In the afternoon of March 22nd, I attended an event hosted by the Global Water Institute entitled “Water is a Human Right, Right?” This webinar was hosted in recognition of World Water Day and explored how different communities around the world are disproportionately affected by water access and quality. Water is fundamental to human life and therefore can have tremendous impacts if it is not clean. These injustices were further highlighted by COVID-19 and vulnerable communities were hit hard this past year. Not having access to clean water makes it extremely difficult if not impossible, for these communities to develop economically. While water issues are primarily thought to impact third world nations, they are fully present in low-income communities within first world nations around the globe. The panelist of the event were all very accomplished and knowledgeable in the field. Dr. Kristi Pullen Fedinick who works on the Natural Resources Defense Council, Dr. Emma Norman a professor at Northwest Indian College, Ms. Hilary Tompkins, J.D. a partner at Hogan Lovells, Dr. Erika Weinthal a professor at Duke University and Dr. Mary Rodriguez a professor at the Ohio State University shared their perspectives on the topic and they all emphasized the importance of awareness of water disparities around the world. I specifically enjoyed hearing from Hilary Tompkins and learning about her background. She was appointed by President Obama to serve as Solicitor of Interior and was the first Native American to hold this position. In this role, she handled all the legal issues of the department about western water rights, Indian water settlements, and the United States’ trust responsibility to over 500 tribes. Her story is evidence of concrete action that can be taken to address these disparities. Ultimately, this event helped me understand this massive problem of lack of access to clean water in communities, so I can now be an advocate for change.

On Wednesday January 20th, I attended a livestream regarding Minority Religious Groups in the Middle East with Dr. Alam Payind. He is the Director of the Middle East Studies Center at Ohio State University. Dr. Melinda McClimans, the Assistant Director of the Middle East Studies Center at Ohio State University, also served as a moderator. Finally, guest speaker Professor Ayfer Karakaya-Stump from William and Mary University attended. Dr. Payind was born and raised in Afghanistan and Dr. Karakaya-Stump was born and raised in Turkey, therefore it was fascinating to hear their perspectives on the treatement of minorities in the Middle East. Dr. Karakaya-Stump primarily spoke about the systemic police abuse and structural racism, specifically in Turkey. She provided great insight into the Alevi community in Turkey, a sect related to Shi’ite Islam. In order to address the disparities in Turkey, there were Gezi Protests which sadly led to the death of many peaceful protests. This movement was intended to start the process of reckoning the systemic hatred in Turkey. Dr. Karakaya-Stump highlighted the distinct parells between this movement and the Black Lives Matter movement here in the United States. This presentation really opened my eyes to the unfortunate but similar experiences that minority groups all around the world face. I hope to use this new understanding to advance how I perceive the world around me.  

On November 17th, I attended a conversation with Dr. RaShall Brackney, chief of police for Charlottesville, Virginia, and Ann Fisher, WOSU journalists. They had a discussion regarding police culture in America and why it is a disease that needs to be addressed, specifically using public health measures. As chief in Charlottesville, Dr. Brackney is constantly under the spotlight because of the events that occurred in August 2017. She believes that this puts her police department in the position where difficult conversations must be had.

Most importantly, if people believe that cops and klan go hand and hand, that needs to be acknowledged and addressed. A large contributing factor to this is that 80-85% of people in the police force across America are white men. These policemen are not reflective of the lived communities which furthers the disconnect between the community and the local police departments. Brackney states the importance of police reform starting from the roots and foundations. If you repairs something that’s always been broken you are just gonna get another broken product.

Additionally, they must reform hiring practices. Why would they settle for unqualified candidates for such an important job? The language used when talking about rallies is important too. There is a big difference between using the terms protests and riots, as opposed to marches and demonstrations. Our nation and policing systems were built on inequities, therefore we must change the culture by holding those at the top accountable. Dr. Brackney’s identity and ideas are ridiculed everyday as the first Black women chief of police in Charlottesville. However, she keeps going because she is on a mission to reform police culture. Her views and aspiration for real change was encouraging to hear, especially in these hard times as Americans. 

