three categories are leadership, experience, and impact.  

1. LEADERSHIP

Having been on the Leadership Council, it makes sense that there have been a great deal of opportunities and ways to increase and strengthen my leadership skills. This organization has allowed me to set an example to other ACES, and to offer my input and experience when talking with them. This year I have been able to help answer questions about meetings, events, and requirements for ACES. I have also been able to provide first-years with information about Leadership Council, and what their responsibilities would look like. Something which I felt was really awesome, was being able to encourage other ACES who were worried about completing all their hours or events. I was able to talk with some peers and relay event dates and random service events I was attending, so they could join in and work towards their hour goals. I know from experience that meeting all the requirements can be stressful when school gets busy, so it was nice to be able to show others that it was possible.

2. EXPERIENCE

I had never been on a planning committee or executive board before Leadership Council, so this was definitely a learning experience for me. Until I was on this council, I was not aware of how much planning and time goes into helping a scholars group run smoothly. It was necessary to contact speakers weeks or even months in advance, to book spaces well in advance, and to plan for everything in between. This allowed me to have experience in contacting guests in a professional manner, and I even learned how to create a professional email signature through LC. Another valuable lesson which I learned through Leadership Council was planning for every possibility. This means considering extreme weather when doing an outdoor event, and planning alternative indoor events if necessary. Planning for more or less people than the ones who originally signed up was also very important. And in one instance, we even had to consider and plan an alternative event when there was concern that one of our host organizations would cancel last minute. All the fine details of event planning are really what makes an event all come

3. IMPACT

Overall, I feel that being a co-coordinator on Leadership Council allowed for me to contribute to ACES more than by just participating in events. I was able to see how it worked, and to help it run smoothly. Additionally, contributing to service events allowed me to help create meaningful ways to give back, and I am glad to have been a part of this. Being on Leadership Council opened up more ways for me to contribute to ACES and I truly feel that my peers on the council and I had a positive impact, especially for first-year ACES.

Recently, I had the opportunity to go to Condados Tacos with my mentee Kennedy Hoying, my roommate Brittany, and her mentee, Paige. For both me and Brittany, this was our first time experiencing this restaurant. However, Kennedy and Paige eat here regularly, and thus were able to introduce us to one of their favorite dining options off-campus. Because we haved lived in Columbus for two years now and still haven’t tried this well-known restaurant, we decided that Condado’s was definitely a must before summer-break. The thing which I was most looking forward to was trying out this style of Mexican food. I am a huge fan of Mexican food, both traditional and alternative takes on traditional Mexican dishes. After looking through Condados online menu, I was excited to try their take on Mexican street tacos, something which my family loved while we were in Mexico.

Because Condado’s is in the Short North, and because it was raining on this Sunday, we opted to take a lyft. Once we had arrived, we were happy to find out that there was no wait for our party of four. Earlier in the year, my friends and I tried to eat here, but the dinnertime wait was over an hour long! Luckily, we chose to have an earlier dinner this time, and were able to be sat right away. The atmosphere in Condado’s is great for a fun and upbeat conversation, with catchy music and a huge mural on the wall. Our server was very friendly, and Kennedy and Paige realized after he took our orders that they had him as a server the last time they were here. This was a pretty funny realization, and they shared it with our server, who also found it funny! While looking at the menu, I realized that I’ve never before been to a restaurant which has the customer write out their order. This menu listed out everything, starting with the type of shell, and covering all the toppings and sides. To place our orders, we were given pencils to check off the boxes for our desired toppings;  the server then collected these menus from us. For my meal, I decided to get two tacos, one softshell taco and one hardshell taco, I then put chicken on one, and jackfruit on the other. I was hesitant about the jackfruit, which I had never tried, but it tasted almost identical to the chicken, and was a cool way for Condados to offer vegetarian dishes.

