Vision Statement and Statement of Action

My Vision Statement involves general goals and aspirations for the future. I wish to enjoy all my classes in the future and gain as much as I can from them. I want to discover exactly what I enjoy doing and explore future careers related to those interests. I want to graduate from Ohio State knowing who I am as a person and what I enjoy doing in life. I hope to eventually get a job relating to environmental science and education, and I want to feel good about the choices I make to get there.

My Statement of Action involves specific things that I want to achieve in the future. In my remaining time on campus, I would like to take classes to strengthen my understanding of water science, pick up a minor in a subject I’m interested in, and get involved in some kind of research. I want to spend as much time as I can getting experience in my field through research, volunteering, and summer jobs. If I achieve this, I believe that I will be a well-rounded candidate for potential jobs after I graduate or for graduate school. I hope to learn as much as I can in the time I have left and leave Ohio State confident in myself and my knowledge.

Ecology (EEOB 3410) Class Review

This semester (SP22), I was enrolled in EEOB 3410, aka Intro to Ecology. The course covered each level of life in an ecosystem like populations, communities, and ecosystems. We learned about different behavioral interactions between members of the same and different species, specifically competition, predation, and parasitism. There was lots of discussion about climate change and how ecosystems are responding to it. We discussed many specific studies related to the course content and watched some videos about unique ecological phenomenon.  The class also involved a large lab component where we did weekly lab activities in addition to a semester-long group project. The project centered on behavioral ecology of squirrels while foraging.

This class taught me a significant amount about ecology in general and was an excellent introduction to a lot of concepts. It got me interested in interactions among populations in an ecosystem, which will be an interesting concept to explore in the future. With this strong general knowledge of ecology, I feel confident in my future classes dealing with similar concepts. Next semester, I’m taking Stream Ecology and Methods in Aquatic Ecology and will definitely be using my knowledge from this class. Ecology taught me a significant amount and helped me to explore my interests and determine what path I wanted to take in my major.

Research Poster Artifact

This artifact is the Madagascar Hissing Cockroaches that were observed for an animal behavior project that my group and I completed in Bio1114. This research project involved observing cockroach behavior for 2 hours and noting whenever they performed certain behaviors. After the data collection was complete, we performed a statistical analysis and created a research poster detailing our findings. The project took a lot of time and energy to complete but I’m happy with how it turned out.

The goal of the project was to determine if there were more aggressive behaviors displayed by the cockroaches in the presence or absence of potential mates. To determine this, my group spent 8 hours total observing behaviors. We all grew fond of the cockroaches by the end of the experience and I miss hanging out with the bugs. This project experience helped me to improve my observation skills and my patience. I learned to work better in a group setting and took on the role of leader when no one else wanted to step up. I gained an appreciation for the cockroaches and how they behave, something that most people would think is gross and ignore. I really enjoyed this experience and am grateful that I had the opportunity to work in the insectory!

Second Year in Review

My second year here at Ohio State has been significantly different than my first. With COVID regulations slowly disappearing, I got to experience in-person dining, football games, and in-person and maskless classes for the first time in 2 years. It’s been very strange but a welcome change. I’ve gotten to be more social and expand my circle of friends much more than last year. It’s been much easier to pay attention and participate in classes when they’re in person. Like most people, I struggle to look at a computer screen for hours every day and that negatively affected my class performance last year. I’ve felt more confident in what I’m learning this year and more confident in myself and my abilities.

It’s been a year of strong highs and lows. I’ve had the opportunity to go deeper into classes more related to my major and discover my favorite aspects of environmental science-water science! I’ve learned a lot over the last year and I’m very happy with where I am academics-wise. I feel confident in the opportunities I have in the future and hopeful about next year. Unfortunately, this year has had some bad low points. I’ve experienced burnout stronger than I ever have in the past and it’s been difficult to find the motivation to focus on classes where I’m not terribly interested in the material. My living situation has not been ideal and has been a decently large stressor this year. I haven’t had the chance to completely destress since last summer, so the upcoming summer break is much needed.

