Allison Round is a second semester freshman in the Advocates for Communities and Education Scholars (ACES) program. While she has not decided a specific topic that she is interested in studying and her major is still Exploration, she has thoroughly enjoyed exploring different General Education courses to discover her interests over the course of this year. In terms of career plans, Allison wants to pursue a career in the healthcare field and is currently trying to find a major that will appropriately complement her goals for the future.
Throughout this year, Allison has developed a variety of study habits including studying in the library, using Quizlet flashcards, and using the resources available on campus such as the free OSU Writing Center. She feels that by improving her study habits and avoiding procrastination, she has been able to have a successful first year on campus. The class that Allison found the most challenging this year was Chemistry and the class that she found the most taxing was Human Biology. In the Human Biology course, the students are required to write many policy papers and she found that this was very tiring and uninteresting. For a period of time, Allison was interested in pursuing a career in Social Work, however after taking a Social Work class, she feels that Social Work may not be her calling.
Aside from academics, Allison has also enjoyed exploring a multitude of different extracurricular activities on campus. She joined a club titled MUNDO to pursue her interest in global citizenship and social change and joined a community service fraternity on campus to expand her social network. She will be serving on the Executive Board of MUNDO in the upcoming semester and plans to keep her involvement for next semester consistent with this past year.
As a member of ACES, Allison enjoyed living in Smith-Steeb Hall this year. She felt that living with other ACES students was a great way to make friends quickly and feel comfortable in a new environment. Since she has a passion for community service and children, she felt that the volunteering opportunities provided by ACES were particularly enjoyable and tailored to her hobbies. She recommends that incoming freshmen also look into scholars programs on campus to meet people that share similar interests.
Allison has had a great experience in her first year at Ohio State. When recalling the best moments from the last year, she claimed that her favorite memory was traveling to Puerto Rico with the MUNDO club. During her time in Puerto Rico, she had the opportunity to visit the Bioluminescent Bay, go kayaking, walk through the streets of Old San Juan, among many other experiences. It was her first time visiting a rainforest, jumping off a bridge into the ocean, and visiting the Caribbean Sea. She felt that Puerto Rico was the perfect combination of city life and beach, and hopes to return to the beautiful island someday. The group also had the opportunity to take a food tour to discover the flavor and culture of Puerto Rico and Allison claims that this was one of the best experiences that she has ever had.
Lastly, her goals for the future include taking a greater diversity of classes to definitively decide a major for study in college and narrow down her options for a future career path. She hopes to continue exploring the opportunities and resources that this incredible university has to offer. From traveling abroad to finding new study locations, Allison hopes to make the most out of her college experiences as a member of ACES and as a student at The Ohio State University.