I recently attended an event hosted by STEM Exploration and Engagement Scholars on diversity. I was excited for the event because it seemed to offer a different program than the ones that I have been to before. I feel that diversity is a huge issue and that diversity education is integral in both personal and professional development. The event was very interactive and we separated into groups to have tough conversations about privilege, class, and what biases we had as individuals. I think that acknowledging that not everyone has the same opportunities and access. Our presenter was really good a leaving silence and giving plenty of time for us to process and comment on each part of the material. The silence provoked many people to share their opinions and open up about their own struggles. Even though the event had a sizable audience, it felt much smaller because of the personal engagement.

One small critique I have of the event is that I feel that several of the discussions that we had as a group should have been longer and more in depth. I also feel that the event was centered on each person’s identities and that there was not enough of an emphasis of taking the information we learned into action. I feel that having some kind of personal testimony from a person who has overcome prejudice or event having an action plan for helping those who experience oppression would have been very beneficial. I am still glad I went to the event and am much more likely to attend other diversity and inclusion events in the future. I found the experience to be rather beneficial overall and I gleaned more insight into my personal relationship with diversity and inclusion along with the way that diversity and inclusion impacts those around me.

After attending the event, I felt upset about the overwhelming discrimination and oppression within society. I was frustrated and want to do all that I can to mitigate the structural oppression that is laced within in society. The program reminded me that compliancy is a huge part of the problem and that not all discrimination is visible. Anyone with privilege is at risk of being blind to the discrimination that others who do not have as much privilege face, and it is up to each individual to check their biases and look outside of themselves.

I think that it is especially important that diversity and inclusion is prominent on college campuses because it is a formative time in students’ lives. It is important that colleges prepare their students for the world and the world is becoming increasingly more diverse over time, so it is imperative that students know how to interact with people who come from differing backgrounds to theirs. It is also important for people who come from diverse backgrounds to feel represented and included so that diversity continues to increase. The Ohio State University puts a large emphasis on diversity that I strongly agree with because diversity is key to a better world.

I went to the 57th Annual Alpheus W. Smith Lecture given by Steven Chu with a group from POLARIS, my mentorship class, and two of my other friends. I was particularly interested in this talk because it focused on climate change, its impacts, and what possible solutions we can use going forward. This event was unique compared to many of the other events I’ve been to because there was a wider age group present at the event. I really enjoyed going with a group to this event because we talked about the event before and after and were able to share our impressions. I definitely got more out of the event by going with a group and being able to distill the information I learned with my peers afterward. I have done a lot of research on climate change, since it is an issue that impacts my everyday life and will continue to (increasingly more) over time.

I understood the content Dr. Chu presented very well and I learned a lot about the progress we are making with meat replacement and other agricultural environmentally friendly policies. I appreciated the plethora of data that Dr. Chu presented to properly explain just how dire the climate crisis is and what its impacts will be in coming years. Some of the data that Dr. Chu presented I had never heard before and it made climate change all the more present in my mind. Dr. Chu’s lecture renewed my determination to do all that I can to mitigate the impacts of climate change and to lower the CO2 levels globally.

I also went to the major-specific event that the department hosted earlier in the day where we met with Steven Chu for him to give us his background and for us to have a chance to ask him questions. Hearing Dr. Chu’s story and his professional development was inspiring for me. He told us fondly of both his rejections and his successes and it made him very relatable. One of the things that surprised me was that he has shifted his areas of research and taught himself new material more than once. I know many physics majors who find it stressful to pick and discipline. I have personally worried about picking the right subfield and worried that I would have to stay in whatever subfield I picked for my whole career. Knowing that my subfield can shift with me as I evolve throughout my career is comforting. Dr. Chu has had an amazing career and continues to work hard within the field. Hearing about his career was exciting and reaffirmed my love for physics. I have found being involved in the academic community within the physics department integral to my experiences so far at Ohio State. I have networked with peers, professors, and other notable members of the physics community. I have heard talks on multiple topics and already been able to narrow down my specific interests by hearing different stories like Dr. Chu’s and learning of their research.

Last weekend, my residence hall, in collaboration with The Ohio State University’s Office of Student Life, had a Pumpkins and Pastries community event to celebrate the beginning of fall. The resident assistants had reserved the art room in our building and bought a large amount of pumpkins and pastries. The event offered a celebration of the change of season with delicious pastries to eat and pumpkins to paint. It was a welcome break from school work that I found to be a great creative outlet and fun activity. My friends and I enjoyed spending time together in a very different situation from our day-to-day school lives. I personally love fall and am rather fond of pumpkin painting and I really enjoyed getting to paint pumpkins with my closest friends at school all together. I found the event very stress relieving and it reminded me just how important having  proper balance between academics and social life is. I was reminded that even though I love the academic activities I do, I have to make sure I still stay active in my other joys like art and music. I really love that my residence hall has at least one event like this every few weeks that is an opportunity to bring residents together in a non-academic environment to relax and enjoy spending time together. My resident assistant was in charge of this event and I really enjoyed that our floor was able to offer input into the event to make it what we felt would be most enjoyable. This community event, and the other hall events we have had like it, offer a great community building experience. Based on this, I feel like one way events going forward could continually improve would be by having a comments and idea box in the lounge for residents to be able to leave suggestions. One other idea would be to put out a Google Form for interest the month before so that residents can choose what events happen. Overall, I find that events like these are the ones that bring people closer together and create a true bound within a residence community. Going forward, I’m going to make it a priority to attend residence hall community events with my friends. I also will be sure to implement more non-academic activities into my weekly life. I am already planning to have more art-focused and sport-related activities in my weekly rotation. I am actively focusing on managing my time this year and have realized just how easy it can be to fall away from my extracurricular passions. Pumpkins and Pastries reminded me just how important stress relief and taking fruitful breaks are to having staying productive longterm and living a balanced lifestyle.

