The renewal season for housing at Ohio State is upon us. Did you know you could participate in a learning community during your second-year as well?!?!?
One of the premier learning community options for second-year students is the Sophomore Learning and Involvement Community. The community is housed in the lovely Residence on 10th, and focuses on leadership, service and career/major development for second-year students.
This year, the LC is focused on The Last Lecture by Randy Pausch. Students received the book when they came to campus in the fall, and have had the opportunity to listen to “Last Lecture’s” from various faculty and staff across the university. Below, one SLIC’ster, Kush Doshi, shares his experience with The Last Lecture and SLIC.
The way the Sophomore Living and Involvement Community has shaped my ideas and thoughts as a person has been phenomenal. The Last Lecture aspect in the learning community has changed my life, believe it or not, and I am certainly not exaggerating the truth. The Last Lecture (perhaps the most important one that shaped the way I thought or will think throughout the rest of college) was when Dr. J came to speak. Dr. Javaune Adams-Gaston is the Vice President of Student Life, and is thoroughly active on campus and she came to speak about what her last lecture in life to her students would be. Dr. J spoke about perhaps the most important characteristic in life, especially now that college is playing a role in our lives…finding your true passion. She talked about how sometimes, students come to college studying things they are perhaps pushed to do rather than things they actually want to study. These students may or may not succeed academically, but they will certainly will not be happy. If you find your true passion, you can be truly happy.
I soaked the words in initially, not giving it much thought. However, I began to question whether I was doing my major, Neuroscience, because my parents wanted me to do it or because I wanted to do it. The deciding factor came when Dr. J made us do a quick exercise. She told us to close our eyes and think about what makes each of us happy. I closed my eyes and I thought and I thought and I thought. Not a single subject or matter about neuroscience popped into my head. What I thought about were two words: people and medicine. I wanted to pursue medicine, but I wanted to work with and study people. I opened my eyes. So, why was I doing neuroscience? She asked in a soft voice “What did you guys see?” A girl to my right answered: “Helping people makes me happy so I’m doing Public Health. A boy to my left answered: “Finding a cure to a disease makes me happy so I’m majoring in biology.” I couldn’t answer the question because what made me happy couldn’t be defined by my major.
Throughout the rest of the lecture I was stunned. I had an epiphany in this Last Lecture, the one that would change the course of my life. Eventually, I would talk to Dr. J again and she would steer me in the right direction. Eventually I changed my major to Public Health and I couldn’t be happier. However, would I have ever changed my major if there wasn’t this Last Lecture? Perhaps not, but it’s thanks to SLIC that I have found a new passion. My story is just one of many. However, these experiences that SLIC provides to students are invaluable and I would highly recommend for every student to attend them. For me, just going to one of these events changed my major, imagine what this experience could do for others.