After our first ~virtual~ explore Columbus facetime, Giuliana and I had no choice but to have our second explore Columbus also be virtual. As Giuliana doesn’t live on campus and cannot easily commute back and forth, we Facetimed and discussed the places we would have visited! As we are both foodies, we said that North Market would have been a must! With so many authentic restaurants, different cuisines, little shops, and even a cafe… it certainly is a Columbus staple. With my entire family being from Poland, I struggled coming to campus and not having any of my family’s traditional home-cooked Polish meals. Luckily, there is an authentic Polish place within North Market. It is called Hubert’s Polish Kitchen, and the food is absolutely amazing. I asked Giuliana if she had ever eaten Polish food, she responded no… so obviously, Hubert’s would be our first spot! Giuliana mentioned her favorite cuisine to be Japanese and Chinese. I am sure that North Market has one or both of those, so we would have to stop there as well! Furthermore, as a coffee fanatic, I told Giuliana that Stauf’s coffee (which has a location within North Market), is a staple. With flavors from lavender vanilla to English toffee, their coffee is not only great quality but wonderfully flavored. My favorite is the snickerdoodle iced latte, Giuliana said she would try a vanilla hazelnut iced latte! She also mentioned that she really wanted to try Jeni’s ice cream, so of course, that would also be next on our agenda.

We moved on from discussing what we would visit to what we would chat about! Giuliana mentioned that she has lots of questions about what classes I recommend taking. Since I am a neuroscience major and she is psychology, many of our classes overlap. I mentioned that I am specializing in Cellular-Molecular neuroscience so many of my classes actually are not within the psychology course load, however, I do have many recommendations based upon what my friends have told me, and the psych classes I have taken. I recommended many behavioral classes, and even suggested one of my favorite classes, Hormones and Behavior! I also gave Giuliana the contact information of my friends in neuroscience who are pre-law, as I am pre-med I wasn’t sure of any specific pre-law guided psychology courses. Furthermore, Giuliana also mentioned her fascination with 4Paws and Guiding Eyes for the Blind. Both are service dog agencies, however, GEB places seeing-eye dogs, and 4Paws places a variety of service dogs. I had shared my experience with 4Paws and my love for training and how much I care about my current foster, Cappy. Cappy is a Goldendoodle and he is very literally the sweetest dog I have ever met. I explained to Giuliana how beneficial my time has been and strongly encouraged her to join either of the clubs on campus. She expressed her hope to join a service dog organization next year, as hopefully then she can live on campus!

Giuliana and I then discussed ACES and the various ways that it has shaped us. I shared how amazing my first-year experience was, how living on a floor with all my fellow ACES scholars let us not only form a stronger bond but adjust to college life much easier. I expressed how terrible I felt for the current first-year ACES. They have missed out on so much bonding and excitement. From studying together in the common area to eating Buckeye pizzas at community meetings, I had so many positive experiences and only wished the current freshman could have experienced them. Furthermore, Giuliana stated how if the Coronavirus pandemic hadn’t occurred she would have stayed on campus! It truly is a shame that the pandemic occurred when it did, however, I am hopeful that it can act as a wake-up to our society. Giuliana and I agree with that sentiment and both talked about how we hope positive change will come out of this unfortunate time. I mentioned how I hope appreciation for health care workers will skyrocket, that individuals will take others’ health into account and that more people will be more cognizant of their actions. Giuliana mentioned how she wishes the same, however, also hopes that people will still feel the need to check in on one another. I have loved taking these virtual visits around Columbus with Giuliana and can’t wait until this pandemic is over and all the ACES can get together and travel the town! Until then, Zoom it is 🙂

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!

Recently, I had the opportunity to make snack packs for children in Ohio with the Pen Pals club. I learned of the rising rates of child hunger and the steps many organizations are taking to combat these frightening statistics. The snack packs we made included healthier options which will allow for all nutritional needs to be met. I hope to attend more Pen Pal meetings and stay involved with the fight to end childhood hunger.

Recently, I created a student organization dedicated to helping children with neurological disabilities. This organization was created in honor of my uncle Adam. Adam was like an older brother to me, he suffered from various disorders and passed away three years ago. His loss weighed heavily upon my family and after his death, I realized how many things he missed out on the sole basis of his disability. People treated him differently just because he looked and sounded different. Others assumed he wasn’t capable of many things, what they didn’t know is that he wrote for hours about sports history and was hands down the wisest person.

Adam’s Angels is both a tutoring and social program for children in the Columbus area of ages five to ten. With social programs like going to the Columbus Zoo, and watching Disney movies, students will bond with one another and families will establish long-lasting bonds. Our tutoring programs include all subjects from science to social studies and are highly personalized to each student. Adam’s Angels offers children in Columbus the opportunities my uncle never had, and I am hoping for amazing results!

[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.]