Although the wait for our food was not very long at all, this was a great time to not only catch up with my mentee, but to also talk with Paige and get to know her a little better. Kennedy, Paige, and Brittany are all psychology majors, so there was a great deal to talk about, especially with finals right around the corner. Kennedy and Paige have also become really good friends over the last two semesters, especially due to ACES and living on a scholars floor. It was a lot of fun to talk to them about their first year of college, and all the fun adventures they had in just this short time. It rseems to me that these two and their fellow peers in ACES have fully utilized scholars and its living community to make new friends and meet new people. This was also a great time to see what their plans for housing, meal plans, and classes for next year were.

After about fifteen or twenty minutes our food was ready, and we were all very happy with how it looked and tasted! If I had to recommend a non-traditional Mexican restaurant in Columbus, this would definitely be one. The atmosphere was really light and the staff was very helpful and friendly. Additionally, it’s a very close commute to campus, an d the prices are low, even for college students. Food was quick and tasted great, especially with all the options on the menu. For anyone interested in going to Condado’s, it is important to consider the day of the week and the time. Weekends and evenings at Condado’s are usually very busy, and wait times to be sat tend to be rather high. For anyone new to or just unfamiliar with Columbus, this restaurant is a great introduction into just one of the many eclectic dining options offered in this big city. Even in just the Short North, there are a plethora of local-to-Columbus restaurants, allowing visitors to have a mix of new experiences and great food.

Paige, Kennedy, Brittany, and me at Condado’s with an awesome mural behind us!

I was recently able to meet up with my first-year mentee, Muna Abdallah and reflect on how her first year at The Ohio State University has been, and what her third semester in college is going to look like. Muna came into college as an exploratory student with a focus on nursing; she has now decided she would like to officially major in nursing!

1. ACADEMICS

Muna spent her first semester trying to decide on her major and soon realized that despite the difficulty of required classes such as chemistry, she wanted to stick with the nursing program. However, instead of continuing at OSU, Muna is considering transferring into the Mount Carmel nursing program. This school, which is also in Columbus, is a specialty school which offers nursing as it’s only program. Muna feels that this switch would be best for her for several reasons. The first reason has to do with the fact that she is a commuter student, and lives closer to Mount Carmel. This would reduce the stress of trying to get to classes, not to mention the fact that she would only be in classes 3 or 4 days a week (because of the structure of their classes). This would mean that she didn’t have to get dropped off at school every single day, but just part of the week, and then could go to work on the other days. Another reason why she is considering this move is because of the specialized classes which all revolve around nursing at Mount Carmel. This would allow her to focus on classes most fitting for her future career goals. Additionally, Muna already has a few friends who attend this school, and the class sizes are much smaller here. Muna identifies as a more introverted person, and has found the class sizes here at Ohio State incredibly discouraging. For classes such as chemistry, she often would like to ask questions during lecture, but is intimidated by lectures with 100+ people in them. She hopes Mount Carmel will offer smaller class sizes and more opportunities to connect with peers. Muna also mentioned that her second-semester classes have been much less difficult, and so she has been a lot less stressed by academics than during her first semester.

1. INVOLVEMENT

Although she has tried to stay involved with clubs and groups on campus, she has found it particularly challenging because of her commuter status. With her employment off-campus, she typically spends her weekends working. She has made it her priority to only work weekends, thus allowing herself time during the week to attend classes and get all of her homework done. Additionally, she must find a balance between her classes, work, and helping out at home, such as picking up her siblings and cleaning around the house. If she ends up transferring, she plans to get involved right away at her new school and find opportunities during the day to volunteer.

1. ACES

Muna has enjoyed all the opportunities offered by the ACES scholar program, and wishes she could have been more involved, especially with her fellow ACES. Although she may transfer, she has resolved to stick out ACES and complete her requirements for the year, just in case she decides to stay at Ohio State. One suggestion she had for the program was to take a different approach for commuter ACES and commuter scholars in general. Because of their general unavailability during the weekends and evenings, meeting many of the program requirements can be too much work. Additionally, these students cannot participate in the living-learning communities which scholars are known for. This makes it difficult for commuters to get to know their fellow ACES and take part in residence hall programs

1. CAREERS

Muna is planning on taking the training and tests necessary to become an STNA  -or a nurse aide- this summer. This is the first level of experience required for someone in the nursing field, and will give her a great amount of experience in nursing before she even graduates from her program. Additionally, she is excited about the possibility of transferring to Mount Carmel, because this school guarantees graduating seniors a nursing position in their hospitals. This is another big reason she would like to transfer here.

