Dunn Scholars has offered so many opportunities for growth in every aspect of my life. Specifically speaking it has opened doors to many professional development programs. By bringing in people to speak in a variety of fields I have had the opportunity to learn about different pathways, times of failure and triumph, and important personal skills that will help me succeed in every pathway. The speakers who have come in also gave me an opportunity for internships and professional contacts that may be helpful later down the road. I may not use all of them but it is still a great opportunity to have been given.

Being a part of DSWS has taught me some of the best life lessons. One of these is the importance of community. Dunn Scholars is not just a normal scholars group, it is a giant family that you can always count on. Learning how to function as a large group is crucial. It is also something that can carry over into my professional career later on. As an Athletic Trainer working with large groups of people will be inevitable. Learning how to deal with such situations early on through my involvement in DSWS will entirely pay off.

Looking back at myself when we first moved in during welcome week a lot has changed. During the first semester I spent a vast majority of my time by myself focused only on school work. But as the group became closer with one another that became a rarity. Being around people from so many different backgrounds and those who have entirely different pathways than me has opened my eyes to new possibilities. I no longer only see things my way. Everyone experiences things differently and therefore has different views about things. Being able to hear all the different view points has taught me to see things from a more rounded perspective. Originally coming in I thought DSWS would be like every other scholars program that has requirements and meetings but the people in the program don’t truly know each other. This has been completely untrue. Like I said earlier, DSWS is a family that has an unbreakable bond. And every person involved fully cares about the other members. I am beyond happy my expectations were broken and I cannot wait to see where DSWS takes me next year.

A semester has come and gone in the blink of an eye and I have made so many memories it has become difficult to pick a favorite. The first few weeks were especially full of firsts, new experiences, and unforgettable memories. One experience, however, from the first few weeks of the semester does stand out in particular. This experience actually occurred before classes started. As one of the last events of our DSWS welcome week we stood as a group and sang Carmen Ohio. While it had not been my first time singing it this time just did not feel the same. Surrounded by people who would eventually become life long friends, even though at the time we barely knew each other. We stood underneath the rotunda, linked arm in arm, and sang Carmen. Some people were clueless at the words and others knew them like the back of their hand. All week had been about getting to know each other and with that comes a lot of constant repeating of your name, major, and where you were from. But in that moment, under the arch of the Shoe, it did not matter what major you were, where you were from or even that a whirlwind of stress was headed our way. For a short minute all that mattered was that we were all here together, members of Dunn Sports and Wellness, and most importantly new Buckeyes at The Ohio State University about to step out into the wild college world and do amazing things.