Serving as an OWL Coordinator

Remembering my previous experiences serving as an Ohio State Welcome Leader (OWL), I decided to apply for a position as an OWL Coordinator (OWL-C), and after participating in an intense group-style interview, I was offered a spot!

Unlike normal OWLs, the OWL-Cs are trained to serve as peer leaders. With this, each OWL-C is assigned eight to ten incoming OWLs (typically freshman) and is expected to lead their individual group during Move-In Day as well as provide support/advice to help the underclassmen adjust to college living.

As an OWL-C, I was able to move back onto campus one week early in order to attend required training sessions. Once training was completed and the OWLs had arrived on campus, it was time to start preparing for Move-In Day as a team (note that I had only two days to prepare my OWLs) . When I first met my group of young, aspiring students, I could definitely tell that they were nervous. Having only recently graduated from high school, their eyes hinted to me that they were intimidated. To help ease the tension, I decided that we would spend the first hour or so of our time simply getting to know each other. After having broken the ice, I could see that we were all going to get along quite well. During the remainder of our time, I gave the young volunteers ample instruction in regards to our moving strategy, and I fielded a variety of questions regarding life in college academia.

Serving as a peer leader is an extraordinary experience. I find it fascinating that I can learn so much about myself through the leading others. In addition, I have noticed that with each new leadership experience, my ability to act alongside my peers as a leader becomes more profound. I would like to encourage others to become part of the OWL Program here at OSU, for it is definitely a great way to sharpen your skills in regards to peer leadership/university involvement.

Serving as an Ohio Buckeye Boys State Counselor

Each year, the American Legion sponsors a wonderful event that enables young men from all across Ohio to participate in one of the best leadership programs in the nation. Nearly 1,200 high school juniors are invited to attend the week long session (typically a week in June), at which they will become part of a challenging, character-building experience like nothing they have ever experienced. Hosted at the University of Miami in Oxford, Ohio, the students come together to turn the campus into a large-scale government simulation. Upon their arrival, the students are lodged in the various residence halls all over campus, with each residence hall having been divided into figurative ‘cities’ consisting of nearly 40 students each. Throughout the course of the week, the students will interact with participate in their own campaigning, elections, and simulated ‘work’ days in their respective jobs.

When I attended Buckeye Boys State as a delegate back in 2015 (my junior year of high school), I was nervous and didn’t know what to expect. However, upon leaving the program at the end of that incredible week, I knew that I was leaving as a changed person. I developed a confidence that I never knew I had, and for the first time I started to recognize what it really meant to be a leader in today’s society. While most kids left the program forever, I was one of a select few invited to return as a counselor. Out of ~1,200 of Ohio’s best and brightest young men, only eight of us were given such an opportunity to return and contribute our skills to the development of future generations of delegates. With this, I was able to serve as an Ohio Buckeye Boys State counselor this summer (it is an unpaid position), and it is something I plan on doing for many years to come.

As the counselor of Zulch City (named after a fallen WWII veteran and American Legion member), I was in charge of 43 students for a total of seven days (counselors were required to report to the program four days earlier in order to receive necessary training). For many of my kids, this was their first time being on their own away from their parents. I had a diverse group full of kids who came from all different kinds of ethnic, socioeconomic, and religious backgrounds. Though they didn’t know it yet, these kids would leave the program as brothers, and many would stay in touch for the rest of their lives.

To be frank, this was one of the most challenging experiences of my life. Each day, I would have to wake up at five in the morning to make sure that my kids were up and ready to leave for breakfast by 6:15 AM. From there, my day was packed with facilitating organized events and interacting with the students as they made the experience their own. After the evening ceremony (which usually ended at 10:00 PM), I would have to host a required ‘city’ meeting with my kids and then make sure everyone was in bed by 11:00 PM (counselors are required to submit their head accounts immediately after lights out). Even after such a long and stressful day, my night was only just beginning. At midnight, all of the counselors in each residence hall had to attend a ‘county meeting’ (all of the cities in one residence hall constitutes one county). These meetings would go on until 1:30 AM, but then I would also have to update my city’s bulletin board and prepare for the next day’s events. At the end of it all, I wouldn’t get to bed until at least 2:00 AM each night (that means three hours of sleep!).