1. MISCELLANEOUS

Something which has continued to surprise Muna about the Ohio State campus is its size. Even though she grew up in Columbus, she was never well acquainted with the campus until she started here. Even now, she continues to learn about buildings and sights-to-see which she’s never heard of before. Additionally, she has been surprised by large class sizes and all the different kinds of people she has met and talked to. One of Muna’s more long term goals (in the next year or so) is to potentially move out of her family’s home and have a little more independence in an apartment of her own.  

With the second semester coming to a close, I was able to interview my mentee Kennedy Hoying, and reflect on her first two semesters here at The Ohio State University. In the time since we last spoke, Kennedy has expanded in her involvement, but has kept many of her long-term goals the same. She is still majoring in psychology here, and intends to keep her major the same for the rest of her education.

1. ACADEMICS

Although she is still enjoying her major very much, Kennedy is finding a few classes to be kind of tough. Overall, her most difficult class this semester is cognitive neuroscience.Behavioral and cognitive neuroscience, which are both required for psychology majors, are often said to be some of the more difficult classes in the major. Despite this, Kennedy is putting a lot of work into passing this class, and her biggest concern is definitely the final exam. Luckily, she has several friends (and fellow ACES) in the same major, and has been able to study with them. Additionally, she has dedicated blocks of time to studying, and has been able to prioritize classes and find balance between scholars, work, and friends. One class on her current schedule, a literature GE has been challenging in unexpected ways. Although the course material itself is easy for her, the professor has said several things which Kennedy, and much of her classmates, felt was offensive or insensitive. Kennedy and several of her classmates have pointed this out to the teacher, however, and it seems to have stopped happening. I think this a great example of ways in which students can communicate with faculty and positively impact their education; although it is unfortunate that this happened in the first place.

1. INVOLVEMENT

Currently, Kennedy divides her extracurricular time between several different clubs and organizations. She is currently an active member REACH; an Ohio State organization which seeks to spread mental health awareness and prevent suicide. Most recently, she was able to  participate in their REACH 5k. This was a walk or run to raise money and awareness for the program. In addition to REACH, Kennedy applied and was accepted into the ACES Leadership Council as a Service Co-Coordinator. She is very excited to begin her work in the LC, and even asked me beforehand what she could expect and what her responsibilities would look like. Because she is very experienced in service and enjoys service work, she feels that she will be able to bring a lot to this position. Another way she stays involved with peers and religion is through CRU, a campus youth group. For her, this is a great way to stay involved because many of her friends are also involved in this.

1. ACES

Kennedy has enjoyed living in the ACES living-learning community, and has been able to make and keep really strong friendships in just the first year she has been in ACES. She is looking forward to continuing on in ACES, especially now that she will have even more insight into how the program works. One thing in particular she is looking forward to next year is being part of the mentorship program. Something which surprised her about the program was how manageable the service and event requirements were once she had properly managed her time and planned ahead for events.

1. CAREERS

Kennedy’s career plans have stayed mostly the same, she still hopes to pursue research and a career in higher education or just in psychology research. In order to get ahead and get more experience, Kennedy has been working in the Ohio Union kitchen, helping prepare food for research trials. These trials look at people with long-term illness and how certain types of food affect them. Although this is not directly related to her research or career interests, it is still research and has introduced her to the practice of research and has given her experience. Additionally, she has applied to a research program which is being led by one of the psychology professors here. If accepted, this program focuses on some of her interests in psychology, and would be more related to her future career goals.

