For this reflection, I watched Sam’s current news zoom. I have really not been paying attention to news except the corona virus news, so most of this stuff was new to me. One I found most interesting was the flower sector in The Netherlands because I would never imagine that flowers could be such an important factor in an economy. The amount they are going to lose seems insane, especially when talking about flowers. I had also not considered that fact that people were not buying flowers right now simply because there is not need to be buying them right now. An 85% drop is awful.

Before watching this, I was paying attention to the topic of US Prisons, but not into the same amount of depth that it was talked about, so I was glad to have more information on that. I also liked hearing what other countries were doing about it since I had not heard much about that. I had also not heard about the large breakouts occurring but that would make sense. Thinking about the amount of cops out now, I agree with Sam in that I have not seen any out. One think I thought though is that if they are not going to arrest as many people, that is completely fine and I agree with that. However, it seems odd that they would tell the general public about it.

Overall, I enjoyed listening to the current events conversation since I was not up to date on these things, and I got to feel more connected with IA.

On March 5^th, I attended a service event called the Brewers Ball  through my club on campus, Breathe Hope. This event was put on by the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, and was hosted in downtown Columbus. There are chapters of this organization all around the country, and with my club, we volunteer through the Central Ohio chapter.

This was the first time the organization hosted the Brewers Ball, and it seemed to be a large success. As a volunteer, I worked the silent auction table. We also had people running check in/check out, and doing what they call “Bid for a Cure”. In this, attendees are just able to make general donations to the foundation. At this event, they also announced the winners of the Columbus’ Finest. This is a competition in which honorees are nominated and selected based upon their successes in their professional field, their spheres of influence, as well as their wish to do philanthropic events. They each have 17 weeks to raise at least $2,500 and donated at least 2 items valued at over $100 to the silent auction. The winner was announced at the event, and she had raised over  $16,000. In total, the honorees raised over $50,000 throughout their 17 weeks for the foundation.

The entire purpose of all of the Cystic Fibrosis Foundations events is to raise money for those who have the rare generic disease Cystic Fibrosis. This disease affects over 30,000 people in the country, and more than 70,000 people worldwide. Since it is rare, there is low awareness for it. By hosting events, the CFF can raise awareness also which increases the chances of finding a cure.

While there is no cure for this, there have been an increasing amount of medications put out to limit the symptoms allowing those diagnosed to begin living with a better life quality. There have been drastic improvements in the medication and general knowledge about CF since the 80s. The life expectancy then for someone diagnosed was only around their teens. However, with new developments, the life expectancy has increased today to around 44 years old. Much of the research relating to CF has been funded by the CFF. In addition to funding research and medication improvements, the CFF also works to help patients who cannot afford all of the medications they need to live with CF. The newest drug, Trikafta, has been able to help around 90% of patients with CF which is absolutely ground breaking. It is also one of the first medications to begin targeting the actual issue in the genes instead of just working to mask symptoms. It came in the fall and it has shown drastic improvements in those who are able to use it.

In terms of international affairs, CF is a disease that affects individuals all over, not just in America. The research and drug development funded by CFF goes to help patients all around to world. There are over 40,000 patients outside of the US. CFF continues to be the world’s leader in the search of a cure.  In addition, CFF is an organization that

On Monday, January 27^th, I attended the campus event that consisted of learning about different service opportunities through mentoring and teaching. It was a discussion panel with people from the Peace Corps, Teach for America, Urban Teachers, City Year, and Ohio Reading and Math Corps. The panelists discussed all about their organizations, what type of programs they had, and how you could join them.

The Peace Corps is a common organization, so I knew about that one before going in. It is something that I am extremely interested in doing either after graduation or once I am retired, but I would like to do it sometime in my life. Through them, you can pick your program, and then there are over 60 different countries you could go to complete your service. There are 3 months of training for this and then you are committed to 2 years of whatever your service is. The education one is the most interesting to me since that is what I want to do for my career.

Teach for America is also something I had heard of, but never knew in depth what is was. After receiving an undergrad degree, you are eligible to apply for it. It’s a program where you are essentially a full time teacher receiving a salary, with the hopes that you will continue teaching in the district that you were placed in. For this, it is also a 2 year commitment that follows 5-7 weeks of training.

