Posts

Aforementioned in a previous post, I learned three different magic card tricks to fool three of my friends. I had taken much time to learn these tricks, and even consulted with a friend of mine who knows quite a bit about card tricks himself. Then came COVID-19 and everyone had to go home. As the year came to an end, I realized I was not going to be able to fool three of my friends with the tricks I had learned, so I decided to change the project a bit. I decided, with finals coming up and a bit of procrastination on my side, that I would use the slight of hand techniques I had learned to preform three different card tricks that do not require any active participants for. I have learned from this project that I need to learn and get better at my own time management, especially while in school. For what I would have done differently, I would have definitely planned my time out better.

Shown below is a video of my preforming the said tricks:

This year has been a weird one to say the least. My first ever year at college. Living life nearly 125 miles away from my hometown. The second semester however, I ended up nearly 125 miles away from my newly found home on campus. So nonetheless, it has been a weird year. Met some friendly faces, had some laughs, studied hard. This year has been one for the books. Looking forward to next year.

My plan for this project is to slowly, but steadily, work on perfecting the selected tricks. I plan on, hopefully in the next few weeks, starting to learn and practice these tricks and setting up a schedule on when I will practice and perfect these skills.

When I was younger, my mother’s side of the family would all go to Myrtle Beach, South Carolina during the summer for about a week or so. Every time we went, I would beg my parents to go to this one specific magic shop (to which I can not remember the name of at the moment). I would always get my parents to buy me some sort of trick that I could learn, to which I never fully learned any to my knowledge.

This all being said, my STEM 10-Hour Spring Project will be to successfully learn 3 magic tricks and be able to fool at least one of my friends with each trick. Each trick with be a card trick of some sort and each friend will be presented with a different trick.

Earlier in the year, I had attended an event planned and run by the residential advisors on my floor. The event was painting doorstops and eating pizza, all while talking and bonding with the people on the floor. Now, this event may not seem like a Diversity and Inclusion event, but when broken down into its main components, it is. The event allowed everyone on the floor, who all have different backgrounds, religions, and races, into an inclusive setting, allowing everyone to bond over a common activity. It allowed me to talk to my fellow floor-mates and learn about their pasts and their current ideals. It even allowed me to meet people that I am happy to call my close friends today. Better yet, they are always down the hall from me.

Diversity and Inclusion events are crucial to the Ohio State University and every other university due to the vast ranges of diversity between students and faculty on campus. Around 70 percent of students are white, followed by 8 percent of non-resident alien according to collegefactual.com. The faculty have around 73 percent white people, followed by around 10 percent black or African American according to collegefactual.com. So yes, the majority of the campus is comprised of Caucasian peoples, but that doesn’t mean that they all share the same stories. Even though the same race, these people still differ in many aspects. To name a few; religion, family, ideals, etcetera.

Having these Diversity and Inclusion events allows for people to see how different other people’s worlds are compared to their own. It allows for people to expand their world views and learn what life is light for the people surrounding them in their everyday lives. The Ohio State University has many differing options on how to get involved in Diversity and Inclusion events. Some examples are the Bell National Resource Center on the African American Male, Gender and Sexual Diversity, Leadership Initiatives for Women of Color, Upward Bound, and the Young Scholars Program. Another invaluable resource at the Ohio State University campus is the Student Life Multicultural Center. This offers resources to all members of the Ohio State community while supporting and celebrating specific groups of people.

In conclusion, Diversity and Inclusion events are crucial for any college institution around the world. They are used to make everyone feel included and important while their stay in college. It also helps teach people how other people live, their cultures, their religions, and even their lives before college and what they plan to do after. Though these events help people relate to one another on a multitude of levels, they also help people feel involved and included in their own communities, whether that be their race, religion, or cultures, they are welcome to feel wanted and included. Like I said at the beginning of this post, these events don’t have to be anything grand either. Even going to an event to meet new people and learn their stories and cultures can be beneficial to anyone.