1. MISCELLANEOUS

A few goals Kennedy has set for the rest of the semester and the next year include finding a great research opportunity, finding study abroad opportunities, and maybe joining Second-Year Transformational Experience Program (STEP). She is interested in research in Europe, so she might try and find a study-abroad program which fits this criteria. Lastly, Kennedy intends to make a decision on her tract in psychology. Her two options are currently between cognitive and behavioral psychology. Cognitive psychology looks at the processes behind psychology aspects such as memory and decision-making. On the other hand, behavioral psychology takes a different approach, focusing on the observable behavior of humans and the way they act and react to things. Kennedy is currently leaning towards cognitive psychology, as it takes a more research-based, scientific approach.

Today I am writing about my experience in exploring an unknown part of the city in which I live. With finals week approaching quickly, this project helped Muna, Kennedy, and me take a much-needed rest break from the usual studying, and get off campus. When choosing a place to check out, we wanted to go somewhere that was new, relatively close, and fun. Even though Muna is from the area, there are many places in Columbus that she has never heard of. For Kennedy, Columbus is quite familiar, and she has already explored much more than I did during my freshman year. Trying to find the perfect place took a while, but eventually we all realized that none of us had been to the Columbus Commons (I had never even heard of it). The Columbus Commons is a  bustling public green space in the heart of Columbus, both in the summer and winter. In the summer, the park serves as a recreational area, with fitness classes and concerts being held often. Their website emphasizes opportunities for family activities, and there is even a carousel in the middle of the park, On Thursdays when it is still warm, food trucks operate from 11a.m.-2p.m., and a Jeni’s Splendid Ice Cream is located in the front of the park. During the winter the main attraction is the holiday lights, which are powered by American Electric Company. On certain nights of the November and December, there is a workshop with Santa Claus in it. Because I do not have a car on campus and the bus ride to the Columbus Commons was rather long, we decided to take a Lyft.

Once we got to the commons, the first thing we noticed was the freezing weather, and the very strong winds. If you plan on visiting the Columbus Commons for these beautiful holiday lights, I absolutely recommend bundling up. Despite the cold, however, the lights were definitely a sight to see, with so many colors and a huge Christmas tree in the center of the park. It is very clear that a lot of hard work was put into decorating the park, and they evoked a very festive feeling. Something that I personally found interesting was the way in which the park was almost surrounded by Columbus’ tallest buildings.This park mixed the city-like aspects of Columbus with a green area, making for a really unique style. After about 30 minutes, we realized that besides walking around and taking in the lights there wasn’t anything else to do in that area. But since this was a night focused on exploring Columbus, we decided to walk up the street a little ways and check out some of the buildings and restaurants downtown Columbus had to offer. At this point, it was about 6:30 p.m. on a Wednesday night, and the majority of the places were already closed. Another recommendation I have for avoiding this problem is coming earlier.The holiday lights start at 5p.m. Most of the diners and coffee shops close around this time, sometimes even earlier. To make the most out of your trip here, I suggest getting an early dinner at one of these locations and then going to see the lights. Another option would have been to go on the weekend when things are open a little bit later; I will definitely keep this in mind next time I am in the area.

By the time we had checked out all the cool buildings here and walked past the Ohio Statehouse, we decided that we were just too cold to stay out any longer. So we packed up and headed back in the direction of campus, first sitting down at Buckeye Donuts for some hot chocolate and donuts. This was Muna’s first time ever going to Buckeye Donuts, and I was happy to experience that with her. Our first exploration of Columbus may have been slightly freezing and cut short by logistics, but it was a blast, nonetheless. I was able to catch up with both Kennedy and Muna, and also was glad to see them get to know each other a little more. The lights and downtown in general were both stellar, and I will definitely return to the Columbus Commons, perhaps in the summer for some outdoor yoga or cardio. As someone from an incredibly rural area, I always enjoy getting to see cities, which I find very charming. The architecture of Columbus’ buildings is very eye-catching and I would like to learn the backstories behind some of the older ones. This trip has definitely made me want to see even more of Columbus.  Overall, I would consider this Explore Columbus trip quite successful, and I look forward to trying something new again in the spring.

