My time spent volunteering this past year was incredibly rewarding. I met many new people throughout my time volunteering and also gained many new experiences. I was able to work with Columbus as a community, which made it feel more like my home. It was very refreshing seeing the positive impact that Ohio State has on the city of Columbus.

My most memorable service experience would definitely have to be my time spent with College Mentors for Kids. College Mentors for Kids is essentially an organization aimed at bringing younger kids from underprivileged schools in Columbus to Ohio State to teach them about the importance of education and college. My favorite experience within this organization would have to be when the Physics Club came to demonstrate some experiments with the kids. My little buddy, Savannah, was so thrilled to see all of the different experiments and her excitement and interest to learn was a great reminder of the importance of  education. This was very eye-opening as higher education is not always an oppurtunity for some people, such as these students, and made me realize how lucky and grateful I should be to be attending Ohio State, as well as all of the oppurtunities it offers me.

Along with volunteering as a college mentor for 2 hours a week here at the Ohio Union (for a total of about 16 hours), I also volunteered at the Community Commitment event at the very beginning of this school year. For around 4-5 hours, we helped to renovate an older church building by moving/destroying furniture, as well as repainting some of the rooms.  I also participated in the MLK Day of Service Event. For this event, we went to COSI to help package a kit that was necessary for a surgical simulation and these boxes were then shipped to different schools. I volunteered at this event for about 6 hours. Each of my experiences were unique in their own way, but each helped me realize the real-life impact that I was able to have on my community both directly and indirectly.

I decided to interview two upperclassmen: Ren Kuzmanovich and Aaron D’Amore. Ren is currently a junior, majoring in biology and minoring in Spanish.  Aaron is a double major, and is majoring in both biology and EEOB. Both Aaron and Ren are on the pre-medicine track. In terms of how they plan on spending their summer, Ren will be taking the MCAT in June and researching agriculture for the rest of her break, and Aaron will be researching salamanders. I decided to interview them as they share similar interests as me. I am also on the pre-medicine track and hope to participate in research during my sophomore year as well. Upon asking exactly how I should go about getting involved in research, Aaron suggested that I email several professors as I would be surprised by how many spots would actually be open for me to fill. Ren encouraged me to begin emailing professors as soon as  I get back to school in the fall for my  sophomore year. When I asked them about which classes to take my sophomore year, both Aaron and Ren suggested that I try to take Organic Chemistry and Physics. This was nice to hear, as these were the pre-med classes I was planning on taking anyways. Looking into the future, I decided to also ask Ren about the MCAT. Naturally, Aaron shuddered when I mentioned the name. Ren advised me to begin to start studying sooner than later, and to be consistent with my studying patterns. We finished the interview with just some general advice about college. Both Aaron and Ren encouraged me to try different things, as some of their best experiences came from their willingness to try new things. They also told me to get involved in clubs that I am truly interested in as I can meet more people and gain more memorable experiences.

April 2018: I interviewed Dr. Thurston, a physician practicing Internal Medicine at Mount Carmel West Hospital. He explained to me about how healthcare as a system is facing multiple changes in coming years. He told me that I should embrace all of the changes I may face throughout my journey in medicine. From changes in medical school examinations to how doctors are being employed, the field of medicine is constantly evolving. He also informed me that I should go into the field with an open mind. He gave me an example about how as a resident he thought he would love his pediatrics rotation, but realized that instead, he enjoyed his pulmonary rotation (something he thought he would hate), much more. He also spoke to me about how interesting medical research is as a line of work, and that if he could go back, he would have become more invested in research. By listening to Dr. Thurston reflect on his own experiences during his time in the medical field, he was able to provide me with useful advice as I progress onwards in my own journey in medicine.