On October 23, I attended a seminar presented by the 1997 co-winner of the Nobel Prize in Physics and former Secretary of Energy, Steven Chu. This year, the 57^th Annual Alpheus W. Smith Lecture was about “Climate Change and Innovative Paths to a Sustainable Future”. The seminar was about how the world has transformed due to the agricultural and industrial revolutions and the unintended result of those changes on the climate. The main takeaway of the seminar is how the smartest minds of the world expect when the point of no return is

When coming to the presentation, I walked alone an hour before it started to make sure I could find a seat to my liking. This being the case, as I watched people file into the large auditorium, I realized that I was probably one of the few undergraduate students that attended. This did make me feel out of place, however, I could tell that everyone there was there to listen to the lecture at hand rather then ask, “why is an undergraduate student here?” I felt as though everyone had an unspoken understanding that they were all here to learn rather than make judgments.

I understood most of the information that was given at the lecture. The only question I had was “why was the co-winner of the Nobel Prize in Physics presenting on climate change?” This got me thinking. Maybe research in your respective field isn’t as black and white as I once thought it was. I realized that people from different backgrounds and with different degrees must work together on common causes because of how many different ideas are needed for the cause.

Though some may disagree, I do believe that being active in the academic community as an undergraduate student has merit. I believe that even if you have no clue what is being talked about during the lecture or seminar, it allows you to get an understanding how well versed the presenter is about their research. I also think that it can be an excellent way to network and show your interest in the topic to people who might be interested in taking someone under their wing on some of their projects and future research. When one is in the room with a researcher that does research in the field that they are interested in and possibly surrounded by even more researchers with similar interests, it is a fantastic idea to network. I don’t think that going to research seminars and lectures is a waste of time. In fact, I think it is one of the best ideas for someone who would like to pull back the curtain on what it is like to conduct research in their respective fields.

Overall, this was a great experience for me. It showed me how research lectures are structured and showed me that I shouldn’t be scared to attend. It will allow me to network and build bonds with fellow peers and create connections with researchers and professors.

Yes, every campus has support, but when someone says campus resource, they think about academic support. This could be tutoring, seeing an advisor about a class, or going to some sort of seminar regarding the class. However, not all campus resources are academic. Some resources can assist with mental health, career choices, or multicultural issues. At The Ohio State University, there are a ton of different resources for the students attending to take advantage of. Two examples are the Career Counseling and Support Services and the Counseling and Consultation Services, both of which are located in the Younkin Success Center.

Everyone in college eventually thinks about whether or not they are going into the right field and as of late, I have had my doubts. As of a week before writing this post, I had tried to make an appointment with the Career Counseling and Support Services, however, they were all booked up for the week. This being the case, I tried to go to their walk-in hours, but when I asked the lady behind the reception counter, she informed my that they were all booked up for the day. I was unable to book a time for the Career Counseling and Support Services, which made me think. What does it mean that the service was completely booked?

Some may take the fact that the career counseling service was all booked up as a bad sign. Wondering why so many people are convincing themselves that they are on the wrong career path. Yes, this can be thought of as a bad thing, but I believe that this is a good thing. It shows that these students aren’t scared to ask for help and counseling for their doubts. It makes me think that my fellow peers know that they are not alone here.

It is also very good to know that there is the Counseling and Consultation Services on campus for anyone and everyone to use. It is also very nice that it is free for any student attending the university, especially knowing how tight money can be for students attending a university. Another thing great about the Counseling and Consultation Services is that they have group settings, which allow students to talk to one another about their issues and feel more involved with their peers instead of simply speaking to a therapist.

In conclusion, yes, I would have been happy going to the Career Counseling and Support Services for a talk about my future, but I feel as though not being able to have a meeting with them because of their unavailability sparked some valuable thought processes. It made me think that even though a lot of people are possibly thinking about changing their career paths or simply trying to plan their future better, they are seeking help and not just trying to get by on their own. Even the Counseling and Consultation Services are such a help to those college students who are overwhelmed with everything that comes with college life. The Ohio State University truly does want the best for it’s students.

