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Resume (Freshman – Sophomore Year)

What I’ve done at Ohio State…

Work

  • Sloopy’s Diner: Student Server (October 2015-2016)
    • Working as a waitress at one of Ohio State’s dining facilities helped me make connections with other employees and strengthened my communication skills and level of confidence. I had to be able to think off the top of my head and work at a fast pace.

Organizations

  • Mount Leadership Society Scholars (Freshman and Sophomore Year)
    • Scholars group committed to service and leadership
    • Member of the Service Committee (Freshman Year)- brainstormed, organized, and advertised all of Mount’s service events.
      • I was a team captain for one of our biggest service events. This gave me experience being a leader for my peers, creating lesson plans, and communicating with others to get necessary supplies and resources.
    • 75 hours of service- I volunteered at the Karl Road Homework Help Center where I tutored kids from the elementary to high school level in all different subjects. This gave me experience with teaching and interacting with a different community.
    • Mount North Carolina Trip- I traveled to a low-income community in North Carolina where I tutored 6th grade students in mathematics. I was able to get more practice teaching and understanding the effects of rural poverty.
  • Smiles with Style (Freshman Year)
    • Service group that goes to Ronald McDonald House and interacts with kids by giving them makeovers and allowing them to put on costumes.
    • I was able to gain experience working with children. Also, the families that come to the Ronald McDonald House struggle with affording proper treatment for their child and so I was able to see different lifestyles other than my own and work with my peers to come up with ways to try to make their lives a little better.
  • Romophos (Sophomore Year)
    • Sophomore Class Honorary
    • My class raised money for Star House, a local organization that acts as a drop-in center for homeless youth. Our primary fundraiser is a music festival that we put on at the end of the year.
    • I was the service chair for Romophos. I helped arrange events where our class could volunteer at Star House. We sorted and organized items that people donated. I gained experience planning events and also marketing/advertising because we had to do that a lot to get money to support the concert and our donation to Star House. By directly volunteering at Star House, I was able to see a lifestyle different than my own and learn about the different resources that are available to the homeless in Columbus.

GOALS for Year 2

So far, I have a lot planned to make my second year at Ohio State memorable.

I recently applied to study abroad in Italy through my participation with the STEP program. Traveling to Italy has always been one of my lifelong dreams and I know that it will be a very transformative experience for me. I will get to live in a place and culture different from my own. While I already know about some of the diversity between Italian and American culture from my Italian studies, actually traveling to Italy will increase my awareness of other unique things happening in another part of the world.

Looking from an academic perspective, I finally feel that I am on the right track with my degree plan. I was previously on the Math Honors Track. While this track was challenging and intellectually stimulating, I felt that the type of work done in these classes was not advancing me in my career towards being a teacher. In order to be a good teacher, I need to not only understand the math, but also be able to explain it. That it why I switched over to the Math Education Track. I have also officially declared a minor in Clinical Psychology and Individual Differences. I am excited by the classes I am currently taking and I feel that they will be very beneficial for me in my career.

Finally, I am a part of the Sophomore Class Honorary, Romophos. I have taken on a leadership position as the Service Chair where I am given the responsibility to coordinate service events with our chosen charity, Star House. Star House is a local organization that provides help and resources for the homeless youth. Taking on a leadership position in my organization is a good experience for me and being the Service Chair allows me to work on something that I am passionate about. Currently in Romophos, our main focus is a music festival that we put on at the end of the year to raise money for Star House. My goal is to fundraise as much as I can so that we will make a positive impact on the Star House community. I am excited to see how much we are able to raise.

The first semester of my second year, I was very stressed with my major track and getting organized with everything that I am involved in. Now, I feel that I am finally in the right place and have locked in my goals for the rest of my time at Ohio State. I am excited for how I will develop as a person through my different leadership and service positions, classes I am taking to move forward in my career, and the new things I will see in a new country.

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My third artifact is these letters from my high school retreats.  In high school, I was highly involved in my teen youth group called CRUX.  Each year, I went on a special overnight retreat, where at the end of the retreat, everyone received big folders like these filled with letters from friends and family.  The letters include messages of how the people are proud of me, what qualities they like in me, and inspiring and encouraging notes.  The letters are a great pick-me-up for when I am having a bad day.  I can look through these letters and see how many amazing people care about me.