Overall, this year has been a wild time. I wouldn’t like to relive it, but it could have gone a lot worse. I’m happy with lots of things that happened, and discontent with a handful of other things. Spring semester has been especially rough for me and some of my friends, but thankfully it’s nearly over. I have hope that next year will be better and more relaxed than this year!

Service Experience Reflection

In Fall 2021, I had the opportunity to volunteer with Friends of the Lower Olentangy Watershed (FLOW) on an Olentangy River clean-up. This involved walking up and down the riverbanks and picking up all the trash that we possibly could. FLOW partnered with a few retail stores that provided free reusable clean-up gear to all volunteers, and we collected trash for almost 3 hours. Afterwards, everyone got free coffee and socialized while all the collected trash was sifted through and weighed. In the end, we collected 3,956 pounds of trash-nearly 4 tons!

This experience was very valuable to me because I care deeply about the environment and protecting it for future generations. Being able to help out an ecosystem so close to where I live was very rewarding and I had a lot of fun doing it. We managed to make a visible difference in the appearance of the river, which was satisfying to see. I was able to socialize and make new connections with like-minded people, clean up garbage, and help participate in citizen science. I loved this experience and would love to get involved with Olentangy river clean-ups more regularly.

I’m also involved with Cleveland Metroparks as a Clean Team Volunteer. In this position, I get to visit a few metroparks locations and pick up trash independently. I have to record the time I was out and the amount of trash I collected in a database. I’ve done this occasionally in the past, but I’m planning on doing it much more frequently this summer. I hope to volunteer at least twice a month for the entire summer, and whenever I visit home during the school year.

Abstract

Hi, my name is Kailee and welcome to my e-Portfolio! It contains information about me and my goals, my achievements, and some reflections on my experiences throughout undergrad here at Ohio State. I have specific sections devoted to information about myself, “artifacts” or items that are significant to me and my academic journey, Honors and Scholars G.O.A.L.S., multiple “year in review” reflections on my experiences, and information surrounding my career plans and achievements. I hope you find this blog informative and reach out with any questions!

Year in Review

1st Semester in Review…

My first semester here at Ohio State has been a very strange and exciting experience. COVID made a lot of things much more difficult than I imagine they’d be in a normal year, but we’ve all persevered and made it to the end of the first semester. Honestly, it didn’t go as I expected at all, and I had a rough time with a number of things. I had high expectations for myself at the beginning, but almost everything turned out to be harder to do than I thought. This is my first time living away from home, which was a huge adjustment for me. I found myself lonely a lot of the time. Without the daily structure of high school, I found it more difficult to organize my time and to do work during my free time. Academics-wise, everything has been manageable and I haven’t struggled excessively. Friend-wise, however, I did struggle quite a bit! It took me quite a few weeks to actually make a friend, but I have multiple at this point and things are looking up! After a while, I learned to manage my time better and do assignments earlier rather than later. Being part of the bio scholars has been a huge help. It’s very nice to be surrounded by people who are in similar classes to me! We help each other out a lot and it’s nice to have a supportive group of people. Overall, the semester was rocky, but it’s ending on a somewhat positive note, and I want to take what I learned from this semester and use it to make future semesters even easier.

G.O.A.L.S.

The G.O.A.L.S of the Honors and Scholars programs are 5 categories that students actively participate in each semester.

The G stands for Global Awareness, in which students learn about different cultures and appreciate diversity among their peers and in the world. Students can explore this through different classes, studying abroad, and different clubs and organizations on campus. I’m currently taking MUSIC 2250, which investigates different music cultures around the world. It’s really caused me to broaden my horizons and explore different types of music that I’ve never heard before from cultures I don’t know much about. In addition, I’d really like to study abroad! There’s a trip that happens almost every year to Iceland through the College of Food, Agriculture, and Environmental Sciences and I would love to go someday!

