Year in Review

[ “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 information, go to: http://honors-scholars.osu.edu/e-portfolio. Delete these instructions and add your own post.]

G.O.A.L.S.

This list I chose was the Nature and Outdoor Adventure list. I really enjoy the outdoors so this list was perfect for me. The five places that I choose was the Olentangy Trail, Goodale Park, Whetstone Park of Roses, Columbus Commons Park and the Audubon Center. The one I’m most looking forward to is the Whetstone Park of Roses because I really like the look and smell of roses. I’m super excited to visit this park and to spend time seeing the plants. I understand that the roses will not be in full bloom but I would still like to see where they are so that I can go see them next year and know what to expect. I hope this assignment helps me learn how to get around Columbus and also helps me see all the amazing sites that the city has to offer. As I stated before I really love being in nature and seeing all the parks that pop up around Columbus will be a fun adventure.

The Trail I have already visited is the Olentangy Trail, which was extremely beautiful and I will definitely visit again. I really enjoyed being on it and how relaxing it was to just walk it for a mile or so. I would highly recommend this path to anyone and everyone especially in the fall. It is a colorful and beautiful place and all the others on it are courteous and friendly. I’m excited to see how the other parks compare and if the Olentangy Trail will remain one of the most beautiful.

 

The other four places I visited that were on my list were Goodale Park, Whetstone Park of Roses, Columbus Commons Park, and the Audubon Center. goodale2My visit to Goodale Park was just as beautiful the second time as it was the first when the class met there for ENR. It’s a very nice park that is well kept and relaxing. I would highly recommend this park to my friends especially given its close proximity to the Short North and Jenny’s Ice Cream, both of which are also great places to visit. roseWhetstone Park of Roses was kind of a let down. It was quite busy which could be because I went very early in the year, before the leaves really started to turn. I was confused as to why there were a bunch of people there when very few of the roses were still in bloom. I had high expectations of this park and it didn’t live up to them as much as I had hoped. I would still recommend the park to friends but maybe not as a place to stay, more as a passing attraction. I also went there on a very gloomy day so it wasn’t in its full glory, but the only picture that I took that I liked was the one I took of the sign when I was entering. commons2The Columbus Commons Park was also very nice! I walked through it to get to the Greyhound bus station and I wished I could have stayed there longer so I went back a week later! It was very festive and even though it was super cold I really enjoyed myself. I loved seeing how people made a little patch of nature in the middle of the city. It was quite cold when I went but I would highly recommend this park to friends in a warmer season! audubonFinally, I visited the Audubon Center and I ran into many different types of animals. The day was very dreary so I was extremely happy that there were so many creatures around and that I had brought my nice camera. I took so many pictures of the animals there that it was extremely hard to choose which one to post. I chose one of two white moths because they were both beautiful and showed some of the grass that made up most of the plant life around the center. There were many birds that I took photos of as well but I was a huge fan of the moths. I would recommend the Audubon Center to my friends and I would love to go back in the spring.

My favorite experience from this project was getting Jenny’s Ice Cream and walking around Goodale Park while eating it. It was a unique experience because the ice cream was so different but the park looked just like any park but in a completely new city. I mixed the familiar with the unfamiliar and the experience made me happy to be exploring the outdoors! Columbus taught me that there will always be a little patch of nature and happiness even in the middle of a big city! There will always be somewhere nice to go when homesickness is overwhelming and all that’s needed is a few beautiful trees and a hammock. This has strangely led mw to want to explore the candy stores in Columbus, which is an odd transition but I saw a few while journeying to the parks and Jenny’s has made me really interested in trying out new sweet things as well as trying new and interesting flavors. For someone completing the same list I would recommend that they choose some really nice warm days to journey to the parks and take photos. The weather was quite a big factor in my enjoyment of the park followed closely by the number of people who were there. Another recommendation would be to go with someone to most if not all the parks because as enjoyable as they are alone, I had quite a bit of fun when I was with someone and we were exploring together.