On Tuesday, September 10^th, I entered the doors of the Alpheus Smith Laboratory building. I walked through the hallways, searching for lecture hall 1005, the meeting place for the Society of Physics Students (SPS) student organization. As I entered the room, I saw a line of people waiting to get their fair portion of pizza. After getting in line and grabbing some food, I promptly sat down in the back and waited for the presentation to start. As the speaker walked to the front, I got a little more excited to learn about Quantum Key Distribution, the topic of the seminar. I knew nothing about Quantum Key Distribution before the seminar begun, and no, I don’t remember a lot of the topic because of how in depth and complicated it is, but I had fun and enjoyed experiencing the club environment and did learn a little bit about the topic at hand. Overall, my first college student organization experience was a success.

Like I mentioned in my About Me page, I had been involved in quite a few clubs and student organizations while in high school. Even though this is true, I was still apprehensive about joining a club during my first year of college. I believed this up until I finally joined the Society of Physics Students and talked to some other friends about the clubs that they are in. I finally realized how important it is to get involved with other students.

Joining a club or organization isn’t just about meeting new people, but about finding a sense of belonging. I have always had trouble finding a place to be myself and feel like I belong and, honestly, being in a student organization truly helps. It helps makes going to such a large campus as The Ohio State University feel small. It allows for the students who would normally keep to themselves most of the time to go out with a small group of people with the same interests as them. It would allow them to meet new people and become a more open and outgoing person.

There are over 1,300 student organizations at The Ohio State University. This provides a very large range of different possibilities for students to get involved with others. Not only does it help give students a sense of belonging, it can create lifelong friendships and provide a lot of personal growth. Also, research suggests that students that are involved in student organizations are more likely to perform better academically than their peers that are not involved in any student organizations. Another great thing is that if The Ohio State University does not already have the specific student organization that you are looking for, then you can start your own student organization.

In conclusion, joining a student organization is truly a fantastic idea, especially in one’s first year in college. It allows one to found new friendships and opens many opportunities for one outside of the classroom. Whether it be an academic club, some sort of inter mural sport, or an organization that is just for fun, it is well worth the time and effort to find and join one.

On September 10, 2019 at around 10:15 in the morning, I went to Hagerty Hall (shown below) to seek assistance from a French tutor. I entered the building and proceeded up the stairs to find room 308. As I entered the room, I saw a lady sitting at the far end of the empty room. After some introductions, I learned that her name was Maud. She is a native French speaker and teaches French here at OSU. Soon after, she began to help me with my problems in the subject. Not long after that, Maud had already helped me immensely. All of this said, when I left, I knew that I wasn’t hopeless in French. I was immensely grateful when we had said our goodbyes and felt much more at peace with my French studies.

After going to this tutoring session, I believe that I would enjoy tutoring. In my case, I would probably have the most success tutoring fellow students in Calculus or Physics. Tutoring people would also help me prepare for my future career path as well. Since I want to become a professor at an institution like this one, I would be able to practice helping and teaching people complex concepts.

Although I am very happy that I went, something was itching at the back of my mind the entire time. Why was nobody else seeking help with the tutor? I had expected there to be at least a few people in the room being helped. So why was nobody in the room but the tutor? I believe that people are afraid to seek help. They don’t want to feel vulnerable and open to help. Of course, all of these are just theories as to why nobody was in the French tutoring room, but if the other tutor rooms look the same, then these theories are quite plausible.

As for the people who don’t go to tutoring because they are self-conscious about looking stupid or being embarrassed, I get it. I don’t enjoy asking for help. I never have and probably never will want to ask for help, but sometimes it is necessary. Anyone attending a university knows how much money they are paying to go to school. Why would people suffer in their classes and not seek help? They paid a large sum of money to go to their school of choice and won’t even attempt to do better in their classes.

In summary, tutoring truly is an amazing part of this institution and every institution around the country. My experience with getting tutored in French was a great experience and expanded my knowledge in the subjects discussed. After this wonderful experience, the idea of tutoring fellow students may be in my future. People need to seek help when they don’t understand or comprehend their classes. Especially if these classes are in the field of their future degree. I cannot stress enough how important seeking help is. If anyone reading this post feels embarrassed about getting help in any subject; don’t. Everyone has trouble in one subject or another. It is natural to get help.