Author: petillo.1

Relevant Service Work

Throughout my first year, I volunteered at The James Cancer Center which is a part of the Wexner Medical Center on campus. My job as a volunteer was Patient Ambassador which meant that I worked at patient check-in. I escorted every patient to their appointment and helped guide them to any other place they wished to go throughout the hospital complex. I had to learn my way around The James and learn my way around the other connecting hospitals. It was a good experience for me because I was able to get a feel for the hospital atmosphere and learned that I would love to work in a hospital one day. I also was able to interact with so many different patients, listen to their stories, and get to know more about their medical treatments at the hospital if they were willing to share. I loved talking to the patients and their families, and it was good practice for a future career as a doctor because it gave me the opportunity to learn about communication with patients. I loved my time at The James and felt it was great experience in the medical field.

Career Aspirations

Although I am not certain what I want to do in my future career, I do know that I want to work in the medical field. I feel that working in health care is one of the best ways to help people and interact with people. My current goal is to become a doctor, so I want to go to medical school after I have graduated. I think that my major of biochemistry will prepare me well for what is to come in medical school and also will provide me with thorough background knowledge that I will need to take the MCAT. I am not sure what doctor I would like to be, but I know I have an interest in working with children, so I will look further into the specialty of pediatrics. I believe that I would excel in a health profession because I have a passion for helping people.

Semester in Review

My first semester at Ohio State has been a whirlwind, but I have enjoyed every second of my time here. Every aspect of college life was different than what I had expected. My classes proved to be one of the biggest adjustments for me. This semester I took calc 2, general chemistry, Spanish 1, a freshman survey, and a seminar for my Bio Sci Scholars program. The amount of homework and studying was overwhelming at first, but I got into a routine with each class by the end of the semester. The set up of college classes taught me many time management skills that I previously did not have. Overall, I think I did well in my classes, but I would like to improve in my classes next semester. Along with classes, dorm life was another new and exciting thing that I had to become acclimated to. I learned how to live and cooperate with my roommate in very close quarters while also getting to know her since we had met for the first time on move in day. We have gotten closer as the semester has gone on, and I would now consider her one of my closest friends. I also made so many amazing friends on my floor who I spend most of my time with. I enjoy living in Columbus, and I love the campus which I have finally found my way around.

G.O.A.L.S.

Global Awareness 

Global awareness is important to me because I want to learn and understand other cultures. I feel that people should study and travel to other countries in order to expand their knowledge of the world and how people of different cultures interact. Communication between cultures is a key factor in business, medicine, education, and so many different industries. I think that understanding other countries and their languages, cultures, and ways of life will help me in any career I decide to pursue. In the past, I have incorporated the idea of global awareness into my life by taking Spanish in high school, participating in Spanish club, and traveling. I love to travel to different places and experience different cultures. A few of my favorite trips have been to Puerto Rico, France, and Italy. I learned a lot about each country while I was there and enjoyed trying new things in each place. To expand my global awareness in the future, I plan to study abroad during my time at Ohio State and to minor in Spanish. I decided to further my education in Spanish throughout college because I am fascinated by the language, and I think it is an important language to learn since Spanish is spoken in 20 different countries, and nearly 14% of the U.S. population speaks Spanish. I believe it will help me communicate with a wider range of patients in my future medical career. I also would like to study abroad to a Spanish speaking country to deepen my understanding of the language and the people who speak it. Although I will have a focus in Spanish, I would still like to travel to many other different countries to learn more about their language and culture as well. I also want to participate in science related research abroad to tie in aspects of my biochemistry major to global awareness and to learn how the science fields differ in other countries.

Service Engagement

Service has become a big part of my life in the past few years. I have participated in many community service projects in my hometown through KEY Club, a community service club at my high school, and National Honor Society. I really found my passion for service as president of the National Honor Society at my high school. I organized projects to donate money for breast cancer and a classmate with leukemia, clean up the school neighborhood, collect toys for a children’s hospital, and serve a community dinner. Through these activities I learned how gratifying it was to help others and give back to the community. It also made me appreciate all the blessings I have had in my own life and motivated me to give back to others. To continue my service in college, I started volunteering at the James Cancer Center on campus as a Registration Ambassador. I have already met so many amazing coworkers and inspiring patients. I plan to volunteer at the hospital for the next four years to maintain my service engagement in the Columbus community and to gain experience in the medical field. Since I hope to become a doctor, service will always be an important aspect of my career, and my volunteer job at the hospital will help prepare me for this. I also want to join a service club on campus that deals with issues outside of a clinical setting to expand the range of my service engagement.

 

Artifacts

I travelled to Italy this past summer with my family, and this is an image of one of the five villages in Cinque Terre, Italy. We decided to visit Italy because my grandma was adopted from Italy when she was 7 years old and had not been back since then. We saw Rome, Cinque Terre, and Torino, the city she was born in. The village in the picture is just one of the many breathtaking places we saw on our trip. We got to explore the historic sites in Rome like the Vatican and the Colosseum and experience the culture and daily life of a small costal town in Cinque Terre. We also visited Torino to see the orphanage my grandma lived in before she was adopted. It was amazing to share the experience with her and the rest of my family. I learned so much about the history and culture of Italy, and this new knowledge makes me appreciate where my family is from even more. Both sides of my family have Italian heritage, so I grew up with many Italian traditions. It was so special to me to be immersed in the same traditions that I have been a part of growing up. One of these many traditions was Italian style cooking, and the food was one of my favorite parts of the trip! Not only was I surrounded by the culture and traditions of Italy, but I was also surrounded by the language. I began to pick up more and more Italian words throughout the trip which helped me to understand the Italian culture even more. This family vacation was so much fun and sparked my interest in world travel. I now plan to incorporate study abroad opportunities into my education here at OSU!

About Me

My name is Halli Petillo, and I am from Niles, Ohio. I am a first year undergraduate student at The Ohio State University with an intended major in biochemistry and minor in Spanish. My future plan is to apply to medical school after I have earned my undergraduate degree. My career goal is to become a doctor, and although I am still undecided on what field of medicine I wish to practice, I have interests in both orthopedics and dermatology. In preparation for my future plan in the medical field, I am currently volunteering at the James Cancer Center on campus to gain experience in a hospital setting, as well as looking into joining the Pre-med Club! Outside of school, some of my interests include working out, playing soccer, and reading. I enjoy reading classical literature, and my favorite book of all time is Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell. I also love to travel, and I am very passionate about learning about the different cultures and people from the places I travel to. For this reason, I hope to study abroad one day and would really like to visit Spain!