G.O.A.L.S.

The Honors & Scholars Center at The Ohio State University utilizes the acronym of G.O.A.L.S. to describe the five areas that the organization hopes to expand upon and improve within each and every Honors & Scholars student. The acronym stands for Global Awareness, Original Inquiry, Academic Enrichment, Leadership Development, and Service Engagement. Global Awareness encourages students to cultivate an appreciation for diversity. Original Inquiry motivates students to get involved with research as well as other scholarly opportunities. Academic Enrichment aims to have students think about the significance and rigor of their course work in regards to their future aspirations. Leadership Development produces students who have expanded upon their leadership skills and are now ready to apply their experience to a career. Service Engagement prompts students to continually engage and give back to the community. Of the five goals, Academic Enrichment and Service Engagement are the most applicable to my personal and professional aspirations because of my determination to challenge myself while at The Ohio State University as well as my desire to give back to the surrounding community.

Academic Enrichment applies to my present goals as a student but also to my future goals as a working professional. In high school, I constantly challenged myself to take the most difficult classes available and to do everything I could to excel in those classes. In college, I have continued to push myself by choosing a difficult major with rigorous coursework as well as by selecting GE courses that will broaden my horizons and improve my knowledge of the world. I have also taken advantage of tutoring and other academic resources, and I have developed relationships with professors by attending office hours regularly. In addition to coursework, my academic experience at The Ohio State University has been complemented by the STEM EE Scholars Program. By attending STEM-related events and living among students with similar academic goals and interests, I have gained an immense amount of knowledge regarding STEM fields. In the next four years, I hope to become more involved in the STEM EE Scholars Program and to continue challenging myself through difficult coursework. In the next ten years, I plan on continuing my education by going to graduate school.

Service Engagement is important to me because service has been an essential part of my life ever since I was young. Everyone should participate in a service event at some point in their lives as it develops character and is truly a humbling experience. Since I started my first year at The Ohio State University, I have participated in Community Commitment where I was able to volunteer at the Center of Science and Industry (COSI). While at COSI, I packaged science experiment kits that were then sent to elementary schools across the country. Knowing that children were receiving the packages that I contributed to made me feel a sense of accomplishment. In addition to this event, I am also a part of the STEM EE Scholars BuckeyeThon Team. The mission of BuckeyeThon is to create awareness and raise funds for pediatric cancer. I plan on spreading the word about this cause and raising as much money as I can for BuckeyeThon over the next year. In the next four years, I hope to become more involved with the BuckeyeThon organization by applying to be a General Body member. In the next ten years, I plan on continuing to serve the community and encouraging others to do the same.