As my first semester as a second year comes to a close, one experience that I feel has contributed to my growth as a leader as well as a Mount Scholar is my service at the Northern Lights Library. I was placed at Northern Lights via my leadership and community service class, and I have chosen to continue serving there as my Year of Service progresses. I travel to the library once a week for 3 hours per week, and there I am a volunteer in the Homework Help Center. The Homework Help program provides students in grades K-12 resources that promote successful achievements in academics. Volunteers and employees of the library dedicate their time and efforts 5 days a week to help many students of various cultures and backgrounds with their homework.  Additional assets of this program include resume building workshops, college application guidance, computers/printers, and materials necessary to complete schoolwork such as books and calculators. Prior to beginning my service experience, my expectations were limited as I had little knowledge of the environment that I would soon be a part of. I now realize the dire need for the work I have done and appreciate this opportunity that I have been given. The students that I have continuously worked with are mainly of Somalian culture, and many of these students are either unable to speak English or struggle with the language. This has been a challenge for me as a volunteer; however, I have taken advantage of my abilities and have helped these students as much as I can. Serving as a guide for these students has further developed my leadership skills and character. I have gained an appreciation for not only the opportunity to help others but also the work that is being done at Northern Lights and other libraries around the country that instill a desire for success in many young children’s lives. Through my experience at the Homework Help Center, I have built connections with students of all ages, and I can only hope that these connections have served as a sort of driving force for the students’ academic success. I look forward to continuing my service at the library, and I am very grateful for this experience as a second year Mount Scholar.

Spring break: swimsuits, sunshine, the beach, and friends. I had always pictured that I would spend my college spring breaks in the south with my feet in the sand. While many of my fellow peers were lucky enough to travel to warmer places, I headed home for a week and found my own paradise with my friends and family. Did I even check my email over break? No. Did I take one look at the endless amount of homework I have to complete? Nope. I took this week to relax and enjoy the company from the people I love the most, and I am so glad I did. My best friends and I were able to get together one night and hang out like we used to do in high school. We are all scattered around the state of Ohio attending college and pursuing our own dreams, hours away from each other, yet when we are able to reunite it’s like we never left each other. My heart is so happy when I am with my friends, and I am so glad that part of my break was spent with them. I also got to spend quality time with my family, which was difficult being that my parents had to work and my siblings had school and sports practices during the week. Regardless of their busy schedules, it was still so great to be in the comfort of my own home and relax with my family by my side. Additionally, my spring break consisted of a lot of baseball, which is nothing short of perfect. My boyfriend pitches for Sinclair Community College, and I was able to catch a lot of his games throughout the week. I also spent lots of time with him while I was home and able to since we hardly see one another while we’re at school. Being apart is definitely hard and it’s even harder now that he is traveling throughout the season; however, distance makes the heart grow fonder, and we are so happy when we finally get to see each other after a long time apart. While I would have loved to be at the beach, I still had such a wonderful spring break with my favorite people. I was able to see my family, friends, and my boyfriend…. my very own paradise. Home is wherever they are.

One of the most memorable and exciting moments of my freshman year at OSU thus far has been the Penn State vs. Ohio State football game. It’s been a week since this game took place, and I still cannot believe how amazing the experience was watching the Buckeyes come out on top with just minutes left in the 4th quarter. Pre-game, I was a very happy girl due to my boyfriend’s arrival on campus. I bought him a ticket for his birthday, and we were both anxious and ready to watch the highly anticipated Big Ten match up. Post-game, on the other hand, I had never been happier. Not only did I have my boyfriend with me, but I also shared the experience with two of my best friends. Despite standing in the freezing cold, my heart was so full of love that day. The game itself was an absolute dream; the Shoe was blacked out, the crowd was louder than ever, and each and every Buckeye fan in that stadium knew that somehow the team would find a way to win in the final seconds of the last quarter. When we scored that touchdown to win the game 39-38, the entire stadium erupted. I felt so lucky to be in the Shoe at that moment. As soon as that scoreboard hit zero, fans flooded the field in excitement. Unfortunately, by the time I made it down closer to the field, it was so crowded that I wasn’t able to make my way into the mass of black, scarlet, and gray. I will forever remember that night and how great it felt to celebrate with thousands of my fellow Buckeyes. The game is a constant reminder of how proud I am to call myself a Buckeye, forever and always.

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