Reflection on the G.O.A.L.S
The 2018-2019 school year has been one ripe with challenges for me as a person. A mixture of difficult course work, an unprecedentedly strong performance in extracurricular activities, and relationships with friends, colleagues, etc. have made this school year a particularly developmental one. Inevitably, I have come to develop new skills and find new outlets for the Honors and Scholars GOALS throughout this school year as a result.
What I have done most to develop my global awareness resides primarily in course work. I came into college with a large amount of interest in international affairs and I have taken classes which have allowed me to better understand the rest of the world. So far at Ohio State, I have taken classes like “Flattening the World” which focus on the underlying relationships between the United States and developing countries; “Politics in the Developing World” which identifies the reasons that some countries have become better off than others; and “Post Conflict Reconstruction” which finds solutions to resolve the issues preventing developing countries from catching up to more developed nations like our own. I feel as though these classes have greatly illuminated my understanding of the world and the cultures that reside within it. Through my course work, I have gained a new appreciation for global diversity which I plan to continue to emphasize by taking more foreign affairs and international studies focused classes in the future.
I have furthered my original inquiry through my involvement in the Ohio State Mock Trial team. This extracurricular activity has taught me a lot about both research and the creative process. In my typical role as an attorney on the team, I am required to research the United States legal system and rules of evidence to best structure a case in order to achieve the desired verdict from my fictional jury. This requires intense reading of the case files as well as a thorough understanding of the Federal Rules of Evidence, which have greatly pushed my research capabilities. In terms of the creative process, Mock Trial has occasionally required me to act as a witness rather than be an attorney. In those cases, I am often asked to develop costumes, accents, and even a character backstory for the role that I am playing. As a result, Mock Trial becomes a performance, in which I am acting similarly to a role in the theatre. Mock Trial at Ohio State has furthered my research skills as well as my ability to think creatively, and those skills will be furthered simply by continuing my involvement with the team.
In my time at OSU, I have also developed a commitment to academic enrichment. My Honors Contract thoroughly demonstrates my commitment to said enrichment. As my contract shows, I plan to take several courses relating to the United States foreign policy as well as classes like “Supreme Court Decision Making.” Considering my goals in life are to become an excellent attorney and perhaps one day a politician involved in the state department, I see these selected courses bringing me one step closer to the academic excellence I will need to achieve in order to reach those goals. Even outside of my major course work, I have taken classes for General Education like “Intro to Microeconomics” and “Civil Rights Black Power” because an understanding of both economics and minority rights can be essential in the political world. Ultimately, my Honors Contract displays a commitment to excellence and to broadening my understanding of political science and history in a way which will propel me towards success in the future.
The main activity with which I am involved is the aforementioned Mock Trial. This activity has been instrumental in my development as a leader. At the beginning of last year, I was asked to captain my specific section of the Mock Trial team, which meant I was responsible for overseeing competitors and ensuring that the important work was done and trial ready. Now that I am competing as a member of the A team, I don’t have the requisite experience to be the captain of the team but have functionally improved as a leader by taking charge of the team’s demonstrative creation and being responsible for the team having effective and cost effective demonstratives. On top of that, I have frequently been called in to work with members of the C team or to help other competitors with their content. These people relying on me, to perform tasks or help in any way possible has forced me to expand my understanding of what it means to be a leader and to increase my development of leadership skill. Again, this development will only continue with my years on the team.
To be fair, I have not gotten around to performing an abundant amount of volunteer work in the past year because of my busy skill, but I have still helped whenever possible. Specifically, I volunteer to teach free tennis lessons to children in my hometown when not at school, and when at school, I have occasionally assisted with the judging or coaching of speech and debate competitors. This voluntary work has allowed me to engage with some high school students in the community and attempt to give back through a program which helped me greatly in my time at high school. I plan in the future to participate in more service projects assisting the needy as well as to increase my involvement with the local speech and debate teams.