 

Career

The career discussion in class was an eye opener for me. It really made me understand that I have no idea what I am going to be doing with the rest of my life, and that that is okay because I have many options. Currently in my career process I have narrowed it down to the type of work I want to do, meaning I want to do something that is involved in the sciences but I have not gone further to decide what field I would like to go into. From the completion of this workshop I learned that I am a hands on worker, I enjoy solving problems, I am passionate about helping others and I am very indecisive. The code that I ended up with is RIS or Realistic, Investigative, and Social. When I plugged this code into O*Net there were eighty-six careers that popped up. A lot of them were in the range of organized mathematics such as Insurance Underwriters, Financial Analysts, Fraud Examiners, Investigators and Analysts, as well as Government Property Inspectors and Investigators. From there it moves on to more social work such as Health Educators, Teacher Assistants, and Child, Family, and School Social Workers as well as Musical Therapists. Then it goes into the science and engineering field where it suggests Neurologists, Nuclear Engineers, Biologists, Fire Inspectors, and Firefighters. These are moderately in line with my plans, most of my plans center around biology and doing work with the environment although almost all of the jobs that are suggested seem interesting and fulfilling. My current career path is undecided but all of the careers that I have looked into in the past, such as environmental engineer and marine biologist, did show up on O*Net as a viable career for me given my interests and priorities. My current academic plans are to finish my undergraduate’s degree with a major in biochemistry and a potential minor in zoology. As of now, my next steps are undetermined. I would really like to get an opportunity to shadow an environmental engineer for a few weeks or another length of time so that I will understand what a career like that is all about and be able to make my decision from there. I also would like to look into shadowing opportunities for other potential careers so that I can make an informed decision after getting all the facts. Studying abroad through the school is also in my next few steps. I would adore the opportunity to visit another country and see how their opportunities and careers differ from he ones offered in America. This will also give me a great opportunity to explore a different culture and gain worldly experience which is smiled widely upon by many different companies. An internship would also be a great step because it would help me gain job experience before starting an actual career in the field I am looking at.

 

When I was younger my dream job was to be a veterinarian. The idea of working with animals and helping them get better made me happy and excited about what the future held. This dream of helping animals also spurred my volunteering which took place mostly at the local Humane Society as well as the Nature Center. The amount of time I spent volunteering at these places has brought me a lot of favor from the types of jobs I have applied for including working at our local park. As I got older my dream changed but my goal has always been to find a career that is very hands-on and fulfilling. I have always felt a great sense of accomplishment from doing my part to help others or the environment and I plan on continuing to search for a career that will accent this. From my early teens to the end of high school my thoughts on what I would like as a career has fluctuated from a marine biologist, to a pilot, to an environmental engineer and even to music major, though I didn’t know what I would do with that. I have always been very flexible as to what career I am aiming for so I am sure that no matter what career I choose, in the end I will be very happy with it.

Artifacts

The mentor I chose to interview was Helena Gastier, a sophomore who is currently majoring in biochemistry. I asked her “how did you decided on the major you have chosen?” and her response to that was that she loved chemistry in high school, however she is thinking of changing her major to molecular genetics because that has always been something that interested her. This is very interesting to be because I am more of a hands on person and there is no way to physically work with genetics to learn about them unless you go into a microscopic viewpoint. A follow up question to this was how easy it was to change your major half way through sophomore year because I am not sure how much I will enjoy my major, and she said that it was not that hard, in fact her advisors encouraged her to do so sooner rather than later in the year. My next question was “how have you chosen to get involved on campus?” She replied that she became an Environment and Natural Resources mentor to meet more of the people in the scholars community, both first year and second year. She was also a Buckeye-thon team captain last year, which was a lot more work than she realized but helped her meet new people and really get involved with the school and the community. The next question involved the ENR scholars program directly and the question was “what advice do you have for making the most of the Environment and Natural Resources program?” Helena’s answer was to pace out the assignments and have fun with them. It is good to be done early but not if you rush what is supposed to be an enjoyable assignment. She also said to get to know the others in the scholars program, other members are very likely to share some of the same traits as you and you will be good friends with each other if you put in the effort. My favorite question I asked was “what is your dream job and why?” Her answer was a physician for dermatology in the mountains. She is currently on a pre-physician track and loves the view of the mountains so her ideal job is to mash those together and be a physician in the mountains. Even though this was an amazing answer I was also curious what her back up plan was, in which I realized that no one in our group really had a back up plan. We had all been so focused on getting one plan solidified and working on that goal that no one had really begun to figure out a backup plan. This reminded me that I needed to form at least an outline of a backup plan in the back of my mind just incase the plans I have for the future currently don’t pan out. In the miscellaneous category the question I choose was “what advice do you wish someone gave you your freshman year?” Her advice centered on time management, and boiled down to distinguishing free time from study time. This was very helpful for me because I am struggling with that now. It is a very new experience being away from a nagging mother who is constantly getting you to do your work. Now that she is not in my ear anymore I understand the importance of keeping a schedule and sticking to it. Helena also mentioned finding a good place to go to just sit and study, maybe it is your common room or maybe it is the library or just a nice table in some random building but having a nice quiet place for designated studying can be extremely helpful. I have yet to find one of those and I really need to discover one so that I have my own personal place to study. With all the advice that Helena gave me, I am getting really excited for this year. I can not wait to figure out how to manage my time better and make a bunch of friends. I think the Environmental and Natural Resources scholars program is going to be an amazing resource for me and I know that I will make a bunch of friends who have the same likes and dislikes as I do!

