Month: March 2021

Year in Review

This past year has offered many different opportunities and experiences that were different from my first year at OSU. Academically, I started my first major class for Chemical Engineering in the Autumn semester. This shift in classes focused more on my specific interests rather than the overarching goals of engineering that I had seen in my first year. I enjoyed being able to push myself intellectually as the concepts were presented in a different way to what I was used to. This year began to push my knowledge and made me draw on concepts I have learned over the past few years in ways my first-year classes didn’t as much. I also developed my time management skills more with my academic schedule as more classes required more time spent with them. Furthermore, with the shift to mostly online courses for the fall semester I feel I became a more self-reliant learner as I wasn’t in a class with all of my peers all the time. I began to go deeper into the topics and relied on myself more to understand topics rather than always going to others in my class for help. Academically I also feel I progressed by better adapting to new styles of teaching, especially online than I had in the spring semester of first year.

During my spring semester of second year, I had the opportunity to complete an internship with pH Matter, an energy and materials company. Professionally, this was my first internship, and the wealth of knowledge I have gained I believe will help me in the future with the rest of my major classes and internships. Through this internship, I have been exposed to how research and development works, learned how specific instrumentation works, and was a part of multiple teams working on projects dealing with catalyst synthesis, batteries, fuel cell supports, and catalysts. This internship has provided me first-hand experience with these topics and has allowed me to see what areas I enjoy within chemical engineering and what I want to pursue further into my major at OSU. I have been able to develop a clearer goal of what I want to get out of my major and the path I want to follow, which as of right now is an environmental focus within chemical engineering. This experience has also made me want to explore other areas where chemical engineering is used not just in research and development, but I also want to look at areas of manufacturing or plant work.

During my second year at OSU, I feel like I have developed a lot personally. In my first year, I remember focusing heavily on school rather than on taking time to spend with my friends. However, with everything being online and the restrictions, I feel like I realized the importance of taking time away from school to spend with friends. Thus, I feel like I did a better job of taking time both to myself and to spend with my roommates this year compared to my first year. I also feel that I developed my communication and confidence skills this year as I continued to be a teaching assistant for chemistry for another semester. Compared to my first semester teaching in my first year, I was more confident in my teaching. I feel like this then translated to the lab, where I was more communicative, better at assessing the class, and created better solutions to problems that arose in the lab.

During the summer, I have two major plans. I am continuing my spring internship through the summer, which I think will help me delve into the topics that I have begun to learn about more. The next big part is I’m taking two summer classes for school, which I feel will be a good way to come back to classes after taking a semester off.

Updated G.O.A.L.S.

Updated G.O.A.L.S.

  • Global Awareness: Students cultivate and develop their appreciation for diversity and each individual’s unique differences.
    • I hope to gain more knowledge about different cultures through my Year of Service with Mount and serving at a community center where there are people from all types of background, and I can interact with them.
      • Update(1/4): During the second semester I am going to try and go to the Inclusive Leadership Series that my Scholars program offers to learn about prevalent issues that are happening not only in our community but nationally and globally.
    • One goal I have is to take classes that are outside of my major that focus more on learning about people and how to build better communities. This year, taking a leadership class has exposed me to new perspectives and topics that I hadn’t thought about before. I want to continue learning from classes like this that make me think more about the people in society.
      • Update(3/5): During the summer I plan to take 2 classes that are outside of my major, and I think they will be able to provide me a better understanding of other things around me. I plan to take a psychology class as well as a class that revolves around technology and society. Both are relevant topics to the world right now, and I hope to gain a better understanding from them.
  • Original Inquiry: Understand the research process by engaging in experiences
    • I want to pursue research and gain knowledge by completing an internship or co-op during the next couple years to better understand the path I want to take in my major.
      • Update(1/4): I am currently interviewing for internships for the spring semester and trying to decide which internship I want to do.
      • Update(3/5): During the Spring semester I began an internship at pH Matter a small company in Columbus OH that focuses on research related to my major such as fuel cells and catalysts. I am continuing this internship through the summer, and I hope to continue developing more knowledge on the topics they look at. This internship has also made me more interested in pursuing an environmental focus in chemical engineering.
  • Academic Enrichment: Academic excellence through rigorous curricular experiences beyond the university norm both in and out of the classroom.
    • As an OSU-Honda Scholar Award recipient I want to continue building my knowledge and trying new experiences.
    • I want to push myself to take more challenging classes as the years pass to stretch myself and put me out of my comfort zone.
      • Update(1/4): During the fall semester, I took a leadership class which was different from other classes that I’ve done in the past. It was not at all related to my major and also made me see various perspectives I had been unaware of. It also brought to light many of the social justice issues that are important right now to my attention.
    • I want to make my education well rounded by not only taking classes that are required for my major but also classes that focus on other ideologies and thoughts that I can use to better my understanding of different perspectives.
  • Leadership Development: Develop leadership skills that can be demonstrated in the classroom, in the community, in their co-curricular activities, and in their future roles in society.
    • I want to develop my leadership skills as a Teaching Assistant for General Chemistry and continue to build those skills over the next couple years.
      • Update(3/5): After taking a break from being a Teaching Assistant spring semester during my internship, I plan to reapply to be a TA when I return in the fall. I want to continue developing my leadership and communication skills.
    • I would like to take on more of a leadership role within the Mount Scholars by continuing to be a post Mount after second year.
    • As a member of the Society of Women Engineers I want to have a larger role in it in the next couple years to help make more of an impact with the organization and also develop my leadership skills working with others.
  • Service Engagement: Commit to service to the community.
    • During my time at OSU I hope to continue doing service through the Mount Leadership Society. Engaging with the program will allow me to be active within the community and help with a variety of service projects.
    • I want to accomplish my Year of Service for Mount by serving at the Clintonville-Beechwold Community Resource Center and helping tutor for another program, Kindergarten Corps.
      • Update(1/4): As of January 2021, I completed my Year of Service by completing over 75 hours total at three service locations during the year. From the experience I learned a lot about adaptability and trying new ways to serve. I also learned to do projects that surround a topic you are passionate about. For me I enjoyed my time at Kindergarten Corps most because education is an important topic for me.
    • I hope to find at least one service site this year that I can commit to serving at for longer than the year.
      • Update(3/5): I found a food pantry that is close to my house that I volunteered at over the winter break, and I hope to continue serving there during the summer when I have a break.