This past Diwali, I was privileged with the chance of helping to run and plan the kids’ celebration my temple holds every year. Returning after a few years, I had forgotten how much time and energy goes into planning such a large event. We were in charge of everything from decorations, to games, to food, and entertainment. Running this even allowed me to brush up on my event planning skills because I, as well as others, had to ensure that the event was running smoothly and that we were on schedule the entire time. A lot of work went into the event before it even began because we had to plan what games would be played, what food would be served and what program would be presented to the children to remind them of the history behind Diwali. This experience allowed me to improve upon my planning and leadership skills because it required me to delegate and multitask. It also gave me a much needed creative outlet because I had to make decorations and also face paint!

In the fall of sophomore year, I attended the TEDx salon event held at OSU, that allowed a select showcase of speakers to share their ideas about a chosen theme. The talk I attended was called “What On Earth” and was centered around the environment as well as our interaction with the earth as humans. The speakers respectively spoke about their experiences in nature such as hiking the Appalachian Trails as well as the human interaction with nature at the microbiological level. These talks allowed me to better understand the world around me as well as my previously unseen and overlooked relationship with nature. Being a Biological Science scholar, I had previously been to events revolving the importance of preserving the world around us and this TED talk only helped and boosted my understanding about environmental health.

This semester, I visited the Columbus Zoo and took a behind the scenes tour of the manatee exhibit with some of my fellow Biological Science Scholars. While there, I learned a lot about how the Columbus Zoo rescues different manatees for rehabilitation before sending them back into the wild. I also learned about the different mannerisms and behaviors of manatees and how smart and intelligent they truly are. Through this experience, I gained a greater understanding of the environment and living conditions of manatees and more about their biology, as well as how important different factors can be in aiding in providing for a sustainable environment.

I have continuously been a member of the BAPS Hindu Temple since the age of 7 and since then, I have been been able to gain more leadership responsibility and also attend multiple conventions to help develop my communication skills and help me better my temple. These conventions are held in different temples around the midwestern area, and while there, I attended various seminars and participated in different activities that taught me how to better my leadership skills and how to network with my surrounding community to help boost the attendance at my temple. While there, such skills of mine were able to grow and I learned how to better take care of my temple and lead it to a new progressive era. The skills I learned not only apply to my temple, but in everyday situations as well. I now know how teach others new skills, solve problems in large groups, etc.

https://www.baps.org/home.aspx