Recently, I was able to sit down and interview my mentee, Muna Abdallah. Muna is a first year exploratory major, with a focus on nursing. She is from the Columbus area, and she is currently commuting to and from campus. Even though she has lived in Columbus for a long time, she never spent time on campus prior to starting classes here. While we had dinner, Muna and I talked about how the start of her first year here at The Ohio State University has been. We also discussed what her plans for next semester were, as well as her post-graduation and career plans. Muna is a very hardworking student who is navigating her way through many of the class and major uncertainties which face first year students, while also balancing extra curricular activities and relationships with friends and family.

1. ACADEMICS: Although she is leaning towards nursing, Muna is not entirely sure of her major. Nursing was her initial interest at the time of her acceptance into Ohio State, but she is unsure now because of the rigorous prerequisite classes and application process. Specifically, chemistry has proven to be much more intense and demanding than her chemistry classes in high school. Although she was dismayed when she got her first midterm grade back, she has pushed through the disappointment and is now looking for study groups and help from her teachers. During her exploratory class she was also introduced to social work and psychology majors. Both of these majors appeal a lot to Muna, as she is sometimes introverted but also really enjoys working with people. All three of these possible majors fit nicely into her desire to help others and work one-on-one with people, but she is hoping to sit in on some classes to help narrow down her decision.
2. INVOLVEMENT: Because of her hectic class schedule right now, Muna is waiting until second semester to get more involved on campus. She hopes to attend the second involvement fair in the winter, and from there she will decide on a service group to join. She mentioned interest in the cultural exploration group on campus, Mundo, but she is also very overwhelmed by the sheer number of groups to join. One barrier that has also made on-campus involvement slightly more difficult for her is commuting. She is in classes until almost 5 p.m. on several of her days,  and she needs to drive home after to get dinner and do her homework. It is very inconvenient for her to drive into campus after she has left, or on weekends. However, once her class schedule is lighter in the spring, she hopes to apply for a work-study program on campus.
3. ACES: Muna finds the requirements of ACES to be a little bit daunting, especially because she hasn’t been able to attend any events yet. However, we looked at some of the upcoming events and she was happy to find she could still attend many of them before the semester ends. In terms of service hours, she is still looking for ways to volunteer. She is not too worried, however, because she has access to a car and knows of some regular volunteer commitments she can do. Even though she is not living on campus with many of the other ACES, Muna is making friends in the program and is happy so far with the first year seminar classes. She enjoys the seminars because they are a relaxing break from other classes, and are heavily discussion based.
4. CAREERS: If she continues on with the nursing track, Muna would like to get her certification for nursing while she is still an undergrad. This would allow her to intern somewhere as a nurse, and get more experience in the field. If she decides this is the track for her, she would like to continue school all the way through her licensure as a nurse practitioner. The length of school and amount of testing for this career is very intense. Muna is also considering a career which involves her potential switch to social work. She talked about possible career tracks for social work majors, and how she never even realized there were so many possibilities for social work. This realization of all the career possibilities really makes her curious about exploring other majors. Overall, she would really like to continue her education after college and go on to work in a very people-based field.
5. MISCELLANEOUS: There were two general experiences and feelings which really stuck out in my conversation with Muna. The first was her surprise at the added level of difficulty for students who commute. Even though she is on campus all day, she doesn’t have a meal plan, and thus isn’t eating as well as she would like. She also feels like she lacks knowledge on key things for students, such as what dining dollars and Buck ID cash are, or even where Smith-Steeb Hall is. While she is happy to be saving money by commuting, she wishes she was more involved on campus and had more of a traditional freshman experience. To help with some of this, I gave her a tour of Smith-Steeb and am trying to compile a list of resources to help her adjust better. Another key thing she mentioned was her schedule. She realized earlier in the semester that taking chemistry and biology added much difficulty to her class-load. Because of this, she has chosen a day to meet with her advisor before scheduling for next semester. Muna is hoping her advisor will be able to point out which courses do not go well together in one semester, and help her pick a less stressful class schedule.

Earlier this month, I got the chance to interview my mentee, Kennedy Hoying. Kennedy is a first year psychology student here at The Ohio State University. Over lunch we discussed how her first semester at school was going, and how she felt about next semester. She is coming to Ohio State from a very small town in the state of Ohio, so living on such a big campus is much more different for her. Kennedy is a very motivated student who is dealing well with the new challenges of such a big school, and is enjoying many of the new opportunities it has provided. 

