Global Awareness: My global perspective has grown immensely throughout my sophomore year. This is due to my involvement in an organization called Project Nicaragua, as well as through the course work that I’ve taken to prepare for my study abroad trip to Bolivia. Both of these things have opened my eyes to the world around me, and have helped me to see the value in all cultures. They have also shown me the value of cultural humility, and the need to respect the perspective of others.

I have also come to understand how to more effectively serve others through some of the discussions that I’ve had in my classes. These discussions have helped me to realize that service should not be about going into a community and making the changes that you think need to be made based on your own perspective. Instead, it should be about coming alongside of a community, understanding their perspective, and recognizing their own assets that can be used to help them enforce the changes that they desire. It is these asset-based, service partnerships- which focus on the strengths and desires from the community’s perspective- that help to create and maintain long-term positive changes in the world.

Original Inquiry:

Academic Enrichment: In order to gain a better understanding of the career path for a dietetics student, I interviewed Meredith who is currently a third year student in the medical dietetics program. Since I am about to apply to the major, I asked what advice she had for an incoming student, and what she might have done differently after looking back at her experiences. Her biggest piece of advice was to take the GE classes seriously. A lot of the things she is learning in the classes for the major are built off the knowledge that she had gained from previous classes such as anatomy and physiology. She recommended that I keep that in mind as I get ready to take those classes.

I was also curious about some of the organizations and volunteering she has been involved in, and if they were related to nutrition in any way. She mentioned that she had volunteered at the medical center, and that it was helpful in gaining experience in working with patients. Overall, she that if I can gain any exposure to the health sciences in general, that will be beneficial for a dietetics career.

Leadership Development: Last year I joined an organization on campus called Project Nicaragua. The goal of our organization is to partner with a rural community in Nicaragua, called Rancho Grande to provide educational and business resources that helps promote growth in their community. This past year I was chosen to be the Director of the Student Relations Committee. In this role, I worked with the teacher in Rancho Grande and the rest of my committee to create educational resources for the kids who attend the school.

I have both enjoyed and been challenged by this position. I have enjoyed it because I have a strong passion for international service, and it has been exciting to see the development of the community through the years. I have been challenged as my role as the Student Relations director because I see myself as someone who leads more by example. It is more out of my comfort zone to give direct instructions and delegate responsibility to my committee members. However, being out of my comfort zone in this way has helped me to grow as a leader. I am still learning how to best serve in this position, but the lessons I have learned so far will help me to be successful in whatever career path I decide in the future.

Service Engagement: This past year I have enjoyed participating in various service activities. At the beginning of the year, I went with the HSS program to volunteer at the Garden of Hope. Since I have an interest in Dietetics, I thought that the work that the Garden of Hope does for cancer patients is really valuable. If it’s possible, I might look into continuing to volunteer there on my own.

In addition to the Garden of Hope, I also was able to volunteer at the Fruit of the Vine Food Pantry somewhat consistently, and I enjoyed getting to serve meals to people in the Columbus community, and getting to develop relationships with both the people I was serving, and the other volunteers. I also I hope to be able to continue volunteering here on a consistent basis throughout the summer.

Lastly, I went with the HSS program to the Heinzerling Foundation to serve people with disabilities. I really enjoyed this experience, and felt that it was very rewarding to be able to spend time with the residents of the facility. I haven’t had much experience working with people with developmental disabilities, but I ended up having a really great time getting to make crafts and play games with the residents.