Despite the stressful schedules and seemingly insurmountable level of fatigue, I started to learn what I was truly made of. Why would anyone voluntarily give up ten days of their summer to endure such a grueling test of integrity? Well, the answer is really quite simple: we believe in the program. As counselors, we recognize the valuable impact the program had on our own lives, and we are willing to do whatever it takes to give the same opportunity to other young, aspiring students (I guess this is similar to what it’s like during medical residencies when it is required to work an unimaginable number of hours per week). Through it all, the counseling staff becomes closely knit and lasting friendships are made. Together we are a brotherhood of  those who strive to make an impact in the lives of these young men, in the hopes that one day they too will do the same.

 

The Columbus Free Cinic

I was recently offered a position volunteering at the Columbus Free Clinic (CFC)!

The CFC is a free clinic open every Thursday night that is located on the northern edge of campus and is managed by the Ohio State University College of Medicine. Staffed with physicians and medical students, this wonderful operation is devoted to providing free health care to those who do not have access to it otherwise. With this, the CFC significantly impacts the health/wellness of the underserved population residing in Columbus.

As a volunteer, I work within the referrals department of the clinic. My job is to navigate the electronic medical record (EMR) and call patients who have recently been referred to a specialist and inquire as to whether or not they have successfully made it to their appointment. The purpose of these calls are to ensure that a larger number of referred patients are actually making it to their referrals, thus increasing the overall referral success rate and hence increasing the rate at which care is received by patients.

The referrals department is a relatively new installment to the clinic, and I am looking forward to making the most out of such an experience!

Becoming a Student Research Assistant

With my freshman year being well underway, I felt that it was time to start searching for more in the sense of academic pursuit. Thus, I had begun my journey into the world of undergraduate research.

Like many, I had no idea where to start. How was an inexperienced freshman such as myself supposed to make it into a legitimate research lab? Despite my lack of direction, I took it upon myself to reach out. After spending countless hours scouring the university’s medical center website, I had finally found someone that caught my eye: Dr. Sharyn D. Baker. Her laboratory was focused on the preclinical development of anti-cancer agents for the treatment of acute myeloid leukemia (AML), and after reading a few of her publications, I knew that it was up to me to make something happen. With this, I started drafting an email to her expressing my interest in her work and inquiring about becoming a student research assistant in her lab. When I was certain that I had written the email to the best of my ability, I clicked send.

To be honest, I was not expecting a response from such an accomplished researcher such as herself. Nevertheless, she replied to me and was actually eager to have me come in and meet with her. Within the next few days, I found myself sitting nervously outside of her office in the Biomedical Research Tower. She called me in, and I found my confidence as we discussed the details of her most recent paper. We talked for nearly an hour before she offered me a position in her lab, in which I will begin upon my return from winter break.

Often times there are no directions in life. The choices that you make are your own, and it is up to you to guide yourself towards your goals. Knowing that research wasn’t going to come to me, I took it upon myself to become involved. Driven by the desire to pursue something so much bigger than myself, I was able to secure a position in a research lab as a first-semester freshman.

 

 

 

Neural Angioplasty Observation

In May of 2016, I had an extraordinary opportunity to get up close and personal with hospital procedures. My father, a sales representative for Medtronic, was called into Allegheny General Hospital to oversee a case involving an emergency neural angioplasty. With this, I was able to come with him to witness the four hour long surgery. Dawned in scrubs and filled with curiosity, I was introduced to proper surgical procedures and hospital functions. Using a catheter and a neural stent, the surgeon performing the act entered the patient’s groin and snaked the device into the brain in order to remove arterial blockage and restore normal blood flow to the organ. The event was truly incredible, for the patient was able to leave the hospital that same day with nothing but a small incision near the groin.

Total hours: 4

Volunteer at Tuscarawas Clinic for the Working Uninsured

I have been very involved in regards to my exploration of the medical field via hands-on experience. Wanting to help give back to the community as well as to expose myself to the complex world that is modern medicine, I contacted a local clinic (TCWU) and secured a volunteer/observation position during the summer of 2016. Partnered with nearby Union Hospital, this particular non-profit clinic is staffed entirely by medical personnel volunteering their own time to help those in need. During my time at this clinic, I am able to witness numerous individuals stricken with poverty. Despite their financial situations and lack of health insurance, these patients are still human beings that deserve the best treatment available. Observing doctor-patient interactions as well as analyzing medical charts and data, I am able to learn through firsthand experience.

 

Total hours: 6