The O stands for Original Inquiry, in which students explore their curiosity and get involved with different research projects on or off campus. It’s quite difficult to engage in this during an online semester, but it’s possible! I recently participated in a graduate student’s research project on the effects of exercise in a natural area on well-being. I got to take two 45 minute walks around campus and fill out surveys. I’m looking forward to seeing the results! In addition, I’ve been looking into different research labs on campus. I haven’t found one to work in yet, but I hope to in the future!

The A stands for Academic Enrichment, in which students push themselves to keep up with academic rigor and go above and beyond both in classes and out. In high school, I took 8 AP classes and maintained above a 4.0 GPA for all four years of high school. In addition, I was in many music extracurriculars and multiple clubs. Here in college, I’m taking a rigorous courseload and I’m trying to participate in clubs related to my major. It’s difficult with COVID, but hopefully it will get easier in future semesters.

The L stands for Leadership Development, in which students cultivate leadership skills and show them both in and out of the classroom. In high school, I was president of French club, vice president of hammock club, and a section leader in marching band. In addition, I was a member of the student council and National Honors Society. It’s been difficult to find clubs this semester, but I hope to get more involved with Students for Recycling or Under the Sea.

The S stands for Service Engagement, in which students participate in community service and help people. This semester, service opportunities have looked a lot different than in the past. I’ve participated in distanced street clean ups this semester in an attempt to clean up our environment. The amount of plastic bag waste produced from the dining hall this semester is astonishing, and one of my professors asked for plastic bag donations for an engineering project. I collected some plastic bags from my dorm building and donated them all. It’s not traditional service, but it’s the best I can do in such turbulent times.

Career

In the past two years, I have had a number of enriching experiences that will benefit me in my future career. I worked as a cashier at a Cleveland Metropark after my first year here at Ohio State. In that job, I gained customer service and problem solving skills and knowledge about the surrounding parks. It was a typical summer job, but I learned a lot and it prepared me for future jobs that involved working with people. In the fall of 2021, I held a research assistant position with “reverse vending machines.” The project was going to entail collecting data about recycling and psychology from special machines located within the Schottenstein Center. Unfortunately, the project was cancelled due to supply chain issues. I did however get to participate in monthly lab meetings, and complete training regarding psychological research with human subjects.

This summer, I will have the opportunity to be a seasonal naturalist at the Rocky River Nature Center, located within the Cleveland Metroparks. This position will involve working with children’s summer camps, assisting volunteers at the center’s front desk, monitoring the trails around the nature center, and completing various tasks around the nature center. It will be heavily centered on environmental education, which is a strong interest of mine. I’m looking forward to this job and will update this page with my experiences!

For more information about my career-related experiences, visit my LinkedIn page!

https://www.linkedin.com/in/kailee-kretzinger-716b491b9/

Artifacts

The artifact in this photo is the hip waders that everyone is wearing. Hip waders are great to wear whilst collecting data in a river in October, which is what’s happening in this picture. Last fall, my AP Environmental Science class took a field trip to the Rocky River in Northeast Ohio to collect water quality data from traditional tests, and from analyzing the types of fish in the river. We went electrofishing to collect a number of fish, and after identifying them, we released them. Wearing the hip waders and going on this trip was a pivotal moment in my high school career. That was the day I decided that one of my goals was to pursue environmental science in college. About a year later, here I am at the Ohio State University studying just that! The waders have continued to represent my goals through the few months I’ve been here at college. Once I get deeper into my major, I’d love to collect water quality data in the Olentangy River and get more hands-on research experience outdoors. Another goal of mine is to learn more about different types of water ecosystems and the organisms that live in them. I love going outside and learning about new ecosystems or organisms or anything that has to do with nature. Wearing the hip waders was a new experience for me and an experience I hope to have again at some point while learning about water in my college career.