Sophomore Year Refection – Part 1

Chapter 2 – New Beginnings

Going into my sophomore year, I didn’t know what to think. I knew that it wouldn’t be the same as freshman year, but I never could have expected what Autumn 2016 would hold.

The first new beginning was my internship with the Senate Minority Caucus. For years I had contemplated working in the government. Finally, I got the chance to see what a job in the field might hold. I was hooked. Immediately, I knew that I had made the correct choice adding my second major in public affairs. That experience, combined with STEP led me to apply for Ohio State’s Canadian Parliamentary Internship program. At the end of the semester, I learned that I had been accepted into the program. I was thrilled!

At the beginning of the semester, I also began my role as one of the High School Outreach Committee Co-Chairs for the Ohio State Global Health Initiative. This position has given me the opportunity to work with a partner to plan and do outreach to local high schools and other organizations that work with youth. The purpose of this committee is to introduce youth to public health and the way that it impacts their world at a young age. I love the opportunity to educate others on something as important as public health. Unfortunately, we struggled to create a long lasting partnership with any high school teachers in the area. Consequently, moving into the Spring 2017 semester, my partner and I knew we would have to get creative to meet the mission of High School Outreach.

The final – and biggest – new beginning was my employment by the Ohio State Office of Student Life. In my freshman year, I had applied to be an Office Assistant in the residence hall where I lived but did not receive the position. I decided to apply again at the beginning of the autumn semester after volunteering during move-in weekend as an Ohio State Welcome Leader Coordinator (OWL-C). As an OWL-C, I got to work with the Senior Staff in my residence hall and realized that I enjoyed helping to create a great atmosphere for students in their new home. I was incredibly excited when I learned that I was hired as an Office Assistant in the Houston-Houck Residence Halls. My positive experience working at the front desk motivated me to apply to be a Resident Advisor. Originally, I had intended to apply to become an RA starting in the Fall 2017 semester. Instead, I was hired to begin immediately as an RA in Morrison Tower. In a whirlwind, I accepted the position on a Saturday, met my new Hall Director on Tuesday, moved on Friday, and began working on Sunday. While it was a challenge to take on this huge responsibility in the middle of a semester, I could not be happier with my decision.

 

 

Ohio Statehouse Internship

During the fall semester of 2016, I had the incredible opportunity to intern at the Ohio Statehouse. I worked in the office of the Senate Minority Caucus.

The Ohio Statehouse, Columbus, Ohio

It was a noteworthy time to be interning with any governmental body, especially one in Ohio. Because of the then upcoming elections in November, the Senate was preparing for “lame duck.” After the election, bills would be rushed through the legislative process, and every legislator and staffer would be trying to make the most of the end of the legislative session. At the same time, Ohio was experiencing a deadly opioid crisis with repeated calls for the state legislature to address it.

As a result of this unique combination of circumstances, I got my first opportunity to do policy research. The Caucus’ Deputy Chief of Staff recognized my interest in public health and policy. Consequently, I spent much of the semester researching anything and everything related to the opioid crisis. It started with gaining a working understanding of what was happening in Ohio and the series of events that had preceded the current crisis. From there, I helped to examine what other states were doing, contacted locals doing great work in their communities, and helped to develop a potential funding framework.

Not only was this internship an incredible experience, it addressed two important G.O.A.L.S. Because much of my work focused on research with a vague outline of what I was supposed to accomplish, I gained an appreciation for Original Inquiry. While in many ways my research was guided by the needs of the Caucus staff, I had the freedom to explore different ways the others had addressed similar policy issues and look at ways in which those potential solutions could be applied in Ohio. Additionally, this internship spoke directly to Academic Enrichment. While my majors in Public Health Sociology and Public Affairs are complementary, there are few opportunities to bridge the gap between them in a class setting. This is partially due to their being based in two different colleges. Yet, in reality, the subjects are closely intertwined. My work gave me the opportunity to see how closely public health and public affairs principles work together to address the needs of individuals and communities.

The most important things that I learned from this internship, however, weren’t from research. Instead, I gained an understanding of what it means to work in an office everyday. It takes internal motivation to keep digging through hundreds of pages of legislation and writing reports. It’s not easy. Yet, I also learned that I love it. The knowledge that something that you find – whether it’s a program, contact, or idea – could be implemented to one-day help someone is incredible. In some ways, it creates a huge amount of pressure. Yet, it makes the sometimes frustrating work incredibly rewarding.