Year in Review

To say I have grown and developed this year would be an extreme understatement. When looking back at myself from my first semester of my freshman year, I cannot believe how far I have come. Last year, I was very overwhelmed by all that there was to participate in at Ohio State in terms of clubs and extracurricular involvement, as I had no idea where I would fit in best. Now I am happy to say that I have found my place in two great organizations, Club Tennis and the Ohio Union Activities Board. I also am a participant of STEP and am a Peer Mentor for general chemistry, a class that I would have never found myself being able to help others in. On top of all this, I also volunteer in a laboratory that does research under the Comprehensive Care Center. When looking at how I have gotten involved, I cannot help but smile because I went from someone who had no idea where I fit in, to now being someone who is so comfortable here at school and is able to call it all home.

Each of these ways I have gotten involved has helped developed in different ways. First off, because my honors classes are generally on the smaller side, I have gotten to know so many of my classmates names and recognize familiar faces which has allowed me to become closer with my peers. The smaller class sizes has also allowed for most of my honors professors to know me by name and know a little more about me than the fact that I am in their class. All of these factors together have allowed the to become more comfortable in a classroom setting and thus be able to learn “easier” and increase my academic enrichment. The honors curriculum has made me more well rounded of a student as I have gotten to taken plenty of classes outside of my major. My biology major has classes required that are also going to be required for medical school and will help me prepare for my MCAT. I have also chosen a business minor to make me  more knowledgeable about the administration side of running a medical practice and get a better idea on the business side of practicing.

Lastly, this year I have evolved greatly in terms of my leadership development, service development, and original inquiry. In terms of leadership, I am now seeking a leadership positions in one of my clubs. This position will give me great experience on how to make the best decisions for a general group of people. I also find my leadership skills greatly strengthened as in group assignments and projects, I am a large contributor to my groups and willing to try to organize things for everyone. In terms of service, I have gotten to participate in various activities such as teaching tennis to children with autism, cleaning up the streets of Columbus, and getting to work with other OSU students in general chemistry. I plan to continue my service as I volunteer at the comprehensive cancer center at the Wexner medical center. I think my volunteer times have made my work and education more meaningful as I am able to share it with others and begin my future in a manner that serves others. Lastly, participating in research at an on-campus laboratory has given me great exposure to how the research process works such as understanding the organization, the specificity of the techniques, and how the inquiry process comes about. I have gotten to interact with a head researcher across the globe and gotten a bit of his insight to how important it all is.  Research is something that will stick with me for years to come, so getting this exposure from an early start has been very beneficial so that one day I am able to create my own research question that I would like to study.

 

All in all, I have been so blessed with how much I have evolved in this past year. Looking back, I am so proud of myself for turning the almost nothing that I had at the end of my freshman year, to now being very on top of my extracurricular activities and duties. My sophomore year truly has been the best year yet, and I hope I can continue to develop in a similar positive manner throughout the remainder of my time in college.

 

 

 

 

G.O.A.L.S.

[ “G.O.A.L.S.” is a place where students write about how their planned, current, and future activities may fit into the Honors & Scholars G.O.A.L.S.: Global Awareness, Original Inquiry, Academic Enrichment, Leadership Development, and Service Engagement. For more information, go to: http://honors-scholars.osu.edu/e-portfolio. Delete these instructions and add your own post.

Global Awareness: Students cultivate and develop their appreciation for diversity and each individual’s unique differences. For example, consider course work, study abroad, involvement in cultural organizations or activities, etc .
Original Inquiry: Honors & Scholars students understand the research process by engaging in experiences ranging from in-class scholarly endeavors to creative inquiry projects to independent experiences with top researchers across campus and in the global community. For example, consider research, creative productions or performances, advanced course work, etc.
Academic Enrichment: Honors & Scholars students pursue academic excellence through rigorous curricular experiences beyond the university norm both in and out of the classroom.
Leadership Development: Honors & Scholars students develop leadership skills that can be demonstrated in the classroom, in the community, in their co-curricular activities, and in their future roles in society.
Service Engagement: Honors & Scholars students commit to service to the community.]

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.]

Artifacts

[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 is a reflective description of the artifact that attempts to communicate its significance.  For more information, go to: http://honors-scholars.osu.edu/e-portfolio. Delete these instructions and add your own post.]

About Me

[Your “About Me” is an introduction and should provide insight into who you are as a person and a learner.  This should include a picture of you that is appropriate in a professional/academic context. This information should be continually updated.  For more information, go to: http://honors-scholars.osu.edu/e-portfolio.  Delete these instructions and add your own post.]