Global Awareness: Over the past two years, I think my appreciation for diversity and individuality has drastically grown. OSU has students and people from all walks of life, and through simply interacting with others in clubs, classes, and various jobs, I’ve been able to meet a wide variety of people and learn about their stories. Although I did not have time to complete the certificate this year, I participated in several DICE programs, led by the Student Life Multicultural Center. These programs ranged from classes focused on diversity to social justice workshops. I plan to participate in at least a couple of the DICE approved programs around campus in the coming years, and next year in particular I hope to receive the DICE certificate. Another big learning opportunity for me was a Buck-I-SERV trip I led this past spring break. During leadership training and the actual trip, I learned a lot about different communities around the United States, and also got to explore the ideas of social identity and adversity in depth with my peers. Over the rest of my undergraduate career, I plan to do everything I can to continue learning about backgrounds and communities different than my own. One of the major ways I plan on doing this is participating in a study abroad trip. I am not quite sure of the details of which trip I will be taking, but I’m sure any experience I partake in will help me expand my worldview and understand just a little bit more about the cultures and people around me.

Original Inquiry: This category has been a huge part of my time here so far. I began working in an Economics research lab the summer after my freshman year, and through this lab I have learned a lot about the research process and the teamwork it often takes to get to the point of publishing. I hope that throughout the next couple years I can continue working here and get more involved with the development part of the research projects. I was recently hired for a job as a research assistant in a human genetics clinic, so I look forward to observing, participating, and learning from a different style of research in a field more closely aligned with my long-term goals. Beyond research, I hope to get back into music during the remainder of my time here. While I haven’t made the time to focus on musical endeavors (especially over the past year), I think it would be a great way to bring some creativity back into a semester/class-load full of hard sciences.

Academic Enrichment: While at OSU, I am trying hard to take advantage of a lot of the academic opportunities that are offered. I am still planning on obtaining a B.S. in economics while pursuing a neuroscience minor. I am also still fulfilling the requirements for a premed track, and I plan on applying for medical school within a couple years of graduation. I have loved my combination of science and economics so far, and I am very excited to get into the upper level classes to really find the specialties of each field that I enjoy. My goal is still to gain a broader perspective of the medical field by studying its economics, and I also hope to more deeper understanding of economics and human behavior through my neuroscience minor and any psychology classes I take. In each of my respective endeavors, the Economics degree, Neuroscience minor, and the premed track, I am trying to take classes that are both rigorous and classes that allow me to further explore my interests. With my GEs, I have tried to expand upon some of my interests that don’t align so heavily with my career path. This way I can still enjoy the classes while fulfilling the requirements!

Leadership Development: While it took me some time to find extracurriculars that I really loved, I finally found my fit with Boo Radley, the kindness club on campus. With about 100 members, there are many people who have helped me grow. Starting last semester, I was chosen to be a Captain for my committee, where I got the chance to practice both the logistical and social/person skills that have helped develop my leadership style thus far. In this position, I have planned and lead events and also created a safe and fun place for people in our committee to get to know each other. This past semester, I took a position on our executive board as Director of Outreach. Through these positions, I am excited to keep developing leadership skills and to continue getting more involved with my club. Besides this leadership position, I am also developing my skills by organizing events outside of school. For example, this past summer I organized a blood drive for my home town. That was definitely a learning experience on the follow through it takes to pull together and lead a committee.

Service Engagement: Over the course of the past two years, I’ve started regularly volunteering with the Wexner Medical Center, the Peer Mentor Program with the College of Arts and Sciences, and the Sexual Assault Network of Central Ohio (SARNCO). At the Wexner, I have both worked at the mail and flower room and as a hospital ambassador, where I greet guests and escort them around the hospital. I have really enjoyed the Peer Mentor Program over the past year, where I get to sit in on the Honors survey classes and talk with new students. As the peer mentors in my survey class really helped me adjust my freshman year, I am excited to be able to participate and possibly help other new students. With SARNCO, I volunteer to staff the 24-hour rape helpline for Ohio. Along with these, occasionally I participate in one time volunteer programs, like the OSU days that occur two or three times a year. I really enjoy all the programs I am a part of currently, so I plan on continuing to spend my time volunteering through them.