 

Class 3.6.18 Make-up

I think it is important that scientists effectively communicate their findings with stakeholders because it is important for these stakeholders to be informed about what they are supporting. It is also important because most  of the change that scientists are trying to make happen can only happen through these stakeholder. If pollution is to be cut down, there needs to be government regulation and the industry needs to know about it as well as the citizens. The only way for change to happen is for the newest information to be spread and acted upon.

 

I am very passionate about pollution in the ocean. I have always had a passion for the water and the creatures who live there. I think science can be used as a tool to create positive change with this issue by helping cut down on the amount of pollution that reaches the ocean as well as the ability to gather the garbage that is already in the ocean. Science that can help eliminate pollution is cleaner energy or more efficient garbage disposal. If it is possible to the trash that lines beaches and washes out to sea in storm drains that amount of pollution that coats  the ocean would be cut down. In the ocean there is also swirling vortexes of plastic that has been washed out to sea. With improvements in science, this horrible mass of plastic can be collected and recycled.

 

Regarding the lawsuit with the EPA I think that Dr. Wilson’s approach will be impactful towards making change. This is because Dr. Wilson is pushing very hard to make her point heard. Even if the EPA does not end up making any changes with Dr. Wilson’s case, the amount of publicity it has received will open up passage for other lawsuits and even just concerned citizens to push for change themselves. Whether or not the change is immediate, I think that Dr. Wilson’s lawsuit will make way for positive change.

About Me

scan0019Samantha Meyer is a first year student who is currently in the Environmental and Natural Resources scholars group and majoring in biochemistry at The Ohio State University. She is from Brighton Michigan and plans to finish school at Ohio State and move on to work in a hands-on field. In high school she was on the varsity tennis team for three years and participated on the drumline all four years. She was a part of the robotics team junior year and the kick off mentoring program for freshmen her senior year. The summer of sophomore year Sam traveled to North Carolina to participate in a sea turtle camp where you volunteer at a sea turtle rescue center and hospital. For three years of high school she also volunteered at the Howell Humane Society and spent time at Independence Village with the elderly.

Samantha is always trying new things, whether it is a different sport or flying in a plane. She really enjoys meeting new people and helping those in need. She aspires to be a leader and to help change the world one step at a time. Sam believes the best way to do this is to study the environment and help the rest of the world understand what part they can play to reduce the damage bIMG_9401eing done.

In the next few years, Samantha really wants to try skydiving, bungee jumping, and backpacking the Appalachian trail. She has always had the dream to travel to different places and learn the cultures and customs people in those areas practice. One of her favorite quotes is “The mind is like a parachute, it functions best when open”, which she believes is a very powerful statement that encourages everyone to remain open to the beliefs of others. Samantha is always encouraging people to open their minds. She hopes to visit the Galapagos Islands and use her experience there to study and understand the environment. Sam doesn’t know where the next four years will take her, but she is ready to experience all the excitement!