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COSI with Scholars

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As a kid, I though COSI was the most amazing place. When I was given the chance go to COSI for OSU night, I was beyond excited. A group of my fellow BioSci Scholars and I took a COTA bus to COSI. Once we got there, I felt like a kid again. I wanted to play with all of the small, interesting gadgets and have fun with my friends. I got to walk through all of the old time set ups, which is my favorite exhibit at COSI. Finally, my group watched one of the science shows that was all about chemistry. This was fun because sitting in chemistry lectures isn’t always my favorite part of the week, but the show made chemistry more interactive. I enjoy getting out with fellow scholars and COSI was a fun place to do that!

James Cancer Hospital Volunteering

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During the spring semester of my freshman year, I was lucky enough to be a volunteer at The James Cancer Hospital on OSU’s medical campus. My position was registration/patient access. When patients came into the hospital and got registered, I guided them to the locations of their appointments/surgeries. I was able to ask the patients how they were doing and try to keep their spirits up. Along with the patient interaction, I was able to make connections with the registration employees at the hospital. This experience was such an amazing opportunity, and I cannot wait to volunteer at The James in the fall. I volunteered for a total of 28 hours, and am so lucky to have got involved with the wonderful work that makes The James so special.

Project Sunshine Club

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As a first year, it is difficult to go to the involvement fair and find the clubs that truly are what you want to be spending your time doing. However, I found Project Sunshine, sticking out with their bright yellow shirts, and I was instantly drawn to their table. As soon as I talked to the club president, I knew that this was something I wanted to be a part of as soon as possible. The next week, we had our first meeting and I became a member of the club, which is a smaller part of the national organization.

Project Sunshine is a national organization that focuses on bringing programs to pediatric patients, to help distract them from their hospital stay and bring them some sunshine when they feel gloomy. The programs include things like crafts, healthy cooking lessons, and sending sunshine. So far in this semester, we have completed two projects that deal with sending sunshine. The first being the production of knot-tie blankets that were sent to a center where pediatric patients reside. The second sending sunshine program that I have been involved in was the making of Christmas cards to send to the patients to brighten up their holiday.

This club is relatively new to OSU, so we are completing out first in-person program in mid-November. I am looking forward to interacting with the children and their families and bringing some sunshine to their days when they may be feeling down. Being apart of this club is very rewarding and makes me excited to work with children in my future.

Volunteering Log

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Below are the volunteering experiences I have been able to have while at Ohio State. Some may also be features under artifacts with a more in-depth review of the experience.

Wesley Glen Retirement Community – 11 hours

Star House – 2 hours

Steps for Sarcoma- 3.5 hours

Ronald McDonald House of Central Ohio (with Project Sunshine)- 26 hours

James Cancer Hospital (Registration/Patient Access)- 33 hours

Ohio House Rabbit Rescue- 1 hour

These volunteering opportunities have given me a chance to meet many people and further develop communication skills. I will be able to use what is learned throughout volunteering to become a stronger individual with a more well-rounded scope of knowledge and experiences.

Wesley Glen Game Night

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I had the opportunity to travel to the Wesley Glen Retirement Community so that we could help run their bingo night. When we got in the elevator at the retirement community, there was a sing hanging that read “Bingo Night with OSU Biological Sciences Scholars.” It made me excited to meet the residents because they seemed excited to meet us! Before bingo began, the residents talked with other scholars and me about our hometowns and what our majors were. Along with the residents learning about us, I was able to learn about them, also. There was a man that told us about his time in WWII and how his life lead him to Columbus. Of course, this lead into our intense games of bingo! This experience was nice because I was able to meet individuals that had such enriching life experiences and now were excited to hear about the journey that myself, along with my fellow scholars, were just embarking on.

Zoo Trip

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I had the opportunity to travel with fellow scholars, biological sciences and health sciences, to the zoo. I chose to take the animal health center tour. It was such an enriching experience to see the work that is put into keeping all of the thousands of animals at the zoo healthy. The building was renovated recently to give the veterinarians and the zoo staff a better space to help the animals. One of the most important things that we learned about was probably the relationship that the vets and the individual people that are around the animals each day. It is important for the animals to have a person with them that knows them well so that the vets are able to to properly take care of them. Along with a tour of the facility, we were able to learn about the service projects that each of the vets at this animal health center are focused on. My personal favorite was the sea turtle project. After the tour I was able to tour make my way around the zoo with fellow scholars, and my personal favorite part of the day was feeding a giraffe.

