Over the weekend I went to visit the campus medial center. I scheduled an appointment for a check up there just to check in my health. My experiences there positive overall. The facility was very impressive and it was quick and easy to get a checkup. I felt pretty safe and secure, not to mention the fact that it was homely. There are other campus resources I would like to look into, but this was a good start as far as using non-academic resources. I did not know about these resources so it was nice to begin utilizing them. It was very easy to schedule my appointment which I liked because it didn’t require a wait. In the future I would feel very comfortable returning there in the future.

I decided to go to a seminar based upon Nonradiative Processes in Semiconductor Nanocrystals with a bunch of my peers from STEM. It was in a lecture hall completely full so there were a lot of people there interested in the presentation. I did enjoy the experience of my first research seminar, however, it was a bit underwhelming due to the fact that I did not have a great amount of knowledge in the subject area. I have some experience in topics such as the ones being discussed during the seminar, however, I did not have enough knowledge to truly grasp the main concepts being discussed. The good thing was that a great number of my peers also were not completely well versed in the material as well so I did not feel completely excluded from everyone else. I think in the future I should look more deeply into the topics being discussed during seminars in order to fully enjoy the experience. My friends and I are looking into attending more sessions similar to the session based on Nonradiative Processes in Semiconductor Nanocrystals, however, this time we would be more well prepared in order to grasp all of the material. Also, I feel as if attending a seminar would be more helpful and enjoyable if I was older and more experience in STEM fields. This would give me more base knowledge, plus I would be more passionate about the seminars that I would be attending. As I progress through my academics, I will become more interested and invested in seminars. I think this was a good building block for me in terms of being more well-versed in STEM topics.

I chose to attend one of the MSLC tutoring sessions this past week. I went with a couple of my friends to the 1151 Calculus 1 session late in the afternoon. We honestly had a lot of trouble locating the session. We were looking in the wrong building at first, but even when we located the right building, it took us a while to realize the room was in the basement. When we finally arrived at the session we sat together at a table. There were some computers where we were sitting but we did not use them as we had our iPads. We started doing some homework for the class, but, as we progressed through, we had some difficulties solving some of the problems. Because of this we put up the help card, and a tutor come over to assist us. He ended up being very helpful, and we able to learn to understand what we were doing wrong quickly because of his help. There were a pretty decent amount of people there at the session as well, and I was pretty impressed with how easily it was for everyone there to get quick, efficient help with any problems that they had. It was also very quick and easy to sign in and out, as all that had to be done was inputting your name.number and then clicking your name on the way out. This was my first time attending any academic support session, and I thought it was a good experience overall. The room had a good atmosphere and all the people there to help were useful and pleasant. I am not sure how often I would be willing to return to the MSLC tutoring sessions simply because of how far it is from my dorm. I am interested in trying to utilize other academic support sessions in order to compare and contrast the positives and negatives of each different type of session. I know some of my friends like going to their classes’ office hours, and that could be something I am interested in in the future. I feel like office hours may offer more individual help while sessions such as MSLC can offer more independent working. If I wanted to, I could probably just go into the MSLC room everyday just to do my homework and study as it provides a quiet yet co-operative environment for students to be able to work as they please without strict regulations. I personally like to do most of my work in my dorm as my roommate is quiet and the study area is very comfortable and secure, however, I sometimes also like to utilize 18th Avenue Library as there are a bunch of different ways to study there. Regardless, it is probably a good idea for me to also try to experience or explore as many different forms of academic support as possible in order to help me succeed academically in all ways possible during my first year here at The Ohio State University.

I chose to attend a bi-weekly meeting for IEEE, The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers. Although I am not an engineering major, I thought it would be a good idea to visit a club meeting for a STEM-related organization that wasn’t in my major as it would help me expand my bubble of knowledge. The meeting was Monday, September 9th at 6:00 P.M. at Hitchcock Hall. It was a relatively short meeting, but the presenter was there well before the meeting started in case anyone had specific questions. The meeting consisted of a short run down on the events of the organization, a quick attendance check-in, and a raffle for an Amazon gift card given to a member of the club. The way I found out about the club and meeting was through one of my friends. He, an engineer, is interested in joining the club and invited me and a couple of my friends to the meeting. I went with him and my roommate, and it was an enjoyable experience. There was food provided at the meeting so I was not focusing on being hungry while the meeting was ongoing. I thinks some benefits for joining an organization such as IEEE would be to meet other people with similar interests as well as building up stronger communication skills. The leader/presenter at the meeting was very pleasant and very welcoming to any questions anyone could have had about the organization. She was there early in case anyone had specific questions and she said she would be staying after as well. In regards to time management, I think this club is a little more lenient in terms of that area as there are short, bi-weekly meetings and longer weekly meetings. The bi-weekly meetings are not as long but offer a chance at the aforementioned raffle for a gift card as well as provided food. I did not interact with a lot of the people at the meeting but it was clear that most of the people there were very welcoming in case I had chosen to do so. Although this is not an organization in my particular field of interest, I did not attend this meeting because I failed to find a student organization that matched my interests. There are other clubs I plan on checking out in the future, this club just happened to have a meeting that was in my schedule and seemed like a good opportunity. I know there are plenty of student organizations on campus and I see this as a positive. I know a lot of people may find this intimidating, but I believe it is a positive as it just gives more opportunities to interact with people of similar interests. The university does not force student organizations, but it rather provides access to them if you are able to join. IEEE was just one of many clubs that I found out about that peaked my interest, and the meeting I attended was very pleasant and welcoming. The experience was positive overall, and I’m excited to look into it more in the future.

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