What was the highlight of your ENR Scholars experience over these past two years?

The highlight of my ENR Scholars experience has been having the chance to be a Peer Mentor. I’ve loved getting to know the first years as well as staying involved with the program overall, with the friends I made from my first year in the program, and with the amazing advisors.

What is something you learned or gained because of ENR?

I have gained technical and factual information and new experiences about ENR Scholars, like backpacking, camping, slacklining, hammocking, the best banana boats I’ve ever had, and so much more. However, when I think about what ENR has given me, I think about the people. Like many students, finding a community or set of communities in college was a challenge at times; I came in as an Exploration major, so I tried out a lot of different classes and areas. This meant that while I was blessed to be able to look into many different avenues, I didn’t build the community of having classes with the same people. ENR Scholars filled that role; while maybe they weren’t in my calculus, theatre, sociology, or Spanish classes, they were the people I lived with, and we all walked over to Scholars seminar each week. Now that I’ve declared my major, I see many of those people around campus and in class, and many of my best friends here in college come from ENR Scholars.

For the sake of environmental impact, did you make any changes to your habits or actions over the course of the two years in the program? If so, is it something you will continue to do?  If you’re moving off campus next year, are there other actions you’re hoping to take or develop?

Because of its environmental impact, I’ve stopped using plastic cutlery/utensils. I’ve also started bringing my own reusable coffee mug around with me. ENR Scholars made these shifts easier as it was simply part of the culture; all around me, people had their own utensils and mugs, so the transition felt very natural. I absolutely plan on continuing with those actions, and as I move off campus, I’m hoping to really take a more active approach to where my food comes from. My future roommates and I have already discussed certain food sources, and I look forward to embarking on that new journey!

What advice would you give to the next class of incoming ENR scholars—how can they get the most out of this program?

This is a bit cliché, but it’s true: you get out of it what you put into it. ENR Scholars can be a major part of a person’s college experience, or it can play a very limited role. “Putting into it” can be as simple as attending the events, not just because you’re required, but rather going to ones that actually interest you. And when you’re there, be there. Be engaged with your fellow scholars to build that community.

This year has brought countless changes and new experiences, and when the world changes around you, you have to change yourself to adapt to the world. Aside from the obvious of leaving home and living in a completely new city in a new room with completely new people, I have tried to take this opportunity to alter my life for the better.

For starters, taking responsibility for my own food and exercise choices has been a rollercoaster. The freshman fifteen hit me like a ton of bricks, thus bringing insecurity over body image to the forefront of my mind. I’ve always had issues with my body — obesity and diabetes run in the family — but I had usually been able to keep those problems on the back burner. I tried to stay healthy by exercising in bursts, but I knew that my behavior was not sustainable. I knew my eating habits were not healthful nor were they making me happy. I knew I wasn’t physically active enough.  After watching my body change before my eyes upon coming to college, I visited to Nutrition Counseling. I started to work out on my own, but I quickly lost interest. Eventually, I started attending fitness classes, particularly yoga. Starting at one class last semester and building up to three this semester, yoga has been my saving grace, not just physically, but mentally and emotionally.

Unfortunately, when I’m swamped in terms of stress and homework, exercise is the first thing to go. This especially happened when I started working on a show within the Department of Theatre here at OSU. Next semester, I’m hoping to craft a plan/schedule of yoga or working out that allots for exercising at least three times a week while still giving me time to work on another show as well as get my homework and sleep a reasonable amount. Once the show, Marisol, closes, I’d also like to try Wellness Coaching at the RPAC.

From the world around me, I’m taking OSU resources, such as Nutrition Counseling, Counseling and Consultation Services, fitness classes at the RPAC and Women’s Field House, and opportunities within the Department of Theatre. With these, I’m giving back my work and energy in the shows I work on, I’m giving back academic effort, but mostly I’m giving back me. I cannot be a productive and helpful person to others if I’m so hung up on my own problems that my vision is cloudy. If I can make myself better, then I can be there for others as they try to make themselves better.

My Earth Month Action Plan proved unforeseen challenges, particularly concerning how I define my personal ethical codes. For my topic, shark finning, I felt that I was ill-equipped to say that another culture should stop a practice that had been with it for hundreds upon hundreds of years. Upon further research, I learned that even within that culture, there is discourse. For me, that pointed to a further truth: there is a truth. There are certain ideas held universally as true, and while we could always be wrong about them, I can look at something and know in my heart that it is good and right or damaging and wrong. This is not to say that the world is black and white; in fact, almost all situations and experiences are shades of grey — they have aspects of both good and bad within. But this realization does allow me to take a stand and gives me the freedom to try to change the world for the better.

This next semester, I will likely need to take a break from the issue of shark finning in order to focus on different aspects of my life, namely working on a show and improving my physical and mental health. This does not mean I’m giving up — quite the contrary — it’s just means that I can care about something while knowing that it’s not viable to dedicate a lot of time to it at this point in my life. I’d like to further my investigations into shark finning by communicating with local restaurants about their menus and where their ingredients are coming from and coordinating with organizations such as Shark Trust to combat the inhumane practice.