Global Awareness: This year, I chose to minor in cultural anthropology. These classes offer me something I was missing in my studies– I love history, art, music, and sociology (basically, I love learning about all peoples at all times and places). So, I have found my studies in this area extremely enriching, and supplements the practical knowledge I learn in my physical and health sciences classes with more thought-provoking and world-shattering topics. Also, I plan to expand my horizons with a trip to Peru and possibly London this summer. During my trip to Peru, I will be based in a host family’s home, so I will truly get exposure to how the people of Peru live day-to-day. I will be working in a health clinic in Peru, also, so I will be able to learn about an international health system that I currently know nothing about.

Original Inquiry: I engage in original inquiries in two main, and possibly very different, ways. The first is by conducting research in a hematology lab on campus. This activity forces me to act and think like a real scientist;  I translate what I learn in my classes to real-life problems. I have to think critically about why we see the results we do, and connect topics that I have learned across all of my courses at OSU so far. My second area of original inquiry involves my venture into taking violin lessons with a graduate teaching assistant on campus. I missed playing the violin, so I emailed a professor to inquire about lessons. She set me up with a teacher, and I have been taking lessons with her ever since. These lessons require a great amount of self-discipline, as well as self-confidence. Each lesson is one-on-one with my teacher, so if I am not prepared, it can be an awful experience. So, I practice about 6-7 hours every week to prepare for my lessons, and must interpret the music on my own to showcase exactly what I want to showcase. Both research and violin lessons have expanded my horizons and bolstered my self-efficacy incredibly.

Academic Enrichment: I have learned this year that college is not a cakewalk, especially general chemistry, but that I can accomplish anything if I try my hardest. There were definitely low points in the year in which my confidence in my academic ability took a blow, but I always recovered and came out of the experience a wiser person. I now know how to study better, and how to use my time more efficiently. I also learned that academic enrichment does not just happen in the classroom, and that going to extra meetings, talks, and events is crucial. Perhaps my favorite extra event I went to this year was the TedxOSU event, which consisted of about 10 people who spoke about topics near and dear to their hearts. This experience showed me that academic accomplishments do not always come in the most traditional form and that innovation is more important than doing what everyone else does.

Leadership Development: This past year, I chose to be a Health Sciences scholars seminar teaching assistant and a student mentor. Both of these roles were integral in developing the basis of my own leadership skills, and in helping me secure a job as a resident advisor on campus next year. The class that I have already taken for this role focused on leadership and differing identities, and I can only imagine how much my leadership skills will be strengthened throughout the duration of next year. Also, I have just applied for a leadership position as clinical chair in a campus organization, so if I secure that role, I will gain even more leadership experience.

Service Engagement: Serving my community is tremendously important to me. I participated in many different service opportunities this year, ranging from cleaning up plots of land to making blankets for patients at the James Cancer Hospital. Overall, this year of service taught me that going forward in my college career, I would like to serve at one foundation for a few months at a time, instead of doing scattered work all over the place. For this reason, I have applied to volunteer at a free clinic downtown, and am very excited to hear back!