Year In Review: Summer 2020 – Spring 2021
This has been the most challenging year of my academic career. This has definitely been a unique and informative year, as we have been living in “unprecedented times” and I am grateful to be vaccinated. I began my year at OSU during the summer semester because I needed to withdraw from the previous semester due to a family emergency. I lost my mother and was responsible for planning her funeral during the previous spring just as COVID and quarantine began, which placed a lot of stress on myself and my family. I enrolled in the summer semester in order to continue my flight lab and stay on my academic schedule, but the transition to online classes in combination with the new COVID restrictions presented numerous challenges during the entire year, and especially during the summer. COVID definitely forced me to revise my plans for the year, and I was unable to accomplish quite as much as I originally aspired to in terms of my flight schedule and travel.
Online classes were a learning curve, as I prefer to learn in person within the lecture format, as it allows for immediate discussion and response, and creates a structure that personally prevents me from becoming distracted or procrastinating assignments. Despite the increase in distractions and procrastination that online classes presented, and the challenges that COVID presented, I was able to accomplish a 4.0 during the fall and spring semesters, and a 3.9 during the summer. I maintained my position on the Dean’s List while enrolled in challenging upper division, honors, and aviation courses. Three courses that I found informative and significant were Geography 2400, which focused on social and economic geography and Geography 5200/5210, which focused on cartography and GIS systems. This year has taught me patience and creativity, as it was necessary for me to adapt my lifestyle to the new restrictions from COVID, especially during the last spring during quarantine.
The highlight of my year would have to be completing my first solo in preparation for my private pilot license single engine land privileges, where I was able to fly as pilot in command of a Cessna 172 in and out of KOSU airport. I completed my stage check, my oral exam, and knowledge test for the Private Pilot Flight Lab I in order to fly solo in the airplane. Additionally, I enjoyed working with the Children’s Defense Fund on multiple occasions during the year, which I have outlined in the “Artifacts” section of my e-portfolio, as I was able to contribute to solving an issue in our country which is near and dear to me, which is youth homelessness and poverty, and how it affects housing and education. In terms of this summer, I intend to complete a full semester and to continue with my flight training, while also beginning my research and continuing contributing to the eminence service project.
[ “Year in Review” is where you should reflect on the past year and show how you have evolved as a person and as a student. You may want to focus on your growth in a particular area (as a leader, scholar, researcher, etc.) or you may want to talk about your overall experience over the past year. For more guidance on using your ePortfolio, including questions and prompts that will help you get started, please visit the Honors & Scholars ePortfolio course in Carmen. To get answers to specific questions, please email eportfolio@osu.edu. Delete these instructions and add your own post.]