Urban Teachers is the combination of a graduate and residency program. With Urban Teachers, 14 months is residency while you are also taking graduate classes. These first months are extremely trying as you are nearly working a full time job and being a full time student. After the 14 months, you have 3 years of being a lead teacher. Once the program is complete, you end up with Teacher Training and Certification in Elementary Education, Secondary Literacy and Secondary Math, as well as a Certification in Special Education.

The program City Year is much less of a time commitment that the others, only requiring 11 months. This program helps individuals who do not know what they want to do after college be able to be part of service. Through them, you are placed with a lead teacher providing success coaching and tutoring to children in the class. They provide a biweekly stipend that varies on where you are located since they since 29 locations across the US. In addition, they offer loan deferment while part of the program.

Finally, the lowest commitment level of all is the program Ohio Reading & Math Corps. With them, you are placed across Ohio and have the opportunity to tutor children in Elementary Education, Math, and Reading/Literacy. They help children with attendance problems by having them be able to look forward to seeing someone once a week at school. While tutoring is part of it, it also just includes talking to the students and seeing what they need that day.

I really enjoyed this event because I did not know how many different teaching options there are if you want to do service related activities. It also helped me start thinking a little more about graduate school and if that was something I would want to pursue in my future.

This event related to International Affairs in that I want to be able to use my teaching skills to connect internationally or just in a diverse way, and that would be possible through some of these programs. It opened my eyes to the different ways I can help others through what I want to do with my career.

On November 2^nd, I attended the service event at the Huckleberry House. Prior to going, I had heard of it because my aunt actually worked there when she was in college, but I did not have a good grasp on all that they do for the youth in the area. Because of that, this event impacted me in a few different ways.

The Huck House is a house near campus that services central Ohio youth and their families. At the house, they have what it called a Crisis Shelter Program. Here they have a certain amount of rooms and bed and they allow youth to stay if there are problems at home. They must be between the ages of 12 and 17. In order to stay though, the teens need to say they want to be there, and their parents have to also allow them to stay there. Typically, they length of stay is around a week but there are some teens who do stay longer. There is not a limit on this; it is circumstantial. The kids who are there continue going to school, and at the House, they have therapy sessions and receive hot meals. The ultimate goal is that the children will go stay back with their parents as long as the situation is not abusive to them.

Staying at the house is not the only service that they provide. They also have a Crisis hotline that teens can call to talk to someone immediately. They provide what is called a Transitional Living Program for those between the ages of 17 and 21 who would be homeless without this program. To be in it, the young people must be employed or in school. It lasts 18 months and Huck House gives access to a safe apartment while teaching skills to successfully live on your own.

There is also a Family Support Program for people between the ages 12 and 22 and their families.  This is a counseling program that is offered in different settings as a way to be more flexible. Another program similar to this is the Youth Outreach Program. It is for those 12-24 who need help finding resources to help them with things such as education, employment, and housing problems.

I gained a lot more from this event personally than in other areas. I learned all of these aspects of the house that I did not know existed. I also did not realize how prevalent homelessness is for youth, especially in Franklin County. Coming here made me more conscious about how grateful I should be for the way I grew up and that I did not have to deal with these things. There was a boy there who thanked us many times for cleaning their house and it just shows how appreciative they can be.

It also helps me to understand that when I do become a teacher, I need to be aware that some kids do not have traditional family lives, and I need to understand that their level of wanting to pay attention and focus may be based around these things.

On the level internationally, homelessness is not just a problem for people in the US. This is an issue all over the world, as is the need for counseling and things of that nature. There should be safe spaces all over so that kids feel protected. Housing is not something that children should have to figure out on their own.

On September 26^th, I went to see the movie Anthropocene: The Human Epoch. This academic event was a documentary about how humans have changed the Earth since we have lived on it, and how because of this, we have now left the Holocene Epoch and entered the Anthropocene. It provided many examples throughout the entire world. This topic is one that is debated among the science community. Those who argue for this say that because of all the changes we have made and cannot reverse, we have moved on from the last Epoch. There is also debate about when we entered this time period.

In the beginning, there is a large fire displayed. This gets circled back to at the end, where it is clear that ivory is being burned as symbolism for not killing elephants for their ivory in Africa. It was the largest amount of ivory burned at one time.

