Artifacts

Time is an incredibly precious thing. One never knows how much they have, and it cannot be given, only used. I was reminded of the transitory nature of life not in some profound, abnormal experience, but in the mere scheduling of an interview of my ENR scholars mentor, Chelsea Cancino, a sophomore Environmental Science major (with a specialization in Ecosystem Restoration) and minor in Earth Sciences — “I like rocks,” she explained with a laugh. Chelsea and I are both very busy people, so we both understand the value of time management and prioritizing the moments you are given. One of the questions I asked Chelsea was: How do you balance academics and involvement? I was impressed by her candid response: “I have a really hard time with this…I don’t get much personal chill time — my chill time happens in about 20 minutes increments. I would say: definitely make sure that you understand that just because you want to be involved with something doesn’t mean that you should be involved with it.” She clarifies, using a current favorite quotation: “Ask yourself if what you’re doing today is helping you get where you want to be tomorrow.” Chelsea gave examples such as deciding whether to be on the equestrian team, but ultimately choosing to dedicate her energies and time elsewhere that would bring her closer to her aspirations of being an environmental scientist. She recognizes that having so many choices has it’s downsides, admitting “It’s such a big university — they try to offer you so much, and that’s great, but sometimes they make you feel bad for not getting involved, so you’re like ‘I’m gonna do this and this and I’m gonna do all this and I’m gonna be the best student, I’m gonna have the best experience — and I really felt like I had an amazing first year and I took advantage of so much, but it was a big transition from high school, because you’re not able to take care of as much. You spend less time in class but you spend a lot more time studying for those classes, and just because it’s hard to realize that that time isn’t scheduled in, that’s time that you have to make for it, so unscheduled time that you’re not in class doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t be doing something for that class… you probably don’t have time for six clubs a week.” We proceeded to chat about our schedules for the past week and weeks to come; I remarked that it was amazing how she was able to do so much, and she revealed that she thinks she does it because she “likes the thrill of surviving.” That is something that I can understand very well.

Next up: “What is one of the most important things you have learned thus far at Ohio State?” Chelsea smiled, responding “It all goes back to time management. I realized that everything that I want to get involved in is something that I need to get involved in…Other things I’ve learned: in such a big university, you need to take advantage of these little groups that you have…there are so many people that you can reach out to and I just think it’d be a shame if you weren’t to do that…I think I’ve learned that it’s important to reach out to others and talk to them and learn from their experiences. The reason I wanted to become a mentor was because as a freshman, you don’t know what you don’t know…It’s like when you’re trying to find a way to get to class — you walk this way because you’ve been this way; you don’t realize that there’s a way that’s probably five minutes faster because you’ve never taken it before. You don’t know what paths are there that you’ve never taken before. That’s why I wanted to be a mentor: so I could help you guys find those paths, so that things are easier.”

Chelsea responded to my next question, “Outside of your room, what is your favorite study spot on campus?”, with no hesitation. “Orton Hall library — it’s where the bells come from — has a library in there,” referring to the Geology Library. “I love the Geology Library and the huge windows upstairs — I always go upstairs and the windows overlook the Oval and there are trees involved and it changes throughout the season…You see people and how they’re dressed and the weather outside, and it’s just really nice.” She advises, though, to bring a jacket because “it can get kinda chilly.” It’s helpful to know some quiet places to get work done, or even just quiet places to be. As an extroverted introvert, an outgoing introvert, finding a quiet place away from lots of people can be quite a challenge. Chelsea mentioned that Morrill Tower is a good place to be for those energy needs given the layout, but the library is always a good option.

The following question was, “What ENR Scholars opportunities are you glad you participated in?” Having seen her enthusiasm on this year’s trip to Hocking Hills, it came as no surprise when she said, “All of the camping trips.” Chelsea continued, “With ENR Scholars, you can camp for very cheap and you’re with people who understand how to do it and pick things up…you learn what equipment is best and you learn how to do certain things and you become a pro, and I think that’s awesome.” She mentioned that in addition to the camping opportunities, “I enjoyed a lot of their smaller things…we painted pots and planted herbs, and we…go on hikes and go apple picking…that’s pretty cool. Opportunities like going to COSI on a day that it’s normally closed for an IMAX movie is pretty amazing.”

“What advice do you have for making the most of the ENR program?” I inquired. “Definitely get involved,” Chelsea responded. “Ohio State does a good job of trying to find a niche for you and ENR Scholars is just going above and beyond that. It’s a group of people who are like-minded, that have similar interests, are interested in doing things that are just adventurous and awesome and you can find a lot of cool friends from there.”