When I was four years old, my parents signed me up for an Irish dancing class at a dance school just five minutes from my house. With no previous knowledge of Irish dancing or even any Irish ancestry, they believed classes would simply be a way to keep my active self busy and entertained. After attending a few classes, I was completely hooked and would show my friends and family all of my new dance moves. What my parents and I didn’t know, however, was that what seemed like a simple hobby would end up becoming the focus of our lives for the next fourteen years.

Though I had almost no natural talent at the beginning, my love for Irish dancing fueled my determination to become the best I could be. Outside of school, I dedicated the majority of my time to eating healthily, going to practices at least five days a week, and cross training in preparation for competitions. At the age of 10, I was able to work my way up from small, local competitions to the World Irish Dancing Championships which was held that year in Glasgow, Scotland. Less than 1% of all Irish dancers qualify for this event, and by doing so, I was able to travel all over the world. My biggest accomplishment as an Irish dancer was placing 5th at the World Irish Dancing Championships in 2014. This placement defined my career as an Irish dancer as I proved to myself that hard work can truly lead to seemingly impossible achievements.

Now that I am at college and focused on excelling in my school work, I made the difficult decision to stop Irish dancing competitively. It had been such an important part of my life for so long, however, that I couldn’t imagine giving it up completely. Luckily, The Ohio State University has their own Irish Dance Club that meets every other week and travels to two competitions a year. I decided to join the club as it isn’t a tremendous time commitment, but it allows me to continue doing something that I have always loved with people who share that same love. Joining this club has proved that no matter how busy or chaotic my life may be, I can always find time for my passions.

My first week at The Ohio State University ended on a high note as I participated in Pay It Forward’s 21st Annual Community Commitment. Since 1997, nearly 1,000 OSU students have kicked off the new school year by giving back to the Columbus community. Gathering at the Ohio Union, students eagerly wait to see which agency they will be assigned to serve. In the past, students have worked at local food pantries, the Columbus Zoo, and other various nonprofit organizations. My group, which included several friends and fellow STEM EE Scholars, was lucky enough to be given the opportunity to volunteer at COSI, the Center of Science and Industry.

While at COSI, we learned about the COSI Center for School and Community Partnerships which aims to educate young people and inspire interest in STEM related fields. We helped contribute to this program by sorting and counting items which we then placed into boxes to create science experiment kits. Each kit included directions for the experiment as well as all of the materials needed to perform the experiment successfully. Once the kits were completed, they were sealed and sent to schools across the country. Participating schools are then able to partake in a virtual demonstration of the experiment hosted by COSI.

Volunteering at COSI made me realize all of the effort that is put into promoting and educating young people about STEM topics. With STEM being so prevalent in today’s society, it is important to make learning about Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics engaging and memorable for all. By participating in Community Commitment, I feel like I have enhanced my STEM education as well as contributed to the future of STEM. Community Commitment truly made me aware of the opportunities Columbus has to offer OSU students, and I look forward to being able to volunteer at COSI again.