CRUX was the true starting point for my passion with service.  Through CRUX, I became a Eucharistic minister and lector at my church, prepared and served meals for local homeless people, and volunteered at a home for women with mental disabilities.  I am very thankful for all that CRUX has provided me with.  I will definitely consider going on another retreat as an adult leader after college.

IMG_0082My second artifact is a token that my mom gave me when I was little.  It is a small, silver, coin-shaped item that has an angel indented into it.  This token is important to me because it reminds me of many important values in my life.  It represents family, hope, and love.  Sometimes when I’m going through a tough time, I hold the token in my hand, say a prayer, and then feel better about the situation I may be in.  This token has been with me for a very long time and it is something small, yet meaningful that keeps me going through whatever life throws at me.

Year in Review

My first year at Ohio State was very successful.  I have developed a lot as a person and a leader, and I thank a lot of this to Mount Leadership Society Scholars.  Mount gave me a small community within this large university and provided me with many opportunities to  continue with my passion for service.  Through our Mount class and meetings, I was able to learn what kind of leader I am.  I was shown what my greatest strengths are and how I can implement these in my life inside and outside of school.

Academically, I took many challenging classes and was able to maintain a high GPA.  I am eager to take higher level courses with my major and also start taking classes for my psychology minor.

I am excited for next year where I will be even more involved with campus activities and organizations.

G.O.A.L.S.

Global Awareness: I would like to expand my understanding of diversity and make friendships with many different people.  One of my main goals is to study abroad in Italy to practice the language and learn more about the culture.
Original Inquiry: As a student currently in Psych 1100, we are required to participate in at least seven hours of experiments with researchers at Ohio State.  So far, I have done things like take surveys, learn HTML, and rigorous problem solving.  My experiences with this program and my psychology class overall have inspired me to declare a psychology minor.  I am interested in clinical psychology, and learning about abnormal disorders and how people adapt into society.  I am also hoping to get some type of internship in the future possibly involving research.
Academic Enrichment: I always strive to challenge myself both in and out of the classroom.  I am currently on the Math Honors Track and plan on applying to Ohio State’s Honors program soon.
Leadership Development: Through my involvement with Mount Leadership Society Scholars, I am continually developing my leadership skills.  I have taken on a role in our service committee, where we brainstorm, plan, and advertise for all of our great service events.  I am also a member of First Year Leadership Initiative.  With this organization, we have weekly meetings where we are encouraged to get involved and grow into extraordinary leaders at Ohio State.
Service Engagement: Not only am I involved in numerous community service projects with my scholars group, but I am also involved in a service organization called Smiles with Style.  Smiles with Style goes to Ronald McDonald Houses and allows the children to play in costumes and get makeovers.  I really like this group because I am passionate about helping others and also working with children.  I am excited for the other service-like opportunities I will be involved in in the future, such as Mount’s Legacy Week and Buckeyethon.

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

My artifact is this pin of an American flag and Italian flag crossed over each other.  I received this pin at the end of my senior year of high school for completing four years of Italian language and culture at the accelerated level.

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This pin symbolizes my dedication to my academics and how I will always challenge myself to learn more when given the opportunity.  I have chosen to continue studying Italian at the university.  One of my dreams is to be able to travel to Italy, in which I would be able to practice the language I have learned in a native setting.  With this in mind, one of my goals at Ohio State is to be able to study abroad.  I hope that one day I will be able to see all of the famous places and monuments we talk about daily in class, and of course, try the delicious food!

This pin is one of my greatest tangible motivators.  It reminds me of the achievements I have made in my academics, and at the same time reminds me of my dream to come.

About Me

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Hello! My name is Isabel Peña and I am from Park Ridge, Illinois (north suburb of Chicago).  I am a first-year student studying mathematics, and possibly pursuing a career as a teacher for secondary education.  I hope that I will influence many students in the future- not by them just learning the work, but by helping them to succeed to the best of their abilities.

I am proud to say that I am part of the Mount Leadership Society Scholars.  Service has always been an important part of my life.  In my four years of high school, I was actively involved in my local youth group, CRUX.  I was also involved in cross country and was a math peer tutor.

I am looking forward to the leadership roles and academic challenges I will take on from being a Mount scholar.  I am very excited to be a part of such a big and positive community at Ohio State!