I have always been a rather organized person when it comes to school, but timing everything to be ahead of assignments can be a challenge for me. I was a bit worried about seeking help for time management, but I knew I wanted to find the tools that could help me optimize my time. I wasn’t sure how to improve my time management skills, so when I found out about the Dennis Learning Center, I knew I wanted to make an appointment.

I have asked for help in the past when I was absent from school or when a concept didn’t come naturally to me, and, although I may have felt nervous, I really benefited from asking for the help I needed. It may feel uncomfortable to ask for the help I need because of the stigma associated with it, but I know that it is important to seek the help I need. Seeking help is one way that I can take an active part in my education.

When I arrived for my appointment at the Dennis Learning Center, I met with an assigned counselor. When I first walked in, she asked me what made me schedule the appointment and we briefly discussed what led me to scheduling the appointment. Once she knew that I was there for time management, she started to very specifically break down a plan of attack for me. She taught me how I can schedule my days out, including scheduled obligations, free time, and study time, so that I can find the how much time I have to study and then decide how to allocate it. She answered all of my questions and helped me make a plan to implement the different systems that we talked about. I really enjoyed the format of the meeting because once she knew why I was there, there was an outline that she followed and adjusted to my needs. My counselor showed me how to maximize my time throughout each day and I in the few days since our appointment, I have already found myself managing my time better. Now that I have found the time I have for studying, I can maximize my productivity and plan out how and when I should work on each assignment. My counselor also showed me how to use several different platforms to make a longterm assignment list and detailed to do lists to organize myself and tackle the oncoming assignments. I scheduled a follow up meeting to check in after I have been using these time management tools for two weeks to hold myself accountable to fully testing the systems. So far, I have found the strategies very helpful and I have seen a large difference in how I am able to manage my time.

I have tutored other students through National Honor Society before and I really enjoyed helping other people understand different subjects. I would love to tutor others at some point in the near future and be able to help others the way that my time management counselor helped me.

The first student organization meeting I went to on campus was the Society of Physics Students’ opening meeting. I heard about this organization when I was looking into physics organizations at Ohio State and made sure to join the club at the activity fair. I went to this first meeting alone, but I met a few other freshman there who are in my physics class and we sat together during the meeting. I found the upperclassmen at the meeting to be very welcoming and friendly and met several different people with varying majors and levels of interest in physics. I found the casual lecture format really inviting and I am excited to go to the next meeting.

The Society of Physics Students excites me because it connects me to the physics department and gives me a place to meet other people who are passionate about physics. The organization also keeps its members informed of upcoming physics department events and open positions within the department that students can fill. Having a group that helps me connect to the department will be beneficial for finding research opportunities and other events, such as colloquia within the physics department. I feel that the Society of Physics Students is unique in that it offers me a chance to hear lectures from professors on intriguing topics and introduces me to other students within the department who can offer their advice and wisdom as I continue in the physics program. I think this organization will help me network within the department.

The leaders of the Society of Physics Students were great at communicating with the group gathered and they kept the environment casual and fun. They managed to keep it light without putting a damper on the lecture we heard for the largest part of the meeting. There was food for the attendees and plenty of casual conversation before the lecture portion began. The leaders made announcements about upcoming events for the club and announced the speaker for the next meeting as well. I could see myself doing these things and becoming a leader in the club in future years. I will block out the time for these club meetings in my calendar and plan to shift my studying and the other parts of my schedule to enable me to attend the Society of Physics Students meetings.

I think the size of Ohio State has made me more motivated to find the clubs that will help me find people who have similar passions as I do. I also think that the vast amount of clubs at Ohio State has made it much easier to find clubs that suit my specific interests. I could see myself starting a club in the future that relates to scientific debate because I have a passion for debate and feel that it is important for physics (and other STEM) majors to be able to articulate their positions and argue for them and there is not a club that fits that criteria.

I am excited to continue getting involved in the physics department and look forward to taking advantage of all that the Society of Physics Students has to offer.

[Artifacts are the items you consider to be representative of your academic interests and achievements. For each entry, include both an artifact and a detailed annotation.  An annotation includes both a description of the artifact and a reflection on why it is important to you, what you learned, and what it means for your next steps.  For more guidance on using your ePortfolio, including questions and prompts that will help you get started, please visit the Honors & Scholars ePortfolio course in Carmen. To get answers to specific questions, please email eportfolio@osu.edu. Delete these instructions and add your own post.]