The documentary then takes its viewers to many places all over the globe demonstrating the changes that humans that made on the surface out the Earth. In China, the concrete seawalls, put up to prevent flooding, are shown. These walls cover about 60% of the mainland coast. The largest terrestrial machines ever built are housed in Germany, and it shows how massive they are. In the Russian Ural Mountains, the potash mines are shown. When showing the Great Barrier Reef, the destruction of the corals are displayed. In the Atacama Desert, the lithium evaporation pools are shown. There are more examples provided throughout the film, and they are all just as eye opening.

Personally, this documentary revealed a lot to me. I knew about many things that humans as a whole have done to the earth, but this film brought up many things I did not know existed or that we had done them. It was also very interesting to me to learn about all of these tactics used for making our world more convenient for us. However, it was made in a completely different way than I expected. Much of the film was without talking. There was sound, but it was related to what was occurring. In addition, there was a slight amount of explanation used to discussed what was happening, but after, the viewer just observed the event. In my opinion, this made it more impactful. The information was put forth, and with only noises that would be present in the environment the event that was taking place were heard. Because of this, I was able to form my opinion about how I felt about the situation. The long periods where one thing was viewed allowed for a tremendous amount of reflection on the world.

This relates to international affairs because it is a problem for everyone. With going around the entire world to show certain things that happen all over, it proves that these issues do not just occur in one spot; countries all over have contributed to changing the Earth and its surfaces. It also shows that it is the responsibility of all countries to figure out what to do, not just one area.

On August 30^th, I went to the social event that was dinner at Happy Greek and then to the Greek festival. This event personally impacted me in a few ways. I got to know some of the first years in IA since the dinner had a mix of those who attended it. This was good since, aside from the mentor/mentee meeting, I had not really talked to many of the first years. It was nice to branch out from who I am used to being with all of the time.

While not changing any perspectives, the festival certainly gave me added perspective on Greek life in general. Before this event, I did not really know much about Greek food besides the one or two Greek meals I had, and of course eating Baklava. Beyond that, I could name nothing else about Greek food. At dinner though, while I did not order it, I tried falafel, something I had never had before. I also had lemon chicken, rice pilaf, and Mediterranean vegetables. At the actual festival, Angie and I ordered way too many Greek deserts. We had Baklava, Galaktoboureko, Melomakarona, Loukoumades, and Koulourakia. They were all delicious and helped me gain a sense of what Greek food and deserts are all about.

Not only did I learn about the food, I also learned about the culture. The church was open to walk through, and inside they had little boutiques. When we looked at the shops, there was typical Greek clothing and jewelry. From this, I got a sense of what traditional Greek garments consisted of. Most likely they do not wear these things every day, but it was their cultural clothing from the past or for special occasions such as this one. Outside the church, we sat and watched a few dancers and singers perform. The singing was done in Greek so neither of us knew what was being said, but they were passionate about it which made it enjoyable. Prior to the song though, they would also give descriptions in English that explained what the song that they were singing was about. The dancing that we watched was also extremely upbeat and fun. Everyone was into it which made it that much better.

At the festival, we shared a table with a couple who was Greek and attended the church where the event took place. They explained to us a little bit more about the culture and even shared some of the food that they had with them. It was a great way to get a perspective on the event from someone who lived it.

This event ties in to International Affairs because the festival was a Greek festival which involves a culture different from my own. From this event, I was able to immerse myself into a tidbit of Greek life. Since I was never around it before this, it was an opportunity for me to learn while having fun, as opposed to reading about it. I gained more personally from this event than professionally or academically, and I loved every minute of it.

On March 27, I attended the DISPLAYced art event at Trism. This event featured nine artists, all of which are refugees from various countries. The artists included Bol Aweng from South Sudan, Orisha Nnani from Nigeria, Bamazi Talle from Togo, Nora Musu from Liberia, Edmund Boateng from Ghana, Tariq Tarey from Somalia, Denis Kasaza from the Democratic Republic of Congo, Said Tameem from Iraq, and Abessolo Ayem from Cameroon. Many of the pieces had stories or background written so that the meaning was better understood by those of us who had never been to their home countries or faced their hardships.

This event impacted me in a few different ways. From the descriptions listen with the artworks, I actually learned a lot. For example, in one of Aweng’s paintings, he paints cows. The statement with it explained how in Dinka culture, cows are extremely important. They are a tool used to measure wealth, and they are given to a bride’s family as dowry before a wedding. In addition, children can be named after cows. I did not know any of this, and found it fascinating that cows could be used in such an important way because here in the US, if I looked at someone who had cows, it would never cross my mind to think that because of that, they must be wealthy. Cultural differences are amazing to me and I love learning them.