Throughout my time at OSU, I hope to be able to make an impact on the people and community around me. I am currently applying to become a volunteer at both the Wexner Medical Center and Nationwide Children’s Hospital, hopefully starting at both next semester. In addition, many of the organizations I am a part of have a service aspect to them. For example, Off The Lake Productions donates all proceeds to a different charity each year, and also has many service opportunities such as Habitat for Humanity. The two pre-med clubs of which I am a member of, the pre-med club and AED, also have service aspects to them. I also plan to participate in BuckeyeThon this year! The combination of all these opportunities will hopefully allow me to participate in many opportunities to make a positive impact on the community around me.

I plan to develop and showcase my leadership abilities in several capacities. First, as I mentioned in my Original Inquiry post, I plan to eventually start my own research project. In this endeavor, I will theoretically be running my own experiments and inquiries and perhaps even my own small team to answer a question of my design. Also in a lab setting, I hope to work my way up in the lab in order to develop both lab and leadership skills. Additionally, on the medical side of things, I have already begun shadowing doctors, and I hope to continue this throughout my time as an undergraduate here. These opportunities have allowed me to observe and learn from many skilled doctors that are prominent in their field. With the incredible number of amazing doctors connected to OSU, I’d like to continue to find new opportunities to learn like this.

I also plan to become more involved in many programs here on campus. After some experience in the pre-medicine and pre-health clubs I am a member of, I plan to run for a leadership position in one of those clubs. Within the next two years, I am planning to run for a position in the Off The Lake Productions student-run group. Another opportunity I am interested in pursuing is becoming a part of the peer mentor program. After seeing the difference some of these peer mentors are able to make in the lives of new students, I’d like to share my experiences and help others ease into all aspects of their transition. All of these positions and programs would develop my leadership skills while allowing me to help others and develop their skills as well.

My current academic path includes an Economics B.S. degree. In addition to this, I am on the pre-med path and hope to officially add a neuroscience minor soon. While this may seem like an unusual course of study, I have always been very interested in picking apart the way things work, analyzing the information, and using what I’ve learned to gain more knowledge about the subject of topic. All aspects of this track satisfy this desire in some way. I am also able to combine many of my other interests with this plan. Beyond simply continuing my learning in several areas, my plan later down the line is to focus my economic studies more on the economics of the medical field. With this, I would be able to understand the field and its inner workings from many different angles as well as on a broad spectrum. In order to gain a thorough understanding, many of the courses I plan to take are upper-level courses, including a fair amount of 5000 level classes. I am enthusiastic, although perhaps a little nervous, to undertake this diverse collection of studies.

Although this plan already incorporates a wide range of studies, including heavy coursework from both the humanities and hard sciences, I am also excited to expand my knowledge with my general elective credits. From developing my writing skills to learning more about German Faust themes, these additional classes will give me the opportunity to round out my coursework for a more classically liberal arts education.

Although I haven’t participated in research thus far into my undergraduate career, I am eager to get started. As a pre-med student, research is something I am very interested in, and it is something that will remain important for potentially the entirety of my career.  I have begun reaching out to labs and doctors to apply for research positions in different labs. I also am looking into research projects currently being conducted by my professors as a possible way to get involved.  After I gain some experience in the lab, I hope to start my own research project. Although I’m not exactly sure what the process will entail or what specific question I’ll be working to answer, I am very interested in learning more about Immunology, so I may focus my efforts in that field. To help with this, I am involved in several pre-medicine and pre-health clubs here on campus, which will facilitate my learning about the process of leading my own research project.

Global awareness, as well as acceptance, of the diversity found in all corners of the world are both very important concepts in society today. As a Secretariat member for several years in my high school Model United Nations club, I already have a start on developing this awareness and acceptance. Of course, there is still an immense amount to be learned. Already during my first semester here, I have continued my learning on this topic by joining peer theater (part of the Off The Lake Productions student-run group), which is a program that performs skits and enables open dialogues about many issues, including diversity. I also have started the process of getting my DICE (Diversity, Intercultural, and Community Engagement) certificate from the Multicultural Center here at OSU, which comes from a program focused on diversity, leadership, and justice.

In the future, I hope to continue expanding my global awareness in several ways. First, I am planning a study abroad trip to Spain. Through this, not only would I meet other students of different backgrounds, but I would spend at least a month living and interacting with citizens of a completely different country. From this, I want to learn more about the lives of individuals with whom I interact, Spanish and European culture in a general sense, and the issues that are prevalent in those societies, many of which stem from lack of inclusion or acceptance of diverse cultures. Additionally, I would like to develop myself as a global citizen by not only learning more about these things, but also by developing more fully my ability to use the Spanish language. Courses I plan to take in the future will also continue to develop my global awareness and acceptance. Some of these include Sociology 1101H and Comparative Studies 2367.08H.