For my second-year capstone project for my scholars program, I had the amazing opportunity to participate in the ACES Mentorship Program. My first year mentee was Aryn Iannuzzi. She is a Special Education major from Vermont, and has plans to become an intervention specialist after undergrad. Navigating college as an out-of-state student is already a difficult task, and the pandemic certainly made things more complicated for all first-year students. Despite all of this, though, Aryn was able to persevere and make the most out of her first year at Ohio State. She made friends, participated in FEEP (and by doing so, further confirmed her career plans), joined the club rowing program, and excelled in her community service on campus. I’m so proud of all that she has accomplished thus far, and I cannot wait to see where the next three years at Ohio State takes her. 

I was immediately drawn to Aryn, out of all of the first years, because of our shared love of the outdoors, being active, and human rights issues. After we were paired together, we enjoyed chatting about safe ways to continue being active whilst being in a pandemic, and I shared with her my experiences of participating in group fitness classes at Ohio State (last year, of course — pre-pandemic). The one time that we did meet up in-person, we walked around campus in the beautiful fall weather, and marveled at the green space on campus. On this same day, we also discussed our plans to vote in the upcoming election, and the importance of doing our civic duty for the sake of being active participants in our democracy. Aryn and I are different in that 

Aryn showed immense growth from the first semester to the second. First semester was definitely an adjustment period for her, as she didn’t know anyone at the university, and also had to get used to college life. As she told me in one of our interviews, she learned how to be content with being alone. This is a life skill that not many young adults have, and I’m proud to have watched her grow into that mindset. She chose to dive inward in hard times, and as a result, emerged more self-aware and at peace in the second semester. In addition, she was able to expand her social circle and involvement on campus through the second semester of her freshman year. She made an effort to join organizations (such as rowing and FEEP, as well as community service) that had meaning to he, and made new friends and connections along the way. It was really cool to see her branch out, even though I know it wasn’t necessarily easy!

Although the pandemic limited our interactions due to safety concerns, I believe that Aryn and I were still able to foster a close relationship. I think that through this weird time, I was able to grow even more as a mentor and leader than I could have without these circumstances. I was forced to think outside of the box for opportunities for Aryn and I to connect, and had to make a concerted effort to communicate with her, and check in on her. I learned the importance of empathy and listening intently through this experience. To be able to listen for understanding is an important skill in any setting, and it helps us form connections on a deeper, more meaningful level. Empathy is the second step in listening — it is equally important for leaders to have empathy, so as to understand their peers on a deeper level, and assist them with what they need help with. 

In areas of mentoring, I was able to help Aryn find answers to any questions or concerns that she had with being a first year student. I did this by sharing my own experiences, and addressing any questions that she had about life on campus, making friends, dorm life, and campus navigation. I also made sure that she felt comfortable reaching out to me for any additional questions that she had!

I believe that the mentorship program helped me immensely in my first two years at Ohio State — first as a mentee, and then as a mentor. As a mentee, I was able to seek support from a student’s perspective, and get ahold of my surroundings as a new student. As a mentor, I was able to pass on the wisdom and compassion that my mentor gave to me, and use it to help my mentee, Aryn, with her adjustment to college life. I’m really proud to have been apart of a program that has been so helpful to cultivating life skills, and forming lasting connections between students.