Welcome to my Honors & Scholars e-Portfolio

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Welcome to my e-portfolio! This site will include the many things that OSU provides me with, including things in every aspect of the Scholars G.OA.L.S. You can find out more about me and my experiences in the about me and artifacts sections. In the G.O.A.L.S. section, you can learn about what each part of the acronym means to myself as a scholar at Ohio State. Under Career, you can find my resume, along with other items pertaining to my professional development. All of these parts play into who I am, and what impact my journey here are The Ohio State University is having on my personal and professional growth.

Fall Semester: Freshman Year

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As I finish my first semester of college here at Ohio State, I have realized how fast time passes. The past few months have been full of moments of excitement, achievements, and some disappointments. Starting out, I felt myself not being as proactive as I could have been. It was hard to catch myself up and try to get ahead. I have gotten to the exact point where I want to be, but now the seamster is almost over. I know that I can to use this lesson learned to start out stronger next seamster.

As far as classes go, my favorite class is my Molecular Genetics class that is based on research opportunities on campus. I have learned about many career paths that I could follow in my degree that I didn’t even know existed. I also have been able to connect with fellow molecular genetics majors, across all years, and connect with a professor (and researcher) who teaches the class. This was only one out of the six classes I was registered for this semester. Chemistry has been the hardest class that I have faced this semester. The information is not necessarily more difficult, it is just taught at such a fast pace that I found myself having a hard time digesting all of the material. To cope with this, I realized that studying for exams earlier than normal helps.  This gave me time to visit the Learning Resource Center if I have any questions that need addressed. This will be useful to know when going into next semester, as well.

Overall, my classes have been hard, but I can tell that I am learning and growing as a student and individual. Outside of the classroom, I have been able to meet many new people through volunteering and networking with the people I met early on. Volunteering around Columbus with various Biological Sciences students has been a major part of my first seamster here. Being able to take a break from school work to help people and make a difference was something that meant a lot to me. I also had the chance to meet people, who introduced me to other people they knew at later times. This gave me a network of people that I could connect with when I saw the around campus and at events.

During this semester I have learned so much about myself, due to the fact that this is the first time living on my own without family close by. I have been able to accomplish small things (like never accidentally turning my whites red in the laundry) and major things (like dealing with a parking garage gate closing on my car). I have gained strong communication skills and became more confident in who I am and know that I belong here. I will use all of these valuable skills and lessons throughout next semester and throughout my collegiate career and continue to build on them. I hope to develop myself daily, and this semester was only the beginning of this amazing journey.

G.O.A.L.S.

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Global Awareness- For this aspect of being a scholar, I hope to study abroad and branch out into different parts of the world. I want to be able to see how lives are led and apply what is seen abroad back to my home and OSU. I participated in the Scientific Roots in Europe study abroad trip during my freshman year, where I travelled to London and Paris to learn scientific history.

Original Inquiry- I plan to pursue research that can help me make a difference. I want to study autism and genetic disorders, that can hopefully lead to ideas of how to help ease symptoms or cure certain disorders all together. I want to take the ideas I have and be able to test ideas that could lead to the improvement of the lives of individuals who were previously effected.

Academic Enrichment- I chose my major in molecular genetics because of my fascination with the way humans are able to develop into the intricate beings we are. To make sure I get the most out of my academic experience, I want to challenge myself with classes that will help me to continue growing as a student and learn about the things that made me chose this major.

Leadership Development- I am the President of the Project Sunshine organization on campus. I show leadership by neon the main contact and helping the club stay organized and involved on campus and at the Ronald McDonald House of Central Ohio.

Service Engagement- As a scholar I am presented with many opportunities to volunteer in the Columbus community and I have the goal of being as a active as I can with this volunteering. I want to learn about my new home and be able to have part in the amazing things being done to improve this area and help people who need assistance.