G.O.A.L.S.

Global Awareness

  • In just a short time at Ohio State, I have already begun to expand my global awareness.  A great example of this is Taste of OSU, an annual festival featuring the many varied cultures present on campus.  For one night, the Union is transformed into an a microcosm of the global community and students are given the opportunity to explore it.  Several campus organizations prepare native foods for students to sample and dance performances occur throughout the night.  This wonderful night opened my eyes to the many vibrant communities on campus and in the world and helped me to appreciate how much they have to offer.
  • To further expand my global awareness I hope to study abroad during my time at OSU.  Fall semester 2016 I will be taking a human and exotic animal interactions course that will hopefully lead to a three-week trip to South Africa.  More information about this as it unfolds.

Original Inquiry

  • As a part of my introductory animal sciences course, I participated in a histology project detailing mammary gland function in dairy cattle.  This project included sampling and preserving tissue, cutting and staining slides, and photographing the microscopic anatomy of the mammary gland.  Find more information about this project here.
  • I will also be completing a Honors Research Project while at OSU.  Stay tuned for more.

Academic Enrichment

  • I have taken several honors classes at OSU.  My favorite was introductory classical literature.  This course explored the Iliad, the Odyssey, and the Aeneid.  Having taken four years of Latin in high school, I have always had a deep love of ancient Greece and Rome.  This course gave me a newfound appreciation for the people of this time.  I hope to take more classes like it in the future.

Leadership Development

  • Continuing my involvement in the Pennsylvania Association of Student Councils (PASC), I joined the Alumni Association and took on the role of Recruitment Chair.  My main objective during my year on the board is to increase enrollment at the PASC summer leadership camps.  I attended both the Gold and Advanced Gold camps during my time with PASC and these camps taught me so much about being a good leader and person in general.  As Recruitment Chair, I was in charge of organizing an outreach program and contacting several middle and high schools in Pennsylvania.  As a result of this program we were able to double overall enrollment numbers at the camps for the 2016 summer.
  • This coming school year, I will be serving as Director of Home Competition Planning for DanceSport at OSU and Publicity Chair for the Mirrors Sophomore Class Honorary.
  • This school year I will also be participating the Finding Undergraduate Success, a Chemistry mentoring program for incoming freshman.

Service Engagement

  • Through OSU’s Pre-Veterinary Club, I have begun volunteering in the small animal oncology ward at the vet hospital.  While there, I offer comfort to animals undergoing chemotherapy and radiation.  This has given me an opportunity to enter the vet hospital and get a sense for how it runs.
  • While home, I volunteer at a cat sanctuary.  The sanctuary houses cats in a mostly-cage-free setting.  This service has given me a look at alternative shelter structures and shown me that there is, figuratively speaking, more than one way to skin a cat.

About Me

portfolio

I am a second year student at The Ohio State University studying Animal Science with a Pre-Veterinary focus.  I originally hail from Erie, Pennsylvania, right on the lake and about three-and-a-half hours from the Ohio State campus.  I attended Villa Maria Academy, an all-girls, Catholic high school from which I graduated as Valedictorian.  During my time in high school I was actively involved in theatre, show choir, campus ministry, the Pennsylvania Association of Student Councils (PASC), and our chapter of the International Thespian Society (ITS).  I also took on several leadership positions, including one year as Student Council secretary and one year as ITS treasurer.

Since coming to Ohio State, I have become a member of DanceSport, a competitive ballroom dance team on campus and have traveled to several other college campuses across the Midwest to compete.  I have also continued playing my flute by participating in the University Band and playing in our Catholic Church’s music ministry each Sunday.  I have also continued my involvement with PASC through the Alumni Association and am currently the Recruitment Chair.  Thanks to both AP and Dual Enrollment credit, I plan to graduate in only three and a half years; however, I still plan to make the most of my time at Ohio State and take advantage of every opportunity presented to me.  I cannot wait to see what the future will bring.

Histology Project

Histology: the study of the microscopic structure of tissues

4-25-4 mammary artery

   Cross Section of the Mammary Artery

4-17-3 inner lymph tissue

 Inner Tissue of the Mammary Lymph Node

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I took the above images as part of a project completed through my introductory animal science course.  My group chose to study the mammary gland, or udder, of a dairy cow.  Throughout the semester, we collected tissue samples from various parts of the mammary gland, prepared and preserved these tissue samples in paraffin wax, and sectioned off thin slices of the tissue samples using a microtome.  Then we positioned each sample on a microscope slide and stained them.  Lastly, after much research, we viewed our slides under a microscope and took various photographs.  As a culmination of the project, we presented our photographs and research to the rest of the class at the end of the term.

The goal of this project was to connect the microscopic form of each tissue sample with the gross function of the living organ.  By completing this project, I not only learned a great deal about mammary gland form and function but also gained invaluable experience in a laboratory.  This project made me much more comfortable in a lab setting using lab equipment.  Although it was a lot of hard work, this project also gave me something of which to be proud and I have extremely thankful to have been given such an amazing opportunity.

 

Year in Review

[ “Year in Review”  is where you should reflect on the past year and show how you have evolved as a person and as a student.  You may want to focus on your growth in a particular area (as a leader, scholar, researcher, etc.) or you may want to talk about your overall experience over the past year.  For more information, go to: http://honors-scholars.osu.edu/e-portfolio. Delete these instructions and add your own post.]

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.]