Autumn 2019 started out with a change in career goals for me. I switched over to the Fisher College of Business for a marketing specialization and explored an entirely different atmosphere to what I was used to in the STEM world. After spending the first couple months adjusting to the big change and planning out my schedule for the next two years, I knew I also had to push my resume to mirror someone in a business field. So, I started planning for my future experiences. I had a goal of securing an internship for the upcoming summer, and joining business related clubs to introduce myself to my classmates. I ended up interviewing for an on-campus job in October which even helped my cause as it was for a position in Telecounseling. Every shift I practiced my speaking skills as I talked to prospective students and informed them about life on campus and what was offered in their desired program. I was very nervous during the first couple of weeks because it was a little out of my comfort zone, however I was also excited because I knew how much I could grow from it, and I really enjoyed my coworkers. I also got to enjoy my last semester working on the STEM LC. After multiple events and meetings, our group finished 2019 with a list of achievements and memories, and welcomed in the new class of scholars to add to our family. Academically, I had a great start to my enrollment into the business school as I received Deans List for the semester and was accepted into the Marketing specialization in late October.

During that first semester, when I wasn’t changing my major or joining new clubs, I was also having an amazing sophomore year. The semester started off working with the OWL program again, but this time as an OWL-C. We  had a successful move-in day, and I met so many amazing people. Weekends were filled with another great football season and trips downtown with friends. After trips to the Ohio Theatre, I added Dear Evan Hansen, Les Misearbles, and Anastasia to my Broadway show list, and even took a trip down to Playhouse Square in Cleveland during winter break for Mean Girls. I ended the year signing off on the big decision to rent a house with my friends for next semester, and counted down the last seconds before the next decade.

As 2020 began, I crossed off my goal for the summer. I accepted a position with Cedar Point as a Marketing Guest Services and Special Events Intern for their 150th season. Thanks to my involvement with the STEP program, I planned to use this internship as my transformational experience and worked with my STEP advisor to plan out my proposal. I continued to develop my skillset for the corporate environment by applying to different leadership experiences and events hosted by companies I was passionate about. I was accepted to be a part of the Kohl’s Sophomore Career Expo in Wisconsin during April before the semester took a turn.

My 20th Birthday approached before Spring Break, along with a heavy midterm season. After finishing my last hours studying in Thompson, and heading home for break, I never would’ve thought that it would be the last time seeing that library for the semester. If these last few weeks of my sophomore year have taught me anything, it’s appreciation. Appreciation for government officials taking precautions quickly, appreciation for professors who understand the mental toll of this unprecedented time, and appreciation for healthcare workers as they work nonstop to help those affected. But mostly I’ve appreciated this time with family, as my mother didn’t believe she would get time with both of her daughters home after my sister graduated this spring. Although I am thankful for the smooth transition I experienced during moving back home for the semester, I felt the true weight of this situation after my grandmother passed away and our large family couldn’t attend the funeral due to social distancing guidelines.

Eventually my sophomore year ended, and I submitted my last final. Looking back at my year so far and seeing the changes and the growth, I can say despite the challenges I’m proud of what I have achieved. I’m hopeful of the inevitable changes to come during these next months and know that we will get through this.

May 13, 2018, I graduated valedictorian from my high school with a 4.0 GPA, multiple college credit hours under my belt, and a plan to go to The Ohio State University in the fall to study science. Although I didn’t know exactly what to expect from a freshman year in college, I knew that I could never compare it to the past four years of high school that I had just experienced.

I knew I had to approach college with a different method than I approached high school. I needed to expect the classes to be harder and the semesters to go by faster. I had to prepare myself to fail at things, succeed in others, but overall show improvement throughout my years here. By the end of my first year, although I allowed myself to not have perfect grades, I wanted to make sure that biochemistry was the major I wanted to continue with. I’m not going to lie, even though I did try my best, my first B on a college exam didn’t exactly feel great. I was congratulated by my family for getting an above average grade in a major known for being tough at OSU, facing the grade didn’t feel as great as they made it seem. That was my first adjustment. Learning a new normal and learning to continue to persist after every exam. Adapting took a while, but eventually I started to focus on improvement and making sure I at least understood the material well even if I didn’t test as well as I’d hoped. I went to office hours, I studied in groups, and I got involved. My first semester had ended, and I had seemed to get the hang of campus life.

Another aspect of college that I needed to go well was making new friends. Although, two of my good friends had committed to OSU as well, I knew I didn’t want the safety of old friendships to keep me from making new ones. From hearing about my sisters experience, I knew a lot of friendships were made during classes, so trying to ignore my inner thoughts to pick a seat in the back of the room of each class, I decided to sit up front or near anyone that looked as scared as I was. Although this plan had good intentions, it didn’t account for the fact that making new friends consisted of more than just sitting next to someone new, it needed flowing conversation and common interests. After the first week had passed, and I felt semi-confident of some of the friendships that I had established (if anything, I at least had someone to sit next to in each class), I decided to put less pressure on making new friends. Luckily, it seemed that paying less attention is what I needed to do to stumble upon a girl in the Chemistry Department office trying to drop her Spanish course while I was trying to drop my French course. After talking to each other briefly, we learned the next Friday that we had recitation together. A few weeks went by and eventually a brief chat in the department of Chemistry turned into roommates for next fall.

The last hurtle of college that I had hoped to complete before the end of my freshman year was my future career. Although I had chosen to major in biochemistry, I also knew that I was interested in other subjects. Through different clubs on campus, and the STEM scholar’s program I was able to explore more about a career in a science field, but through my extra classes like psychology, I learned that I was interested in more than one field. In order to figure out what interests me, I hope to gain a research position, possibly start a minor in psychology, and continue to explore new courses to take. I didn’t have enough time to confirm a future career this year, but I know I still have time to figure it out.

[ “Year in Review”  is where you should reflect on the past year and show how you have evolved as a person and as a student.  You may want to focus on your growth in a particular area (as a leader, scholar, researcher, etc.) or you may want to talk about your overall experience over the past year.  For more guidance on using your ePortfolio, including questions and prompts that will help you get started, please visit the Honors & Scholars ePortfolio course in Carmen. To get answers to specific questions, please email eportfolio@osu.edu. Delete these instructions and add your own post.]