Global Awareness
As a Spanish Major, I plan to study abroad in Granada, Spain for all of Spring Semester 2019. I will have the opportunity to take Spanish classes at the University of Granada, live with a local host family, and be fully immersed in the Spanish language and culture. Living in Spain will be a life and career-changing experience that will allow me to broaden my global perspective as I get to explore the language, food, music, history, and culture of Spain.
Individual Inquiry
Being a buckeye and having the city of Columbus at my fingertips, I have had the opportunity to connect with Columbus City School District to engage in an incredible educational individual inquiry experience. As a student passionate about education, Spanish and citizenship, I reached out to the ESL teacher at Highland Elementary to see if I could help out in her classroom in any way. She gladly welcomed me, and for all of spring 2018 semester I have been aiding in her first and third grade ESL classrooms for a couple of hours every week. This experience revealed in me a huge passion to work with children, especially those learning English as a second language. So much so that I have decided to continue working with children of this age and pursue a Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL) endorsement onto my licensure after graduation.
Academic Enrichment
I’ve already had the opportunity to enrich my academic experience at Ohio State through courses that allow me to gain insight into the teaching profession by participating in field experiences at multiple local Columbus school districts. In an experiential course called First Education Experience Program (FEEP), I had the opportunity to student aid/teach in Spanish II and IV classrooms at Grove City High School for a semester. This opportunity confirmed my passion for teaching and providing me with real-life classroom experience that helped me understand the ups and downs of the teacher profession.
Leadership Development
My involvement with the Mount Leadership Society has been instrumental in the development of my leadership skills. I have learned about the seven C’s of the Social Change Model, engaged in monthly seminar trainings on various leadership topics such as diversity, ethics, public speaking, and goal setting, and have had the opportunity to network with alumni, faculty, and staff. As captain of team Education’s service team, I have had practice with collaboration, delegation, running meetings, leading peers, budgeting, and public speaking. In addition, as a leadership studies minor, I am growing in my personal leadership style and technique within the academic setting.
Service Engagement
A large portion of my time outside of the classroom is filled by my duties as a voluntary Young Life youth group leader at Big Walnut High School, a local school just outside of Columbus. Young Life is a global Christian ministry organization whose mission is to introduce students to the gospel and help them grow in their faith. As a young life leader, I’m blessed with the opportunity to lead weekly club events and bible studies while building relationships with high school girls, serving as a mentor and discipler.