The volunteer hour requirement was not a difficult one to fulfill, so I decided to focus my hours on a program that I was passionate about. I joined to OSU Pen PALS club after seeing the message in a scholar email. This is a year long program that allows you to write to a child in elementary school for an entire year. I thought this was really important in establishing a relationship and getting to know the kids. My pen pals name was Dylan and he went to West Mound Elementary School. After a school year of writing back and forth, we had the chance to meet the kids when they came to campus for a visit. Meeting Dylan was so fun! We got to hang out for the day and walk around campus. It also allowed the kids a chance to see a university and maybe get excited about the idea of getting a higher education. I plan on continuing my involvement in the club for the rest of my time at OSU, and would highly encourage anyone else interested to join!

This photo was taken the day of my High School graduation. Where I’m from, graduating from high school is not necessarily the biggest accomplishment, and I can’t say I was overly impressed with myself either. However, graduation was more than finishing a chapter of my educational career, it was the beginning of a whole new one. High school was a great opportunity for learning, but also for making memories and developing a better understanding of what you want to do in life. The day of graduation reminded me of all the hard work I put in to getting to the next step in my education, and all the hard work that is to come.

This photo is from the study session Scholars event on October 9th. This event was a really good way to not only study but also to meet people in the biological sciences scholars program that do not live in Barrett. Since a majority of the people at the event are in similar classes, it was easy to study together and ask questions. From this experience, I realized that people are always willing to help and that group studying is a great way to work through difficult concepts that you may have been struggling to understand on your own.