On October 2nd, I attended the Who Gets Sick? Who Gets Care? Inequalities in Health and Health Care Panel put together by COMPAS. It was moderated by Dana Howard, a professor of Bioethics and Philosophy here at the Ohio State University. This event focused on the varying rate of infection and mortality among different people groups. In the United States particularly there a huge disparities regarding COVID-19. These inequalities are by no means new issues, they are just being highlighted by the pandemic. Marginalized communities in America lack access to medical care and health education which puts them at higher risk of contracting this infectious disease.

One speaker was Dr. Sridhar Venkatapuram who is a Senior Lecturer in Global Health and Philosophy at King’s Global Health Institute in the United Kingdom. He has received degrees from Brown University, Harvard University and the University of Cambridge. Dr. Venkatapuram is highly accomplished in his field and has been working on pressing public health concerns for more than 25 years. The other speaker was Dr. Yolonda Wilson who is a professor of Philosophy at Howard University. She focuses on bioethics, race theory and feminist philosophy. Dr. Wilson focuses on rectifying injustices in the United States, specifically in the field of health care and disparities involving race.

Although, the two speakers come from differing backgrounds, it was fascinating to see how similar their viewpoints on this pandemic were. Their areas of expertise overlapped in unique areas which made for an interesting and informative conversation regarding the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States.

On September 4th, I attended a Zoom event hosted by COMPAS, which stands for Conversations on Morality, Politics and Society. I specifically enjoyed hearing from Denise Jameison, an OBGYN from Emory University. She was also formerly a team leader for the Center of Disease Control during the Ebola Response during 2014 and Zika Response in 2016. She believes that our efforts in combatting COVID-19 have simply seen inadequate. We need more testing, contact tracing, more masking and more distancing. Public Health is a team sport and Dr. Jameison thinks of it as an STD. This makes sense in the way that COVID-19 is not just about who you are with, but also who they have been with. It becomes complex very fast. Additionally, we are lacking detailed information about risk and it is always evolving. This leads to general confusion and the policy in place to mitigate the spread of COVID-19 is constantly changing. Dr. Jameison also states that the CDC needs to be a completely separate entity from the rest of government. Otherwise, decisions become more political, rather than the best course of action for the wellbeing of the United States. As a Public Health major and Contact Tracer for OSU, I found this panel extremely fascinating and felt that the panelist did a great job of highlighting the flaws in the current actions we are taking to prevent the spread of COVID-19. Topics like these are why I am so interested in learning about international affairs. I specifically love learning about how various international issues impact the health of individuals around the world.

Ohio State has been celebrating Earth Day since 1970 and this year marks the 50th Anniversary. A zoom event was hosted by Nicole Jackson and Josh Knights to commemorate. Jeff Sharp, the Director of the School of Environment and Natural Resources, kicked off the event with his remarks. He shared that on Earth Day is important to celebrate, inspire, restore our planet all together. At the first Earth Day in 1970 there was a river walk along the Olentangy river with incredible speakers, including John Glenn. Since then, there have been many efforts to perverse and remove invasive species from the Olentangy river on Earth Day.

The first speaker for the event was Dr. Bart Elmore who is an environmental historian and a Core Faculty Member of Sustainability Institute here at the Ohio State University. He believes the most important part of Earth Day is humans acknowledging our relationship with our environment. If we don’t recognize the ways nature can shift and transform our lives, we will be in trouble. Additionally, if we don’t act quickly address problems we are facing, we will also be in trouble. Currently, the COVID-19 pandemic is helping us think about this ideal. We are imbedded in our ecosystem and need to respect that. In a way, 1970 had a similar societal climate that we are in today. In 1970, the United States was in the midst of the Cold War, Martin Luther King Jr. had recently been assassinated and then John F. Kennedy was assassinated too. Citizens were in a time of unrest, as are we.

