Month: August 2019

Career

After my undergraduate career, I wish to gain my Master in Public Administration degree and/or a law degree. Ultimately, I wish to work in child welfare policy or adoption law. In my experience as a scholars student at Ohio State, I have gained valuable experiences that have propelled my success and allowed me to pursue my goals.

Since working in the public sector may be of interest to me, I volunteered for an Ohio state representative’s campaign over the summer of 2020. I made phone calls to constituents and passed out campaign literature, helping him win in November 2020. Additionally, I am currently in Undergraduate Student Government where I serve as the Deputy Director of Residence Life and Dining. Since legislation and policy are of interest to me, I have worked alongside a General Assembly senator and a team of USG members to draft a policy to improve the dining experience. These experiences have definitely given me a better sense of what it would be like to shape policy in the future at a public agency.

I am also in Mount Leadership Society Scholars where I have chosen my Year of Service project to be with a local non-profit that focuses on child welfare. I have been writing notes of gratitude to various stakeholders and donors, compiling mailing information needed by the foundation, and meeting with numerous individuals in the nonprofit to discuss their work. This has given me a glimpse into what it would be like to work in child welfare or family law as I volunteer for the legal team at the foundation. This has been a wonderful learning experience where I have improved my computer skills in Excel by completing various tasks and have become more well versed in a possible career path.

Artifacts

I chose my two dance distinctions as my artifact due to the meaning dance has held in my life ever since I was eleven years old. Pictured here are my dance specialization certificate and my Excellence in Dance Award. Both represent my eight year tenure in the dance department at Plain Local Schools. The certificate of specialization I earned through completing a senior project of co-choreographing a musical, authoring critiques on numerous dance performances, and utilizing every opportunity to dance in performances the high school put on. The Excellence in Dance Award was given by my dance teacher to the best dance student in the senior class. This award has meant so much to me as I put my all into dancing and loved teaching my students, choreographing, and consistently going the extra mile for dance. These awards truly speak to my dedication and passion for dance, and demonstrate my hard work, not just in dance, but in life.

While dance has taught me how to turn out my feet and execute à la seconde turns, it taught me time management, team work, creativity, and abstract thinking. It allowed me to become a better leader while leading various student groups, from those in fifth grade to those in twelfth grade. It also taught me how to be a follower and let others take charge with projects. With working alongside various types of people, I gained a valuable sense of self-awareness and how to work with others which is such an important skill to have in college and life. Additionally, being one of the only male dancers in the program taught me grit and perseverance because I was consistently ridiculed due to my participation. I did not do what others necessarily wanted me to do, I did what I wanted to do and in that way it taught me leadership and self-growth as well. These too are important skills to have in life and I believe dance has made me a stronger person and this was its larger purpose. People may claim that dance is just pointing your toes, but it taught me countless applicable skills that I will continuously use in my everyday life.

Dance will forever be a part of me as will the friends I gained through my engagement in the program. It has inspired me to take a dance minor in college where I will be able to build upon my skills that I gained in high school that will contribute to my future career as a lawyer. I can do all of this while I am doing something I am extremely passionate about. Finally, it has inspired me to take action. When I was teaching my Saturday class in high school, I mentored fifth and sixth graders and it taught me communication as well as how to teach and assist these kids in improving. This has made me want to take initiative in the future by having a side job where I would be opening up a nonprofit to have underprivileged children take dance classes in a studio with student volunteers from the local area. I want to give back what I have gained through dance. Therefore, these awards represent so much more than just a certificate and a plaque. Even if I did not have these tangible items, my love for what I have learned would be just as great and I am so thankful for the path I have taken and what it has taught me in and outside of the dance studio.

 

About Me

Hi, my name is Tristan Monteith and I am a first-year student here at The Ohio State University, double majoring in Public Affairs and Political Science with a minor in French. I am from Canton, Ohio and went to GlenOak High School. I was actively involved in GlenOak’s school dance program (ballet and tap), performed in numerous musicals, and was Vice President of Thespian Society. Service took priority in my high school career as well by being in Teen Court, Key Club, and advocating for a cleaner environment through Ohio Ocean Foundation. My group was even invited to present our ideas for a cleaner world at Algalita’s Youth Innovation Forum in California.

