Looking back on my first year here at Ohio State, I have definitely grown in a variety of ways. Coming into freshman I was very afraid of what was to come. I’m not very good at adapting to change and the transition from high school to college is obviously a big one. I was nervous about having to make new friends, live away from my home, and figuring out what I wanted to do with the rest of my life. I came into freshman year undecided, but knew I wanted to pursue something in the science field so I joined the STEM EE Scholars Program.

STEM EE Scholars was very helpful in helping me explore different science career paths that I could take. Opportunities such as touring Battelle helped me realize that I wanted to work in a lab and after many months of debating a major I was able to decide on Molecular Genetics. Me making this decision shows that I have grown since high school because I have never been good with decisions especially big decisions like picking a major. This program has also helped me in developing professional skills. I have grown more mature throughout this year and have learned how to communicate with faculty members more effectively and in a more sophisticated manner. This program has showed me how to obtain certain opportunities such as getting undergraduate research. STEM EE Scholars also gave me my very first friends here at Ohio State. I had orientation with a majority of the people in the program. It was nice to see familiar faces on move in day. It was helpful to live on the same floor as people with the same interests as me because that means we also took a lot of the same classes so it was very easy for me to find other students to study with. This program has also helped me gain many study skills and taught me to study in much more effective ways. I am now more confident in my school work and have learned to stay on top of my work.

The other organizations and clubs that I am involved in have helped me grow as a person as well. Being on the Relay For Life Committee has taught me leadership skills. As a part of the committee I had to contact companies and ask for donations and sponsors for the event. I also had to recruit people to join the event and to raise money. I have always been more of a shy and reserved person so talking to companies and other students about the event was putting me outside my comfort zone, but through this I gained communication skills. I gained leadership skills from being team captain as well. As team captain I was responsible for being in charge of the rest of my teammates, making sure they raised money, and relaying information to them about the event. Being part of the committee also helped me become more mature because I was responsible for so many different things. Being part of 4 Paws for Ability which is a club that helps foster potential service dogs has also helped me become more responsible. I was responsible for taking care of the dog such as feeding it, picking up after it, and taking it for walks. Since the dogs are potentially becoming service dogs I was able to take the dog around campus and I was responsible for making sure the dog behaved. Participating in a recreational volleyball league helped me gain more teamwork skills and considering we didn’t win a game it also taught me that winning isn’t everything. Although we weren’t very good I learned to still have fun.