Year in Review

Global Awareness:

Firstly, just being a student at Ohio State in the honors program, I have been exposed to students and faculty that come from much different backgrounds than myself. This is something I never had to a great extent before college and it has caused me to learn more about other cultures and perspectives. My foreign language course I took for three semesters was Bosnian, Croatian, Serbian. This is a more obscure language, but I am Serbian so I am very glad I decided to do it and am thankful that it is offered here. Through these courses I was able to learn more about my own culture and also more about the surrounding areas. I also met other students who were Bosnian or Croatian and learned a lot about their cultures that I didn’t know. I also hope to be able to study abroad in some form in Serbia as I have never been there and I want to learn much more about my own background. I plan to continue talking to more people with diverse backgrounds and learning from them. I also plan on taking more courses that may be focused on different cultures and ideas that I am very unfamiliar with to become more globally aware.

Original Inquiry:

This past semester I have begun doing chemistry research with Professor Joshua Goldberger. This has taught me a lot about how research works in general and the process of it. I have learned about the creativity and effort that goes into a project and finding out something new to contribute to the field. I have been working on synthesis of MPX3 compounds and characterization. Even this requires a lot of trial and error and creative ways to separate and characterize the compounds. Many times things don’t go to plan and this can not discourage you. Sometimes a mistake may even be a very important discovery. I have enjoyed my research so far this semester and I plan to do more and more as my undergraduate career continues. I plan to write my thesis and graduate with honors research distinction also.

Academic Enrichment:

I feel that my Honors Contract demonstrates a goal of Academic Enrichment in many ways. First, I am majoring in biochemistry and I find this to be very challenging. I feel as though I am pushing myself with challenging courses that will make me work very hard. In doing this I hope to be well versed in the field of biochemistry and understand biomolecules and how they work in the world. I think this is very interesting and is a big reason of why I chose this for my major. My aspiration is to attend medical school after graduation and become a physician. I feel my major is related to this as it is chemistry (which I feel I am best at), but of larger biological systems. I feel this cross will serve me the best in my future goals. Related to this, I have also chosen a few GEs which will enhance my view on medicine in a cultural sense as well. In general, my GE choices are challenging to me. They will give me more knowledge about various subjects that may sometimes not be related to my major at all. I feel this is important to be a well rounded individual in life rather than to be solely focused on one thing.

Leadership Development:

One activity I have done in the past year is I have been an active member of F.U.N. Hall Council as the treasurer. I have been involved in a lot of event planning with my fellow executive board members as well. I feel I have gotten a lot better with communication, accountability, and working as a team as a result of this activity. I like being a leader on this hall council as I feel we make a difference in putting on great events for the residents. I have also learned technical skills as a result of being the treasurer like balancing the ledger. I feel these leadership skills are important for any discipline, not just the one I am pursuing. In any workplace you must be able to communicate effectively with your co workers, boss, customers, and many other parties. I was also involved as an OWL coordinator this year. This was the first time that I was able to lead a group of people in doing a task. I learned a lot about being accountable and also getting your team to work effectively. Although hall council will be over this year, I plan on gaining more leadership skills as a peer mentor for the upcoming year.

Service Engagement:

Service is very important to me. I have done a lot of volunteer work in the past year at the Wexner Medical Center. I enjoy doing this a lot as I feel I help the staff with tasks in their day and they appreciate it. I also like interacting with the many patients I have encountered and talking to them. It is interesting to hear what they have to say. Sometimes they just need someone to talk to and I enjoy being that person. I have also done a lot of work with people with various disabilities. The past summer I volunteered in an adapted football league and also a therapeutic horsemanship program in Cleveland. I really enjoyed doing this and it makes me feel very good when one of the participants has a really good day which makes them happy or when I can see improvements in them. In football, many kids get so much better over a short period of time while also having fun. I plan to continue engaging more with this community going forward as well. This summer I hope to work at the Camp Cheerful day camp in Cleveland, which is affiliated with the same organization. I also am going on a Buck-I-Serv trip to Baltimore, Maryland to help at the Special Olympics event there.

G.O.A.L.S.

[ “G.O.A.L.S.” is a place where students write about how their planned, current, and future activities may fit into the Honors & Scholars G.O.A.L.S.: Global Awareness, Original Inquiry, Academic Enrichment, Leadership Development, and Service Engagement. For more information, go to: http://honors-scholars.osu.edu/e-portfolio. Delete these instructions and add your own post.

Global Awareness: Students cultivate and develop their appreciation for diversity and each individual’s unique differences. For example, consider course work, study abroad, involvement in cultural organizations or activities, etc .
Original Inquiry: Honors & Scholars students understand the research process by engaging in experiences ranging from in-class scholarly endeavors to creative inquiry projects to independent experiences with top researchers across campus and in the global community. For example, consider research, creative productions or performances, advanced course work, etc.
Academic Enrichment: Honors & Scholars students pursue academic excellence through rigorous curricular experiences beyond the university norm both in and out of the classroom.
Leadership Development: Honors & Scholars students develop leadership skills that can be demonstrated in the classroom, in the community, in their co-curricular activities, and in their future roles in society.
Service Engagement: Honors & Scholars students commit to service to the community.]

Career

[“Career” is where you can collect information about your experiences and skills that will apply to your future career.  Like your resume, this is information that will evolve over time and should be continually updated.   For more information, go to: http://honors-scholars.osu.edu/e-portfolio. Delete these instructions and add your own post.]

Artifacts

[Artifacts are the items you consider to be representative of your academic interests and achievements. For each entry, include both an artifact and a detailed annotation.  An annotation is a reflective description of the artifact that attempts to communicate its significance.  For more information, go to: http://honors-scholars.osu.edu/e-portfolio. Delete these instructions and add your own post.]

About Me

[Your “About Me” is an introduction and should provide insight into who you are as a person and a learner.  This should include a picture of you that is appropriate in a professional/academic context. This information should be continually updated.  For more information, go to: http://honors-scholars.osu.edu/e-portfolio.  Delete these instructions and add your own post.]