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.]

Academic Enrichment

Academic enrichment, the “pursuit of academic excellence,” is the most important aspect of the Honors and Scholars G.O.A.L.S to me personally. Academic excellence has always been something I have sought with an absolute dedication. This is an objective I will undoubtedly continue to commit myself to throughout college, for I pride myself on always working hard and doing my best as evident by my grades and rigor of classes. However, the aspect of academic enrichment that resonates the most with me now that I am in college is seeking out an education that is “beyond the university norm.”

I have never been someone who is passionate about exclusively one single field of study. This has been both a blessing and a curse for me. I excel at many subjects, but this has made it that much harder to pick one academic path to follow. Consequently, I am not following one narrow path, but diversifying my education to encompasses my wide variety of interests, something that is very much possible with Ohio State’s myriad of excellent classes. At the core of my education is my major, speech and hearing science, which I picked with these ideals in mind, for it emphasizes my interest in everything from biology to language. Such a major will prepare me for graduate school and my prospective career as a speech language pathologist. In addition, GE classes are an integral part of my education, and something I have thoroughly enjoyed picking out based on my interests. This includes phycology, something I have always been interested in and also relates back to my major. I am also greatly looking forward to taking a drawing class next semester, as it has always been a passion of mine and a subject I was very involved in prior to college.

Building off of this love of art, my diverse education is most apparent though my decision to pursue a minor in the history of art, something that arguably has little to nothing to do with speech language pathology, but I could not be more excited. If the information I learn from this minor could be applicable in my future endeavors, that would be phenomenal, but at a more basic level art history is simply something I truly enjoy. In addition, such classes will help me build my own unique education that is personal to me.

As I continue to build this individualized education, I look forward to taking more diverse classes that will further prepare me for my career. This includes a second minor, disabilities studies, for I am interested in working with those with autism spectrum disorders. In this way, I am creating a foundation of knowledge that not only will benefit my future, but that I am passionate about, allowing me to achieve academic enrichment.

Career

[“Career” is where you can collect information about your experiences and skills that will apply to your future career.  Like your resume, this is information that will evolve over time and should be continually updated.   For more information, go to: http://honors-scholars.osu.edu/e-portfolio. Delete these instructions and add your own post.]

About Me

 

I, Elizabeth Mills, am from the small town of Huron, Ohio. This sheltered Lake Erie town has a total population smaller than my graduating class at Ohio State. One might say that life in Columbus is going to be quite the adjustment for someone like me. They would be correct. However, despite some due nervousness about going from a high school with precisely two hallways, to the massive campus of OSU, I am not daunted by this new chapter in my life. Words cannot express how elated I am to take full advantage of all the new opportunities. In doing so, I hope to achieve my ultimate goal of discovering my passion.

One of the biggest draws to The Ohio State University for me is the chance to explore my many interests. I want to take classes that have nothing to do with my major. I want to join clubs and volunteer. I want to connect with professors. I want to seek out research possibilities. And in this way, I want to find my passion in life, a path I can pursue with an absolute zeal. Over my high school career I have enjoyed being involved with an array of extracurricular actives including tennis, teen library council, art club, and National Honor Society in addition to being enrolled in numerous AP and CCP classes. As a lover of everything from analyzing a classic piece of literature, memorizing the bones of the human body, or creating my next piece of art work, I could see myself falling down many different career paths. In reality, how can one truly be certain of where the journey of college will take them?

In my quest to find what career I am most passionate about, I have decided to start the journey in the College of Arts and Sciences as a speech and hearing science major, as well as a scholar in Advocates for Communities and Education. I am thrilled to be considering the possibility of becoming a speech language pathologist, with a focus on children with autism spectrum disorders. These past three summers, I volunteered at pediatric therapy camps at local hospitals, where I worked alongside speech language pathologists. Through these experiences, I have developed a great excitement for the possibility of making this my career. It incorporates my interest in detail-oriented biology, as well as psychology and the study of language. In addition, a career as a speech language pathologist has the potential to offer me hands on interactions with patients, allowing me to utilize my compassion and desire to help others. This could very well end up being my chosen career, but I am also exited to see where the endless opportunities and experiences of Ohio State end up taking this small town girl, because one never knows what the future has in store.

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