In true nostalgic fashion, I am finding it hard to believe that in a few short weeks I will be finishing up my first year of college. Coming into college I knew I had to focus on my grades and make a point to get involved on campus, since I wanted to make the most of my undergraduate career especially with my future career interest in veterinary medicine. I definitely underestimated the adjustment to college life and academics. I struggled with parking, the bus system, navigating campus, and simply school in general. My first semester of freshman year was the first time I felt inadequate at school. I have always been a good student and I felt like the struggles I was having in my first semester would define the rest of my college academic career and consequentially myself as a person. Nearing the end of my freshman year I have grown considerably as a student and as a person. I have learned how to think critically and to embrace each small success in life through my involvement this year, especially through STEM EE Scholars.

This year I have especially expanded my critical thinking skills and scientific knowledge. I have done this through my involvement in STEM EE Scholars. Before joining the STEM EE Scholars program I did not have a comprehensive view of what the STEM field was like and what it truly encompassed. After starting classes, especially General Chemistry 1210, I realized that my current study habits and methods at the time were inadequate in order to obtain future success. So through the STEM EE Scholars seminar, I learned how to learn in a STEM field and how to find success. This significantly helped me to alter my study skills, in order to find success. I was not as open minded and did not employ adequate critical thinking skills at the beginning of the school year, but now I know my critical thinking skills have expanded and I have become more open minded.

By gaining insight into how to learn and find success in a STEM field early on, it opened many doors for self-exploration and engagement throughout the remainder of my first year of college. I joined the Pre-Veterinary Medical Association and was the most active member during the fall semester of 2015. I was then elected onto the executive board for the 2016-2017 school year, which will help me to continue to improve my leadership and networking skills while expanding my knowledge for veterinary medicine. Coming into college I really wanted to get involved in pre-vet and obtain a leadership position within the club, which is what I was able to do. Coming into college I also wanted to get involved in research to improve my critical thinking skills and I was able to join a lab in January 2016 where I will continue to improve upon those skills and learn laboratory techniques. I also wanted to study abroad in college, which I already have done over winter break when I went to Nicaragua, and it was truly an amazing experience.

Looking to the future I am planning to start my own research project and to pursue other study abroad, internship, and research opportunities. Over the course of this past academic year I have grown as a person especially in respect to looking outside of my initial expectations. I found myself getting involved in other opportunities, such as the College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences Voyager Team which recruits students to study abroad. I have also learned how to think on my own and problem solve. Being on my own for the first time at college forced me to be competent and responsible for all of my decisions; which I am so thankful for. I am looking forward to the next three years of my undergraduate career here at Ohio State and I hope at the end of it I will be moving on to vet school here or at another university.