April is just a few days away, bringing the fresh flowers and warm weather of Spring! April also includes the Learning Community application deadline for six of our Learning Communities: Business Honors, Engineering House, Future Health Professionals, Global Business, Women in Engineering, and SUSTAINS.  Applications for these Learning Communities are due on April 18 at go.osu.edu/LearningCommunities.

In light of this approaching deadline, Matthew Griffin, a first-year student in SUSTAINS, shares with us the reasons he is proud to call SUSTAINS his home…

As a first year Environment, Economy, Development, and Sustainability (EEDS) major, just a short time ago, I was nervous about coming to Ohio State. Many of you may feel similarly while reading this. I saw applying to the SUSTAINS Learning Community as a way to make a university as large as Ohio State feel smaller and as a way to connect me with students who shared my interest of learning about how to incorporate sustainability into today’s world. SUSTAINS proved to be all this and more.

The SUSTAINS advisors are experienced and passionate staff who provide plenty of interesting opportunities to get connected with what the people of Ohio State and Columbus are doing to become more sustainable; they have also taken us to interact firsthand with the latest innovations in clean energy. Through SUSTAINS I have been able to interact with biodigesters, volunteer at urban farms, have a conversation with the 2009 recipient of the Sustainability Science Award, Elena Irwin, and participate in numerous other incredible opportunities. We even took a trip to our nation’s capital to meet with some of the top policy makers, business leaders, and researchers who are making incredible strides to lead the United States to a greener future. What makes these experiences even better is the fact that I get to share them with the new friends I have made in SUSTAINS. My fellow SUSTAINS members are from all different walks of life and are in a variety of majors, but we are all linked by a common passion for sustainability that drives us to learn and grow together.

SUSTAINS has been such a large part of my college life so far, and I couldn’t be happier about my decision to apply. For any students who are looking for a community of impassioned students and want to get real-world experience in the field of sustainability, I highly recommend you check out SUSTAINS.

SUSTAINS students explore nature on a canoeing trip together!

What am I doing for my last Spring Break of high school? Where will I call home next year? How will my friends and I celebrate graduation from high school? Where will I call home next year? What am I doing in my last summer before starting college? Where will I call home next year?

The end of high school is full of excitement, promise, and unknowns about the future. While we want to spend all of our free time with the friends we grew up with, we are also challenged to think about the future.

Fortunately, where you will call home next year is a question that is easily answered: Call a Learning Community home next year! Learning Communities (LCs) create a home for students who share a common major, interest, or desired career path. Students in LCs have higher GPAs than their peers and feel more connected to Ohio State.

Still a little unsure about what a Learning Community is? A video is worth a thousand words! Spend a few minutes viewing the video below, featuring current LC students and academic partners who support LCs.

Previous blog posts also speak to the Learning Community experience. Future blog posts will too! For more information, visit: http://www.housing.osu.edu/learning-communities.

Note: Applications for Business Honors, Engineering House, Future Health Professionals, Global Business, and SUSTAINS are due April 18. Applications for all other LCs are due May 2.