This past year has been one of momentous change in my life. When I was at the Denver Art Museum a few weeks ago, I saw a quote by an artist, Jordan Casteel, who said that she had “been lucky to find her soul’s code early.” This is how I feel about the last year. In the Autumn semester, I was enrolled in our Manuscript Studies course in the MedRen department (one of the only undergraduate versions of this class available in the United States). This course sparked a passion in me I could never have even imagined: a love of medieval manuscripts. For Manuscript Studies, I wrote a paper entitled “From Paris to Akron and Beyond: The Origins, Provenance, and Breaking of the Ste-Geneviève Bible,” in which I explored the history of a thirteenth-century Bible manuscript fragment which has become my main passion in life since then. This paper has since evolved into my planned Honors Thesis for Ohio State, and in the time which has passed since turning in that first, 20-page version of this paper, it has almost tripled in length, allowed me a fellowship to continue my research over the summer, provided me with the opportunity to give my first academic talk, and given me more clarity and purpose in my career than ever before. Time spent following one’s passion is the most fulfilling thing in the world, and I have become more and more aware of this fact the more time I spend working on my project. This year has also provided me with ever closer relationships with professors, mentors, and friends across OSU and beyond. Manuscript Studies is my soul’s code, and I have found it at the perfect tie in my life, because there is no better place for me to pursue it than here at Ohio State.

This academic year, 2017-2018, was one which comprised of a great deal of change in my life, the vast majority of it positive. To think that one year ago, I was just deciding that I would attend Ohio State as an Eminence Fellow feels strange, because it feels like that happened so long ago and just yesterday at the same time. My life has changed a great deal in several respects. The most obvious are that I moved to a new city, made new friends, and started college. The three changes I want to share more about are changes in my academic studies, my career plans, and my class’ service project.

I came into OSU at the beginning of this year knowing that I wanted to double major in Medieval and Renaissance Studies and History, with a minor in Latin. I didn’t know what I wanted to do as my concentration in either major, but I have a small amount of clarity now. In my Medieval and Renaissance Studies major, I think I want to concentrate on dynastic families, especially those of the 14th-16th centuries in England and Italy. In my History major, I will continue with medieval history, but I am also interested in African history, both modern and medieval. Though medieval African history is mainly based in oral tradition, there is still much to study and much still to be discovered.

I have had an ongoing internal crisis throughout this year over my future in the field of Medieval history. This is a field in which academic jobs are quite scarce, and many meetings with professors have made me aware of that fact even more so than I was before. I have heard a great deal about how competitive the field is, and have been often discouraged, sometimes feeling like I needed to find a major that would provide me with an easier path to employment. However, my main struggle with that was that there is nothing that I am so passionate about as Medieval history, nothing that I feel like I can excel at and change the field as much. However, throughout the year, I have come to the realization that academia is not the only path available to me. I am very interested in other options, such as working in a museum (in many potential capacities), working in an academic or archival library, writing books, or otherwise. I feel much more confident in my choices now, because I know that I am passionate about what I study and I am good at it.

One of the newest and best changes in this past year has been the development of my class’ Eminence service project. I truly have never felt so passionate about service as I do about our project, Sunrise 365 (this is our temporary name, and we are working on finding a new one). Infant mortality is a topic which I was aware of but not informed about before I started doing research into Columbus’ issue with high levels of it, and I truly feel this is an area in which we can make a difference. Though only in the very beginning stages of our organization, I am constantly amazed by the intelligent and passionate group of people I have the privilege to work with for the next three years and beyond. I am not planning to go into a field related to health, but I am confident that our group has great potential to make positive change in our community. It is such an amazing feeling, the hope for the future that I have for this organization and pride that I feel for the work we have done so far.

There has been and continues to be a great amount of change in my life. My parents are moving from my hometown in Cleveland all the way to Denver, Colorado in the next few weeks, my sister is having a baby, and I am looking forward to a summer in Scotland. There is so much to be excited about in the next few months of my life, and I am incredibly grateful looking back on the past year. I am so grateful to Ohio State for challenging me and encouraging me, to the Eminence Fellowship for pushing me forward and helping me to achieve, and to so many other people. Change is something that I have always approached with caution, but this year has made me ready to run head-first at new opportunities, and embrace the positive changes in my life while still appreciating the continuity.