However, on April 22nd, 1970, 20 million people came out, 20% of the population at the time, to mobilize to preserve the planet. These people came from all political ideologies and backgrounds to celebrate the first Earth Day. April 22nd was chosen as the date because students would back from spring break and it would be during the school week. The scale of change these people enacted and how they improved our environment are significant.

The zoom ended with hearing from the research work by students which was powerful because it shows that even people my age can make a huge difference for the future of our world. This was then followed by a special announcement that OSU will reduce 55% of carbon emission by 2030 which exceeds the previous goal by a landslide! This will be done through improving building efficiency and diversifying energy sources. My biggest takeaway was that we need to take action to combat environmental issues all the time not just when it is convenient

This Infectious Disease Town Hall was highly engaging and informative regarding the current COVID-19 Pandemic. It was interesting to hear the perspective of Dr. Oglesbee, the Director of the OSU Infectious Diseases Institute. He briefly talked about how here in Ohio the school, gyms, restaurants, and store closures are paying off. We also talked about how the Ohio Department of Health and Governor DeWine had already been closely working together on issues like the opioid crisis. This established relationship played a key role in the aggressive actions were taken to combat this disease in our state. Since the beginning of this pandemic, Dr. Amy Acton has wanted to lean in and get ahead of it because she knew it was going to reach our state regardless. She has been pushing the notion that staying in social isolation is your social duty, which has resonated with many Ohioans and is impacting their actions in a positive manner.

Additionally, the absence of national policy and the variation in community response to this pandemic was discussed in this town hall. Experts are concerned about the recovery from COVID-19 because they want to make sure that people know that once we hit the peak it does not mean life can go back to complete normalcy. They are worried that some communities will be quick to revoke the social distancing regulations. Whereas, communities should take it more slow and follow the data more closely, to prevent a second surge. Many experts believe that here in Ohio we are getting close to the peak which would be great because our healthcare system would be able to take on the COVID-19 cases without being overwhelmed. However, no one can be certain if we are nearing the peak or not.

Overall, Dr. Acton did a great job of bridging the gap between health departments and government, which is not always the case in states. It was also noted that the College of Public Health at OSU has been a huge player  in combating this crisis in Ohio. As a Public Health major, I am very proud of the work being done by our college. Ohio is not always a leader in health areas, for example we are far behind in the opioid epidemic. However, our state’s response to this pandemic has been impressive.

On Sunday afternoon, I went to the Science Sundays Social Sciences at the Ohio Union U.S. Bank Conference Theatre. This week it was about the underexplored global health concern of food insecurity and mental health. This lecture was given by Dr. Barbara Piperata, who I also had the opportunity to hear from at one of our International Affairs Scholars Community Meetings on Wednesday evenings. This talk was highly informative and it was interesting to hear about Dr. Piperata’s research in Nicaragua and the Brazilian Amazon. It was saddening to hear that food insecurity is on the rise and is taking a toll on the lives of around 821 million people around the globe. As a Public Health major, I find this research extremely interesting. It is imperative to have healthy food available to all people because this ultimately shapes their health and outcomes. The mental health effects of food insecurity are undeniable. I cannot imagine how distraught I would be if I not only did not know where my next meal was coming from, but also where my child’s meal was coming from. This talk has made me realize how fortunate I am to have the resources that I do available to me. These statistics and numbers just make me want to fight even harder for those who deserve access to food and water. In my opinion, everyone deserves clean water and food, it is simply a human right. While it is heartbreaking to hear about the food deserts and the detrimentally effects this is having on individuals and communities, it is reassuring to know that more and more people are becoming aware of this problem and fighting to solve it.