At this event, there was also a list of statistics about refugees that really opened my eyes. 16.2 million people are newly displaced each year which an extremely high stat. Of refugees that come to Ohio, 48.4% are resettled in Franklin county. Ohio is the state with the third highest rate of refugee placement following Texas and Washington respectively. In 2018, Columbus received 245 new refugees.

This art show relates to International Affairs in many different ways. All of the participants are from countries outside of America who have relocated here. In addition, it is our job to help bring people from other places together, which is exactly what this did.

On one of Talle’s pieces descriptions, he wrote, “Through my life, I’ve been searching for light, love, truth, and my purpose. What’s my path? Before I was Kabye, before I was Togolese, before I was an American citizen, I was Bamazi Talle. It’s about humanity. Before any identity, we’re human. We’re all born with an energy that connects us to all people.” To me, this quote says a lot about people in general and encompasses a lot of what these refugees probably had to go to. Obviously, I cannot speak for them because I have never been through what any of them has. On that note though, I cannot even imagine having to leave my home because it was unsafe and being placed in a completely different country where I am not familiar with the language or people. To top if off, there are many in this country who see refugees as a problem which would make it even harder. Events like this are important for entire communities. Art is an outlet for many who have faced hardships, and through their pieces, it helps others understand what they have faced. This is useful because it exposes individuals to what they are not used to, and could help them feel they want to reach out and help if they can, which is exactly the point of introducing the issues in the world.

On February 16^th, I attended the NOSH Gala. This was a service event as my club volunteered at it. There were many different things that we all helped with. For part of the event, I checked people in. Not only that, but I also helped with the live auction.
The NOSH Gala benefits those who have cystic fibrosis, a genetic disease that occurs when a certain protein does not work properly. This results in failure for the protein to move chloride to the cell surface which causes mucus buildup. While one might think that it only affects the lungs, that is entirely not the case. In the organs, mucus becomes thick and sticky which causes breathing problems and other issues when it blocks ducts and passageways throughout the body. Mucus can also trap germs in the lungs which easily causes inflammation, respiratory failure, and infections which present large problems for those with cystic fibrosis. This also creates problems with malnutrition because in the pancreas, it fails to allow the body to absorb nutrition. Not only that, but blockage of the bile duct in the liver can cause this organ to fail.

While I knew most of that information prior to attending this event, I learned much more while I was at it. Dr. Mitchell Drumm, the co-discoverer of the gene that causes cystic fibrosis, was the main speaker. He spoke on the process of discovering it, and about how he was inspired by a neighbor of his named Ryan who was diagnosed with this disease before much was known about it. This is part of the reason he began researching about it in college. Not only did Dr. Drumm speak on this, he also Skyped Ryan during his presentation and let Ryan share his story from his point of view.

Not only was I servicing the guests to make their time more enjoyable, the guest were also putting in service just by being there. The tickets to attend the event were very expensive. Moreover, there was a silent auction, a live auction, and a portion where individuals could just donate to the Cystic Fibrosis  Foundation. Many took advantage of this opportunity and donated what they could to help the cause.

I was impacted by this event in a few different ways. Having never known anyone personally with CF, it is hard for me to know what they have to go through. When Ryan spoke, he shared many of his day -to- day problems because of the disease. I hate to say it, but it makes me blessed to have good heath. This event also makes me want to continue to attend events that raise money for the Foundation because of all the good that they do for those with the disease. I also gained a lot fo knowledge about Cystic Fibrosis from Dr. Drumm’s presentation.

This event relates to International Affairs in many ways. Diseases are universal; they are not just bound to certain county boarders. Along the same lines, when research is happening, and medicine or treatments are created, they are shared world wide. Breakthroughs are for everyone, and this needs to continue being the case. It would make no sense for people to have to do these things multiple times as a result of researchers in other parts of the world not sharing the knowledge that they have discovered.

On Thursday, January 10th I went to see the movie titled Liyana. This film was half documentary and half animation. The documentary portion was focused on the lives of orphaned children in Swaziland. There is a storyteller, Gcina Mhlophe, who comes in to spark creativity in the children, and from there they write the story that is the animated portion of the film.

