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Event 1:  The first event I went to for the month of November was the “Mental Health Matters” seminar hosted by the campus services that provide these resources.  Mental health right now, considering the multitude of issues facing college students today, with covid-19, our first semester being compromised, the election, and the social aspect of moving into a new community.  Given the surplus of things that college students like us, in our first semester are dealing with, it is important for us to make sure that our mental sanity is in place to handle the challenges facing us.  The leader of the seminar went in depth to make sure that we knew there are lots of counseling resources, numbers, and emails we can reach out to if we are ever feeling overwhelmed because we certainly have a license to right now.  In addition, he also discussed strategies for us to implement in our own lives to ensure that we can transition smoothly to college.  Some of these strategies included: time management, meditation techniques and being mindful of our surroundings.  We all go into The Ohio State University for a reason, he kept mentioning this to us to pacify any ideas that we did not belong at such a great school.

Event 2:  The second event that I attended for IA scholars month of November was Black in Russia: Student Perspectives from the U.S. and Belarus.  All of the students on the panel for this event were people of color, leading for a unique perspective on an intriguing topic.  Brandon Harvey, a senior at The Ohio State University, talks about how terrifying the immersion in Russia was for him, comparing it to his upbringing in his hometown state of Tennessee.  An interesting point brought up by a third year student named Teresa was that her skin color was not even a concern for the native citizens of Russia, however her hairstyle was the main concern for the people she encountered.  I found that idea the most interesting, despite some preconceived notions of how people in Russia carried themselves, the students found it more terrifying until they arrived on foreign soil.  I really enjoyed this event because it was based on real life events from primary sources of information, giving very relevant and pertinent information based on the world around us.  Especially since I know very little about the stuff going on in Russia, this was an eye opening experience to a finance major like me.

Event 1:

For my first scholars event, I went to the COMPAS Panel: Who gets sick/healthcare inequalities in health and health care.  This program did not relate specifically to any of my academic interests, more than it was about my general interest about how the pandemic is affecting life around the globe.  From this event, I was able to learn how the pandemic is having a disproportionate affect on the African-American communities around the world because they are uneducated about the issue, and ill equipped to deal with the bulk of this pathogen.  In addition, the true definition of health was discussed, considering and not considering the pandemic.  Health is determined by our surroundings and external environment, as well as our mental health and the stress we deal with on a daily basis, a few things that were discussed by the panel.  Overall, I really enjoyed this event because of the prevalence it has in our daily lives, certainly now when we have to deal with the pandemic’s effects every single day.  I learned a lot about how the proper infrastructure was not in place to counteract the pandemic, in general, and that us individuals were responsible for the perpetuating issues with coronavirus.

Event 2:

For my second International Affairs Scholars event of the month, I attended the “State of Democracy in the United Kingdom” webinar to learn more about something I was completely oblivious to, affairs in other countries.  One of the main topics I thought that was interesting was whether democracy should be top down or bottom up, when talking about the flow of power through a united nation like the United Kingdom.  Obviously one of the big conversations in this webinar was about Brexit, and how this was perceived with in the United Kingdom, the European Union, and the rest of the world.  Another main concept that was discussed within the webinar was that Britain lacks a constitution, and that is something that is unique to a parliamentary democracy like the United Kingdom.  Overall, I thought that this event was a unique one to take part in, but I appreciated the man, although I do not remember his name, who ran the webinar because he was very engaging and used great visuals to enhance his delivery.  As a citizen of the United States, I am often too focused on the stuff that directly occurs within our borders, but looking at how the coronavirus based issues have been dealt with in the United Kingdom was interesting to learn about.

Event 1:

For my first event of IA, I went to the seminar called “Lockdowns, Masks and Social Distancing Politics of Public Health”, relating to IA because of the global magnitude of the corona virus pandemic.  From the speakers at the webinar, I was able to learn multitude of surprising facts about how the United States has handled the pandemic.  First, I learned that since the ebola virus began in 2014, the United States has not invested enough in the infrastructure needed to combat a health crisis that reaches millions of people across our country. In addition, the main speaker referenced that the CDC, an unbiased source of information that should be helping us become more aware of the virus, is actually being politicized, and that a firewall from any partisanship must be in place for the overall safety of Americans.  As the pandemic has carried on, our trust in the CDC has dropped significantly, which is not a good recipe for us to get back on the right track.  Overall, I really enjoyed this event because of the relevancy to the world around us today.  Also, the main speaker, although I do not remember her name, was a fantastic speaker that kept me engaged throughout the entire presentation.  She was well informed on the issue, and new exactly what our country needed to get over the hump of the pandemic, which I enjoyed listening to her acumen on.

Event 2:

For my second event of the month for IA, I went to networking 101 with one of the career counselors at Ohio State.  From his presentation, I was able to learn about the main networking platform recommended at Ohio State, LinkedIn, and how to manipulate or use it to my advantage when I am looking to connect with other people.  Another main topic discussed in the webinar was about the mindset we need in order to take on to succeed in the professional world.  First, it was recommended that we take on a mindset of curiosity, willing to expand outside of our comfort zone and venture into new territories that interest us.  Second, we also learned that in order to progress in the post-college life, we are going to need to take risks, because we are not always going to be comfortable throughout our lives, so we need to get used to it.  In addition, we discussed how fear can creep into our daily lives, and how to deal with it.  Specifically dealing with fear, it is good that we recognize that it is present in our lives, however we need to make sure that this does not deter us from pushing forward in our job search.  Next, we learned about the invisible job market, meaning that over eighty percent of jobs are not specifically posted on a board, because recruiters already know what they are looking for their company.  Employers are looking for someone that can fit their culture, after that they know they can teach that person the skills needed to succeed on the job, culture is valued above everything at a company.  Finally, the most important thing I learned was that it is not about who you know, but who knows you, and that the network we create is invaluable when we are looking for a career path.

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