After class on Friday, January 31th, I rode the COTA bus with my fellow International Affair Scholars and Social Chair, Audrey Montgomery to Lavash Cafe in the Clintonville area. It was a quick 10 minute bus ride over. We enjoyed an authentic Mediterranean meal while learning more about each other. It was great interact with fellow International Affairs Scholars that I had never talked with. I ordered a Beef and Lamb Shawarma which was sliced roasted lamb and beef with lettuce, tomatoes and tahini sauce all in a warm pita. It was my first time trying Shawarma and it was amazing, I was pleasantly surprised. All of us had the chance to talk to the restaurant owner, who was very welcoming. At the end of our meal, the restaurant owner came back over to our table and gave us all a complementary baklava to try. This was very kind and he definitely did not have to do this. Through this experience, I not only built deeper connections with my fellow International Affair Scholars, but I also gained a cultural knowledge of Mediterranean culture. Being immersed in the culture, even though it was not for long, made me recognize how much you can learn from simply being part of something you are not familiar with. This is why I definitely plan to study abroad during my time here at the Ohio State University. Finally, I definitely plan to go back to Lavash Cafe because of the excellent customer service and delicious food!

On Wednesday, November 20th, I attend the STEP Expo in the Archie Griffin Grand Ballroom in the Ohio Union. It was encouraging to see all the hard work that students put into their projects. I talked to several students about their projects, but I will highlight five in this post. I am glad that I attended this expo and got to learn from and interact with students who may only be a few years older, but seem many years wiser.

• Christina Allen- 200 Hour Yoga Teacher Training in Hawaii

She completed a two and a half week long experience where she attended lass and practiced yoga from 6am to 9pm everyday. She bolstered her teaching skills and her general knowledge of yoga. As a Human Nutrition and International Studies double-major, her favorite part of the experience was being immersed in the Hawaiian culture and connecting with and learning from people from all over the world. I am interested in completing a STEP project and am definitely thinking about immersing myself in a new culture.

• Matt Welage- Los Angeles Half Marathon

He went to Los Angeles, California from March 22nd to March 25th of this year to run the Rock the Oceanfront Half Marathon in Long Beach, California. Originally, his goal was to run the Boston Marathon, but he was not accepted even thought he had a qualifying time. Them, he wanted to run the Los Angeles Marathon, but while he was training he was diagnosed with Osgood-Schlatter’s disease which took a physical toll on him. He learned to persevere even in the face of adversity. I was interested in his project because as a runner myself I would consider taking on a marathon for my STEP project.

• Ally Evans- Summer Environmental Protection Agency Internship

She worked as a lab assistant for the EPA Division of Environmental Services in Columbus. She was assigned to organic and metal analysis labs and prepared water samples for analysis. As a chemistry major, it was apparent how important field experience is. I was interested in her project because as an Environmental Public Health Major, I am looking into experiences like these to gain more real world, problem solving skills.

• Alejandro Gonzalez- General Mills Internship

He completed a ten week internship program with General Mills this past summer in Atlanta, Georgia. He worked as a manufacturing and engineering associate. He worked specifically in the cereal production area and his main projects included loss reduction methods and safety analysis. At the end of the summer, he was offered a job at General Mills upon graduation. However, he has decided that Manufacturing Engineering is not the career path for him. Luckily, he discovered this now and as an Industrial and and Systems Engineering major, there are countless other career paths he can choose from. I was interested in his project because while he did not find what he is truly passionate about, it was not a waste of time because now that he has assumed this internship position he will not take a job in the real world that he does not enjoy. I would consider taking an internship at an interesting company for my STEP project.

• Angelica Mejia- Public Health Japan

She went on a two week trip where she visited six cities in Japan. They discussed a variety of Japanese and American public health concerns and listed famous areas of public health disasters, including Hiroshima and Fukushima. It was encouraging to hear from an older student in my major and how her time here at the Ohio State University has opened so many doors for her. I was interested in her project because as a Public Health major, this project really aligned with my interests and I am definitely considering this study abroad opportunity, especially for my STEP project.