Swaziland is a very small country at the bottom of South Africa. Before attending this film, I had never heard of it. The children who live here in the orphanage have a rough past, and that becomes evident when they begin writing the story. In this story that they create, the parents die from AIDS and the three children are left with their grandmother to raise them. One night, thieves come and steal the younger twin brothers. Liyana, the main character, must embark on a hard journey to save her brothers. On top of that, she saves three other children she finds with her brothers.

I was extremely impacted by this film. The youngest of the main children who writes the story was nine at the time it was beginning to be filmed. To have someone going through so many hardships that young was eye opening to me and it broke my heart. There are so many things we take for granted here and even though these children had rough pasts, they were not hopeless. They were excited to tell a story. They were happy to play outside. They were active in their lives and they did not let their troubles define them, and I think there is a lot to learn from that.

There was a question and answer session after the movie with the director, Aaron Kopp, and there was a woman who asked how they were marketing it since the animation story would grab at kids but the topics discussed including AIDS, rape and abuse were so deep. This brought up some cultural differences as how in America, typically parents shield children’s eyes from topics like this and try to keep them innocent. However, in the film is was what these children grew up knowing. In the documentary portion, one of the younger children had to go get checked to see if he had the HIV virus because it is so common in their population whereas in America, children typically do not even know what it is.

During the Q&A, Kopp stated that the movie took about 6 years to make because of the way they had to put it together. Since it took so long, the children are now teenagers and beginning their own lives. When it premiered, Kopp was able to bring them to see it in LA and I find that amazing. Not only that, but Kopp holds showings in Swaziland as way to bring the movie back to its ‘home.’ The people here appreciate it and can relate to it. Liyana is a superhero to them.

From this event I learned about the country of Swaziland and the people there. I gained a lot personally from this and it was truly a reality check for me. It is important to be grateful for the things you have and the people in your life because in some places, life is much different.

On November 27^th I attended the Ted Talk titled “Breaking the Cycle of Trafficking.” During this event, there were four speakers and a video that was also played. This event was very impacting.

Before attending this event, I knew that Human Trafficking was of problem. However, I did not realize how much of an issue it was. I always thought that human trafficking was a problem of people being kidnapped and then sold into a sex trade. Human trafficking encompasses a much larger meaning than just this. It can also include individuals who are coerced or forced into being prostitutes.

Judge Paul M. Herbert was one of the speakers. He is the creator of program called CATCH Court that focuses on human trafficking victims who have been charged with misdemeanor offenses of solicitation. In Columbus, of all the women who are arrested for this, 92% were human trafficking victims, which he began to recognize so he created this program because he realized arresting these women was not preventing them from getting arrested again. This is a program that assists in breaking the cycle of abuse for victims of human trafficking, prostitution, and sexual exploitation. The facts he provided for this blew my mind as I thought that most of those who were prostitutes chose that life for themselves.

Two other speakers at this event were Vanessa Perkins and Beth Morrison. These women are both human trafficking survivors and graduates of the CATCH Court. Hearing their stories was extremely impactful. It focused on how those who are doing the trafficking are not always people you would expect. It can be anyone from family men to church men; it is not always those who seem like they could do it. It addition, they are smart. They prey on the vulnerability of women who are often drug addicts or too young to make their own decisions.

Mikhail Moore is another individual who spoke at this event. He is the son of Beth Morrison, and he spoke on how it was to grow up around a human trafficking victim. He spoke on many instances that occurred when he was a child, and how he is learning to trust his mother and build a relationship with her again. He has attended CATCH Court meetings with her which helps to break the cycle of violence, so he does not end up becoming a man who would partake in these actions.

The video shown was another Ted Talk that information businesses on how to stop men from buying sex on the internet in the workplace. They did this because they found that 2 in the afternoon is when buying sex on the internet spikes. In addition, it is a belief that if they can get the buyer to stop buying, no one will have to be trafficked.

This event was very eye opening because it showed how large the scope of human trafficking is. Not only that, but it shows how it can even happen in small towns as some of the speakers were from smaller towns. It also shows that it can be happening by someone who would never seem like they would do it. This is important topic for International Affairs because of all of these reasons. This affects our country, as well as others and it is important to be aware of what is going on and see if there is anything helpful we can do.