1. ACADEMICS: Unlike many incoming freshman (including myself a year ago), Kennedy chose her major very early on. From the start of her high school career, psychology was an area of interest that really stuck out. Now that she’s in the major, she is very happy with her classes. Her next step is to decide on a minor, as well as a possible career track. Her choices for minors relate to social psychology and social work. However, because there isn’t the option to minor in social work, she is currently thinking of double majoring in psychology and social work. Another choice for her is to get a minor in substance misuse and addictions through the College of Social Work. Although she enjoys working with people and considers herself to be very social, one-on-one interactions with people is not Kennedy’s area of interest. Instead, she is more interested in watching and researching people and their interactions with each other. Because of this, she hopes to graduate with research distinctions and continue on to do research in her graduate school of choice. After getting her masters, she would potentially like to work in higher education, and continue her work with research.
2. INVOLVEMENT: Kennedy participated in lots of academic programs during school, and also really enjoyed volunteering with the community. Initially, she was worried that going to school meant that she would be too busy with classes to spend her time volunteering. However, she was happy to realize once she got to school that classes and volunteering were both possible with good time management. So far this year, she has gotten more involved with Pay it Forward, a service-based group here at OSU. This group does a lot to better the community, and reaches out to shelters, soup kitchens, schools, and retirement homes in Columbus to lend a hand. She also mentioned that her and a few friends were looking to facilitate a food drive during October, because it is National Hunger Awareness month. It is really exciting to see other people finding their niche in the community and giving back to Columbus.
3. ACES: Advocates for Community and Education was Kennedy’s first choice of all the scholars group. As one might be able to tell from her volunteer and education experience, she is very focused on the social aspects of communities and learning. Initially, she thought that the program might be a little difficult, especially with weekly meetings and requirements like the 20 hours of service. However, she has a lot of confidence in her ability to meet these requirements, and has also made many new friends from ACES. Although she said she would have just been happy making so many new friendships, she was also surprised (but happy) with how fun the events were. Particularly, she is looking forward to our most recent social event: pumpkin painting!
4. CAREERS: Although she is really motivated to have some kind of career in academia, Kennedy also mentioned that she wasn’t completely sure what she wanted to do for the rest of her life. She thinks that she may want to become a professor so that she can work both with people and research. Once she has accomplished this, she may take some time off from research and just teach, or vice versa. Her many options for different types of research and higher education excites her, and she also mentioned that she would be interested in studying abroad at a research institute in Europe. Not only does she have a broad range of psychology related subjects to study, but she can also pick from many locations all around the world.
5. MISCELLANEOUS: For Kennedy, it was important to understand early on in college that she wasn’t always going to get the best grade that she was hoping for. In high school she was normally used to doing really well without always putting forth the most effort. However, college is a much different experience, and studying doesn’t always bring back desired results. She said that learning this early on had helped her not get discouraged when classes got difficult. Even if classes are a challenge, Kennedy is dealing well with the added stress by reminding herself to just do her best.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=auH6wQuEcPA

Pictured above is the trailer to the documentary Finding Home; this was the film chosen for my ACES pillars film project. This documentary covers the stories of three . These three girls come to a safe house called the Rapha House, which is run by Stephanie Freed and her team. At the Rapha House, there is focus on healing, rejoining society, and learning new skills. I enjoyed working on this project because it put the huge issue of human trafficking into more perspective. Even though the film takes place in Cambodia, sex trafficking can occur anywhere, yet isn’t talked about often. Many of the things discussed in Finding Home were things I was completely unaware of. For example, I had no idea how serious the issue of sex trafficking was in Cambodia. I also was unfamiliar with the family dynamics in Cambodia culture. As someone looking to go into the field of social work, this film was something that I found very engaging. Stephanie Freed and her organization’s dedication to helping these girls was very inspirational. For anyone wanting to work with other’s and change lives, this documentary is a great watch.