Sophomore year at The Ohio State University has not only been academically rigorous, but perhaps the most stimulating year of my academic career thus far. This year has been a year of proactive self-improvement. I have consciously engaged in self-improvement by attempting to abide by the Honors & Scholars established G.O.A.L.S of global awareness, original inquiry, academic enrichment, leadership development, and service engagement. I have expanded my global awareness by committing to organizations like Sankalpa that promote and support grass-root development projects in India in areas like health, sanitation, agriculture, and sustainability by raising funding through charity events and volunteering. I have managed to conduct research in the Fishel Lab of the Department of Cancer Biology and Genetics on DNA mismatch repair mechanisms for four semesters, including the summer, and will continue to conduct research this summer to engage in original inquiry. I have also partaken in original inquiry by working on biomimetic sustainable solutions to environmental problems in the organization I co-founded called Global Design Mission. I have pursued academic enrichment by taking rigorous, challenging courses, such as honors chemistry, organic chemistry, genetics, and physics courses that provide me with a stimulating educational experience. By managing organizations like Sankalpa and Global Design Mission, as the secretary and president/co-founder of the organization, respectively, I have had the opportunity to engage in leadership development. Finally, I have participated in service engagement by volunteering at the James Cancer Hospital, with senior residents afflicted with Alzheimer’s and other forms of dementia, and by tutoring homeless youth of Columbus, to serve my community to the best of my ability. I hope to continue such endeavors and remain proactive as I progress forward in my academic career at The Ohio State University.
Survey: Discussion Question #4
One of the biggest aspects of my life that has changed after arriving at college is my social life. Back in high school, I would pretty much be interacting with people for about 8 hours–or however many hours school and extracurriculars happened to take up–and then the rest of the day would be isolated, sitting in my room and doing homework. However, in college, the whole notion of living an isolated life is turned upside down as we are immediately placed in dorm systems with other people. In my dorm, I am placed in a situation in which I must interact with my roommates closely and break out of my shell. I felt like that was a very good thing for me. Another thing I’ve noticed was that now that I think back on it, back in Mentor, OH, where I am from, I interacted with the same sorts of people. Like-minded individuals, living in the same area as me, with the same views, ideas, goals, aspirations, and interests. However, I quickly realized that college is absolutely different. I immediately got exposed to so many different kinds of people of all kinds of backgrounds, with all sorts of goals, ideas, and aspirations. As significant or minuscule those interactions may have been, they all affected me and changed me to some degree. However, I feel that this social exposure is still not complete. In fact, I believe it is just starting. I believe that throughout these four years of my undergraduate experience, I will continue expanding my social horizons and developing through others.
Welcome to my Honors & Scholars e-Portfolio
[The Home Page will show a running blog of your recent posts, which are categorized and show on that category’s page. Please delete this post or edit with your own information.]
Year in Review
[ “Year in Review” is where you should reflect on the past year and show how you have evolved as a person and as a student. You may want to focus on your growth in a particular area (as a leader, scholar, researcher, etc.) or you may want to talk about your overall experience over the past year. For more information, go to: http://honors-scholars.osu.edu/e-portfolio. Delete these instructions and add your own post.]
G.O.A.L.S.
[ “G.O.A.L.S.” is a place where students write about how their planned, current, and future activities may fit into the Honors & Scholars G.O.A.L.S.: Global Awareness, Original Inquiry, Academic Enrichment, Leadership Development, and Service Engagement. For more information, go to: http://honors-scholars.osu.edu/e-portfolio. Delete these instructions and add your own post.
Global Awareness: Students cultivate and develop their appreciation for diversity and each individual’s unique differences. For example, consider course work, study abroad, involvement in cultural organizations or activities, etc .
Original Inquiry: Honors & Scholars students understand the research process by engaging in experiences ranging from in-class scholarly endeavors to creative inquiry projects to independent experiences with top researchers across campus and in the global community. For example, consider research, creative productions or performances, advanced course work, etc.
Academic Enrichment: Honors & Scholars students pursue academic excellence through rigorous curricular experiences beyond the university norm both in and out of the classroom.
Leadership Development: Honors & Scholars students develop leadership skills that can be demonstrated in the classroom, in the community, in their co-curricular activities, and in their future roles in society.
Service Engagement: Honors & Scholars students commit to service to the community.]
Career
[“Career” is where you can collect information about your experiences and skills that will apply to your future career. Like your resume, this is information that will evolve over time and should be continually updated. For more information, go to: http://honors-scholars.osu.edu/e-portfolio. Delete these instructions and add your own post.]
Artifacts
[Artifacts are the items you consider to be representative of your academic interests and achievements. For each entry, include both an artifact and a detailed annotation. An annotation is a reflective description of the artifact that attempts to communicate its significance. For more information, go to: http://honors-scholars.osu.edu/e-portfolio. Delete these instructions and add your own post.]
About Me
[Your “About Me” is an introduction and should provide insight into who you are as a person and a learner. This should include a picture of you that is appropriate in a professional/academic context. This information should be continually updated. For more information, go to: http://honors-scholars.osu.edu/e-portfolio. Delete these instructions and add your own post.]