Today I had the opportunity to sit down with my second mentee of the semester, Cammie. Funnily enough, Cammie and I are from neighboring towns in Cincinnati, and we even found out we have some mutual friends! Cammie already seems like a great person so I was excited to get to talk to her about the start of her new Ohio State journey.
One of the biggest things Cammie is dealing with right now is her major. She is not really sure what she wants to do at all, but I told her that it’s okay! People change their majors on average of three times in college, and it’s only her first semester of freshman year, so she has plenty of time! Cammie was thinking she might explore business, so she’s currently taking an Econ class. This class also happens to be her hardest class, because she said it is a whole new way of thinking and analyzing problems. As for her most fun class, Cammie is taking a ceramics class for a visual and performing arts credit. She said it is very time consuming, but really interesting and fun to actually go in and create art. As for figuring out what she wants to do career wise, I advised Cammie to meet with an exploratory advisor again. Her advisor has told her to take some classes in various colleges at Ohio State to get a feel for what she likes. Cammie is thinking of taking a biology class and an education class to see if the medical field or teaching could be something she is interested in.
Besides the stress of figuring out classes, Cammie is really excited to get involved in campus outside of ACES. Currently Cammie is in Buckeyes for Baking, where she gets to bake treats for different volunteer organizations. She also really loves Smiles with Style, where she gets to visit the Ronald McDonald House and hang out with some of the patients there. She said that Smiles with Style is super rewarding because everyone is grateful for her time, getting to brighten the days of patients and families. Cammie is also exploring sororities, and she thinks it would be beneficial to find a sisterhood of empowering women to join. In high school, Cammie was in National Honors Society, played varsity soccer and ran cross country, tutored kids and volunteered at an Alzheimer’s center. She clearly loves to volunteer, which is why I know ACES is so lucky to have Cammie!
Like I just said, Cammie loves to volunteer which is why she chose ACES. She thinks it may be difficult to balance ACES volunteering with classes, but I know she can do it! I also think she would love the club A Kid Again, and I hope to bring her to our next event with me! College is definitely different from high school for Cammie, and she found the amount of responsibility a little overwhelming. Overall, she is doing great and her ACES roommate Olivia is helping her find her place, and balance academics, ACES and friends.
Cammie is a bright, funny young woman who I am so lucky to mentor this year. I can’t wait to see how Cammie continues to find her place here at Ohio State!