Leadership Development involves taking a leadership position in a group or organization that you are in or simply acting as a leader in everything you do. I feel that I have had Leadership Development through being a tutor. For the past year and a half, I have participated in a tutoring program at the Bridge Community Center in Columbus. This program is for the children of Somalian refugees in the Columbus area. Each volunteer gets paired with a student that they work with for the 12 week session, and they help them in the subjects of math and English. Many of these students struggle in school because English was not their first language, and many of their parents do not speak English at all, so they cannot help with the students’ schoolwork which is all in English. The tutors work with the students on lesson plans given in both subject and also have the opportunity to bond with the students through games and fun activities. I have had the honor of tutoring the same student for the past year and half that I have been with the program, and it has been the most amazing experience for me. I have gained so much leadership experience through tutoring because it requires me to be a leader and a role model to my student. It has taught me to be a better listener in order to know what the student is struggling with and meet the needs of the student. The experience has also improved my patience since I worked with a fourth grade boy who was very hyper and had trouble focusing on school work. I think that active listening and patience are two extremely important qualities for a leader to have, and I gained both of these through this program. I plan to continue my Leadership Development in other areas of my life by pursuing a leadership position in a club or organization on campus.

Out of all the G.O.A.L.S., I think that Academic Enrichment has been the most important throughout my two years at Ohio State. My entire life in college is centered around my classes and the pursuit of knowledge and understanding in these classes. I am passionate about learning, and I think that learning and gaining knowledge is what Academic Enrichment is all about. I believe that in order to achieve Academic Enrichment, I must challenge myself in all of my classes to retain the information that is being given to me and to understand it on a deep enough level to apply it in the future. My major of biochemistry has definitely proven to be a challenge for me that I have gladly accepted. My classes are difficult and require a lot of time and studying to understand the material, but I have enjoyed that challenge. I have learned the best ways to study and learned so much about the way that I learn as an individual. One of the hardest things for me to learn in college was how to learn. Everyone learns in a different way, and part of Academic Enrichment is understanding the type of student and learner you are. Once I learned what worked best for me in terms of comprehension in class and studying, I was then able to truly excel in my classes. The most difficult classes I have had to take thus far were Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry, and I applied my new found learning and study methods to these classes and did very well in both.

To me, original inquiry means participating in research projects and pursuing your own creative ideas. I think that original inquiry is important to my own future career in the medical field because there is so much research that goes into new treatments, medications, vaccines, diseases, etc. The medical field relies on research in all areas to make improvements in existing medical practices and to create completely new methods, techniques, technology, and treatments that advance the field. There is also a lot of research that goes into diseases and cancers that do not yet have a cure or an effective treatment plan. Since I plan to work in the medical field in the future, it is important for me to understand the research process and get involved with research on campus, so I can understand that aspect of the medical field. I would like to start working in a research lab on campus to fulfill the area of original inquiry in my own life. I have started looking into different research projects of professors on campus so that I can find something I am truly interested in and passionate about. After my time working at The James Cancer Center, I have become interested in cancer research. I plan to start contacting the head researchers of some of the projects I am interested in to try to obtain a position in a lab. Participation in research is also important for medical school applications which will help me in my goal to get accepted and go to medical school after I graduate.