Global Awareness: As my second year of college comes to a close, I realize I have taken many actions to examine what it means to be a global citizen and to cultivate and develop my appreciation for diversity and each individual’s unique differences. For the past 2 years, I have been involved with the Bangladesh Student Association and am current Treasurer and upcoming Vice President for the organization. Experience with this organization has not only brought awareness of pressing issues in the South Asian community and what I can do to learn more about them as I am in the United States, but has also taught me to look for similar issues in my own community here in Columbus. My involvement with the Morrill Scholars Program this past year as a Leadership Development Student Leader has also taught me about diversity in our community and interactions with first year students as well as my fellow student leaders has shown me to advocate for our differences and to learn from one another! I am looking forward to studying abroad at some point next summer as well. Furthermore, I have been a research and outreach fellow for The Pure Water Access Project which has given me incredible incentive to learn about pressing public health issues around the world. I was actually one of three fellows last summer to undertake a water project in Penim, Ghana and am currently a senior fellow working to plan another trip!

Original Inquiry: I have been involved in undergraduate research since second semester of my freshman year. While my experiences last year did not work out, I was lucky to become involved in the lab of Dr. Jan Schwab in August of 2017 last semester. His work in understanding Spinal Cord injury from a neuro-immunological standpoint – more specifically, spinal cord injury induced immune depression syndrome is especially interesting to me as I have a personal background of suffering from a Neuro-immunological disease in my childhood through my teens. More recently I will be collaborating with another lab to understand Cerebral Small Vessel Disease upon Stroke. I will continue to work in these laboratories to not only learn different techniques, but also to be able to gain the skills of problem solving and creativity in different circumstances outside the classroom! I am sure these experiences will provide me with an extensive background to prepare me for a career as a Physician Scientist as I pursue an MD/PhD.

Academic Enrichment: In my honors contract, I have listed a wide range of classes that expose my desire to not only learn more about Neuroscience and Public Health, but to have a diverse understanding of knowledge and information from other fields of study as well. I have also signed up for quite a few graduate level and 4000+ level plus classes in my major of study which show my dedication to learning more about the field of neuroscience so that I can one day apply this knowledge to my career as a Pediatric Neurologist.

Leadership Development: I hold several leadership positions on campus, especially for organizations that I have dedicated my efforts towards for the past two years. This past year, I served as event committee head for A Kid Again, an organization dedicated to holding events for children facing life-threatening/ chronic illnesses and their families. I also served as treasurer for the Bangladesh Student Association which will provide me with a stepping stone to serve on the executive board in the future and to build relationships and collaborations with other south asian student organizations in the future. I am also a student leader for the Morrill Scholars Program where I mentor several first year students and teach them leadership development skills. Most importantly, I have been designated as a Senior Fellow for the Pure Water Access Project, a 501(c)3 non-profit organization dedicated to finding data-based solutions to water crises around the world and the communities that they affect. I am currently in charge of our Ghana project and hope to use my leadership skills and experience in inter-cultural and international dialogue to prepare me for a career in international medicine. My involvement in these activities relates to my personal and career goals as I want to pursue nonprofit work before heading to medical school so that I can dedicate my professional career to international medicine and providing healthcare to under-resourced and underprivileged communities. My experience with leadership in such initiatives prepares me for a career to be a global leader in these fields to be the best doctor I can be.

Service Engagement: During the past year, I was a volunteer in the NICU department at Grant Medical Hospital. Last summer, I volunteered over 300 hours at the Good Samaritan Free Health Center, an experience which has further empowered and impassioned me to seek to work to provide medical care for under-resourced and low-income communities. Over 80% of the patients at the free clinic are Hispanic/ Latino and only 10% of our Hispanic/Latino patients know any English. This harkens the critical necessity for healthcare professionals, especially in the United States, to know a second language, such as Spanish. The language barriers, as I have passively witnessed while volunteering in the clinic, not only make patients more hesitant to even seek out medical/ professional help, but also unable to adequately convey their health concerns and therefore unable to receive the proper care that they deserve or need. Another thing I have learned through working at this free medical clinic is that mental health is a very prevalent issue in the low-income community and many do not have the resources to seek help or treatment for their mental health crises. This establishes a cycle which keeps the poor impoverished. Furthermore, for the past two years and especially last summer, I have been a volunteer with the Boys and Girls Club where I mentor low-income youth. Overall, many of my service engagements have been with non-profit organizations with which I plan to continue working throughout my college experience and especially after graduation.

Global Awareness: In order to examine what it means to be a global citizen and to cultivate and develop my appreciation for diversity and each individual’s unique differences as well as examine the world’s complex, interdependent systems, as well as my own cultural backgrounds, I will involve myself with The Ohio State University’s Office of Diversity and Inclusion as a Morrill Scholar. I will engage myself within the community and introduce myself to people of all races and socioeconomic statuses, especially through volunteering work for underprivileged inner city youth. I look to my cultural group, Bangladeshi Students Association to provide me with the ability to interact with those with whom I share a common cultural background as well as to make a collective effort to help those internationally, such as through our fundraisers for UNICEF, Bangladesh. Academically, I look forward to the opportunity to study abroad or study Arabic and International Studies to gain a better understanding of the culture and political background and environment of the Middle East. Doing so will enable me to increase my knowledge of the world around me and make me more aware of the issues that surround various cultural and ethnic grounds as well as those issues which permeate our society today.

Original Inquiry: In order to understand the research process by engaging in experiences ranging from in-class scholarly endeavors to creative inquiry projects to independent experiences with top researchers across campus and in the global community, I will search for research programs across the country as well as engage myself in research with doctors and scientists both on campus and at the Wexner Medical Center. I will use my interest in studying demyelination and the mechanisms behind neurodegeneration to propel my research prospects to potentially develop a research project during my time at Ohio State.

Academic Enrichment: In order to pursue academic excellence both in and out of the classroom, I will engage myself and enrich my learning by taking vigorous honors courses, not just those of science, but also in the liberal arts by pursuing my interest in international studies through my GE’s. I will make use of the resources available on campus, such as my honors and neuroscience advisors, Peer mentors, and the Undergraduate Research Office.

Leadership Development: In order to build on my educational experiences to become a leader in society and the world, I will pursue co-curricular activities such as student organizations on campus including Buckeyes for Mentoring, MEDLIFE, and Global Health Initiative with the intentions of gaining leadership positions in them in the long run. I also intend to become a mentor for underprivileged youth in the community as well as apply to be a peer leader/mentor for survey class next year.

Service Engagement: In order to build on my educational experiences to serve society and the world,  I will volunteer in local hospitals and get involved with Buck-i-Serve and or organize group trips to soup kitchens or to tutor youth in our community. I plan on someday within my 4 years here at Ohio State to start nonprofit work in Bangladesh to help underprivileged youth living outside of the city or even to provide medical care to those who can’t afford it otherwise in those parts of the nation.