Earlier this academic year I was matched with a mentee in my scholar’s group! Her name is Giuliana, she is majoring in neuroscience and is just as obsessed with dogs as I am. We discussed the field of neuroscience and I found out that she learned of her passion through shadowing a neurologist at the University of Miami hospital. In addition to being in neuroscience, Giuliana is hoping to join Guiding Eyes for the Blind! This is a service dog agency that trains guiding eye dogs. I found this amazing for I am currently a handler for 4Paws for Ability. 4Paws is a service dog agency that matches dogs to children with disabilities and veterans. I can’t wait to see what Giuliana does with Guiding Eyes! In addition to Guiding eyes, Giuliana hopes to become involved with a few pre-law clubs or sororities. Our conversation then took a turn from puppies and clubs to discussing our post-collegiate plans. Turns out that not only is Giuliana passionate about neuroscience, she is also passionate about environmental law. She plans to attend law school and pursue a future protecting the environment. Giuliana dreams of working for a governmental agency one day!

When discussing academic plans, I asked which class was Giuliana’s hardest. She quickly replied with general chemistry, and I believe that many would agree. However, Giuliana says that studying in Thompson is one remedy to her stress! Personally, my remedy is sitting outside Mirror Lake and eating chicken fingers. Very effective. This then transitioned to our favorite dining locations on campus. Giuliana loves Sloopy’s and honestly I couldn’t think of a better option. Sloopy’s is home to the Brutus Buckeye burger and world-famous milkshakes. It is a definite campus favorite. Giuliana claims that Sloopy’s is amazing due to its proximity to her dorm… which funny enough is the dorm I am an RA at! Through our conversation I not only learned so much about Giuliana, I learned of all the similarities we have. It’s crazy how many similarities individuals can have and not about until they have a meaningful conversation. Thank you ACES for matching me with an amazing mentee, can’t wait to get to know her better!

Every year, the mentorship program has the mentor and mentee pairs go explore the city of Columbus. However, with the current pandemic we cannot go venture out in the world in fear of spreading or contracting the virus. My mentee, Giuliana, and I discusses what places we would want to go visit if coronavirus was non existent. Our first choice was the Columbus Zoo! The Columbus Zoo is one of best zoos in the world and it would be an amazing experience. Giuliana and I are both animal lovers and both would love to see polar bears and possibly lions!! In addition to the zoo being a fun option for mentor mentee bonding, it is a very good socialization for the service dog I’m training. However, the Columbus Zoo is quite far from campus and transportation will need to be found.

Our second option would be the candle lab. The Candle Lab is an amazing place to go to explore Columbus. Giuliana said that she would love to make a candle for relaxation as times are getting stressful with midterms, perhaps a lavender or flower candle? I would make a beach scented candle as the beach has always been my favorite place to relax. However, the Candle Lab can be a bit pricey, and would also require transportation or a bit of a hike off campus.

Furthermore, another amazing choice we discussed for exploring Columbus that is both close to campus and affordable is Coffee Connections. This is an amazing coffee shop located right off of south campus. It is my favorite place to get coffee as it has amazing syrup flavors and spectacular snacks ( like confetti waffles ). Giuliana, however, claims to not be a coffee person… Coffee Connections will change that :). Giuliana said that she would love to try the french toast syrup (which is AMAZING), and possible get a waffle or two. While discussing places to visit, Giuliana mentioned that she was considering switching majors. We discussed this possible change and I advised her to follow what she believes is best for her. I am certain that whatever major Giuliana ends up she will excel in! We also discusssed finals, as these are Giuliana’s first OSU finals. As crazy as it sounds I was excited for her! As an old sophomore now I can say that looking back my first college finals were stressful, however, very rewarding.

All in all, the city of Columbus has a lot to offer to new Ohio State students. You could go exploring for weeks and still find an endless amount of activities to take part in. The Columbus zoo, Candle Lab, and Coffee Connections are our top choices and we would eventually love to go visit!