Here at Ohio State, I am a part of the Mount Leadership Society Scholars program and am on the Recruitment, Outreach, and Welcome Committee (ROW). I am also involved in Undergraduate Student Government and I hope to join a dance organization on campus. Eventually down the line, I want to become a tour guide and a resident advisor (RA). After Ohio State, I desire to attend law school and become a family lawyer. I am so excited for the years to come!

Year in Review

My first year in my collegiate career has definitely been a transformational experience in the short amount of time that I have been at Ohio State. I have discovered an immense amount about myself as a leader through Mount and my academic interests. In Mount, I was a Lead Builder on Team Education for Legacy Week. This endeavor allowed me communicate with others in a better manner than before as well as reflect on the service I had done in the local Columbus community through activities given to us. Additionally, in Mount, I became a ROW (Recruitment, Outreach, and Welcome) chair for the 2020-2021 school year. Being in ROW throughout my freshman year has provided me perspective on how to assist in planning events. I hope that both my experiences in Legacy Week and being on ROW guide me through being a chair for next school year. In being a chair, I will provide positive experiences for new Mount first-years as well as create events that fulfill the Mount essentials.

In addition to my growth in Mount, my academic interests have changed and grown drastically over the past year. I came into college with the mindset that I wanted to go to medical school. This plan changed almost immediately after I came to college. I was not enjoying my classes surrounding science and I realized that I did not want to study science at all. Through my General Education requirements, I found a renewed sense of passion for French and my desire to go to law school. When I was in high school, I had planned on going to law school for the majority of my time. This was reflected in the classes I took and the activities in which I participated. This is why I changed my two majors to Public Affairs and French with a minor in Political Science. I am very happy with where I am with my two majors and hope this carries me through my next few years at Ohio State.

G.O.A.L.S.

Global Awareness: In my time as a Public Affairs and Political Science double major with a minor in French, I have taken numerous courses that have expanded my global awareness and commitment to educating myself on topics such as diversity, equity, and inclusion. I have taken Political Science 3220, which enhanced my perspective on struggles and triumphs other countries face. The U.S. was also examined and this class gave me an overall different perspective of the world from my own living room. Another class I took in the French department was 2101.01H where we examined different visual and written Francophone texts. We read from numerous authors, all from different cultural backgrounds, which was a nice way to strive toward a more comprehensive view of the French language. Additionally, through training sessions I have done at the MCC, this has help increase my global awareness as well.

Original Inquiry: I have not yet involved myself in undergraduate research, but one of my professors has been encouraging me to do it in the humanities. Depending on the future of my collegiate career, I may want to conduct research in French studies. If I do not do that, I will be going to Washington D.C. for WAIP. During WAIP, I will have to write a capstone paper on a policy area of my choosing.

Academic Enrichment: I am currently in 18 credit hours and taking as many classes as I can to graduate with my undergraduate degree in my third year. Additionally, I am applying for a Master’s in Public Administration program this year where I would receive my Master’s degree in my fourth year at Ohio State. If I am not accepted into this Master’s Program, I will be adding a third major and still graduate in the three-year time frame.

Leadership Development: Currently I serve as an RA in Haverfield House. This has taught me so much in terms of enhancing my time management skills, dealing with difficult situations, and improving on how to become a better communicator. Additionally, I am a recruitment chair in Mount Leadership Society Scholars. This has provided me a great way to help lead a team and plan events. Finally, I am the Deputy Director of Residence Life and Dining in Undergraduate Student Government. Here, I lead a team of about eight and each week we develop projects to better the student experience. I meet with administration and hold leadership meetings amongst those in student government.

Service Engagement: For Mount Leadership Society Scholars, as second-years, we must serve 75 hours to our community. I am serving at the Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption. I write thank-you cards to donors, compile lists of important court figures’ contact information to whom they send their mailings, and help them prepare for large virtual presentations.