G.O.A.L.S.

Global Awareness

I am part of the Morrill Scholars Program, a scholarship program that celebrates diversity through dialogue and thought-provoking activities. Through MSP, I have learned that diversity is defined by one’s personal experiences, from race and ethnicity to sexuality to religion and so much more. I have also learned that since we all have unique perspectives, we must all serve as social justice ambassadors. When these unique experiences combine, we can all better understand and improve the world. Through my general education courses such as Sociology 1101H, WGSST 2230, and Anthropology 2202H, I have learned techniques that allow me to learn about others through their lens rather than my own. By learning about others without my own bias, I can better understand others in a respectful manner.  To continue to learn about others, I plan to do a study abroad in Europe and a Spanish speaking country. The former will allow me to learn about European culture in Cologne, Germany; Ghent, Belgium; and London, England through a psychological lens, while the later will allow me to utilize my Spanish minor to connect with people via language.

 

Original Inquiry

In WGSST 2230, I created a poster criticizing rape culture, specifically the tool of victim blaming to excuse perpetrators.  In Sociology 1101H, I worked with a partner to develop a research project about the walking behavior of college students as they cross the street on campus. Together we researched background information, developed a hypothesis and methods, collected and analyzed data, wrote a paper, and presented a PowerPoint about our research. Within my psychology major, I have ample opportunities to engage in research. I am currently enrolled in Psychology 2300 Research Methods. This course delves into the research process as it applies to psychology, from developing research to publishing it to understanding it. I can apply content from this course to other psychology courses. For example, for the final project in my Sensation and Perception course, I will again develop my own research question and write a paper. In addition, I will write a paper directed at adolescents because it is important that everyone understands scientific research, not only other researchers. I will also take Psychology 4520 Social Psychology Laboratory to explore social psychology research.

 

Academic Enrichment

It is amazing that humans are all 99.9% genetically like one another; however, that 0.1% accounts for an incredible amount of variability and diversity. In my opinion, psychology goes beyond genetics to explore what makes each human their own individual self. For this reason, I chose to major in psychology. I also chose this major because I am not sure what I want to do for a career; psychology lends itself to a variety of career paths, so I should be prepared no matter which path I choose. I am minoring in Spanish because it is practical. The United States becomes more diverse every year. I am learning Spanish so that I can communicate and thrive in this more diverse world. I especially expect to utilize Spanish in the workplace as I work with diverse populations. I selected GE courses that aligned with interests I had outside of my major and minor, such as European history and the intersectionality of different oppressors.

 

Leadership Development

I am involved in Rotaract Club, which supports my personal goal of engaging in community service. Also, good leaders are servant leaders who are willing to put the interests of the community above their own. I am involved in Psychology Club, which allows me to explore topics related to my major and network with psychology professionals. I am involved in Humanism in Medicine. I can apply lessons about humanity in the medical field to a potential career in occupational therapy. I am also a Service Committee member for this club. As a part of the Morrill Scholars Program, I am a Student Leader on the Community Service team. As a Student Leader, I mentor five freshmen students who are also members of MSP. I also work with a group of other Student Leaders to coordinate meetings and develop a project focused on community service in the Ohio State and Columbus communities.

 

Service Engagement

My service-oriented activities include: Morrill Scholars Program Distinction Weekend Host, BuckeyeThon, and Rotaract Club. I plan to volunteer at the Wexner Medical Center and in other medical settings. I also plan to continue to participate in BuckeyeThon by raising funds and dancing in the dance marathon.

Final Reflection

As my first semester in college comes to an end, it is appropriate to reflect on my academic experience thus far.  Through lectures, I explored the College of Arts and Sciences, the College of Education and Human Ecology, the College of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences, the John Glenn College of Public Affairs, the College of Nursing, and the College of Social Work.  I chose these colleges based off my Holland Code: social enterprising (SE).  I looked at the majors suggested for my code and chose the lectures in which these majors were covered.  Lecture was beneficial for learning about majors from people who know plenty of information about them.  The lectures also went into clear details about application requirements and prerequisite classes.  I do wish the lectures with majors that had more prerequisites had been earlier in the semester so that we could have known earlier to schedule these classes.  I also wish the lectures would have given more details about academic expectations once you are in a major (i.e. GPA requirement).  Through lectures and classes, I have become more undecided over the semester.  I am no longer considering biology as a major.  I know that I cannot declare a major that is heavy math and science since I will not be happy and will be less like to succeed.  I have learned about different majors in the College of Health and Sciences and College of Education and Human Ecology.  Health Promotion, Nutrition, and Exercise Science and Health Sciences are two majors that I am considering.  Both majors will prepare me for careers in which I can interact with and help people.  Both majors will also challenge me with difficult science courses; however, neither of these majors are hard sciences which is good since science is not my favorite subject.  Right now Health Sciences is the better fit for me.  I am still not sure what exact career I want.  I think that Health Sciences is broad enough to lend itself to multiple careers so that I would not need to switch if I switched career paths.  To continue to exploring majors, I am taking Abnormal Psychology and Spanish to explore possible minors in these areas.  I am hoping that starting with minors will help me determine my field of interests without committing.  I will also utilize Career Counseling through the Younkin Success Center to help determine what type of career I want.  I feel that if I have more of a career goal beyond helping people, then I can more easily determine which majors lend themselves to these goals.  Other than deciding a major, my biggest challenge this semester has been learning how to study.  I never know what materials I should use and how early to start studying.  Even if I do study, I still feel like it is never enough.  I have attempted to amend this problem by rereading notes, doing practice problems, and attending office hours.  If I could go back to the start of the semester, I would tell myself to start studying a week in advance for exams.  Furthermore, start studying even earlier for midterms that are right after breaks since it is more difficult to focus when I am at home.  By reflecting on my semester, I have started to learn what I should do to be successful in college.

Informational Interview

To learn more about the major of psychology and possible career options that stem from it, I interviewed Dr. Dan Strunk, a professor in the Department of Psychology.  Dr. Strunk teaches courses, conducts research, and works with service projects.  Here follows the transcription of our interview:

Describe the process by which you arrived at your undergraduate major.

“So when I went to college I wanted to declare a major early on because truth be told I had an older brother who didn’t finish college.  He went for five years, and then he dropped out with six credit hours remaining.  And so I thought ‘I’m gonna finish.  I’m gonna pick something, and I’m gonna stick with it, and I’m gonna finish.’ And I had taken an occupational interest inventory, and it listed a bunch of things and psychology was one of them.  And I had had a bunch of conversations about possible interests.  The two majors I considered most seriously were English and Psychology.  And I settled on psychology because I thought it had more practical applications and I thought the idea of doing something involving helping people sounded appealing.  So I picked it for those reasons.  And for the most part I didn’t really know what I was picking but I stuck with it. Partly because I thought I don’t want to change my major as my older brother did and not finish.”

What was your favorite course in college? Was it in your major? Why did you like it?

“My favorite course was logic, which was not in my major at the time.  But following that class I double majored.  I was a pysch major, and I added a major in philosophy.  So why I liked it was I really liked the idea of being able to evaluate the quality of one’s thinking.  You know thinking well and rationally and what that looks like and how you know if you’re processing information in a rational way or not. The professor was really charismatic and made the class super entertaining.”

What kinds of extracurricular experiences (research, internships, co-ops, student organizations, study abroad, etc) did you have in college? How did those experiences benefit you professionally?

“So in my second year as an undergrad I took abnormal psychology.  I did a term paper in the class, and the professor liked the term paper and I participated a fair amount in the class.  And he invited me to get involved in research.  And for the next two and a half years I did that.  That really was the main thing I did outside of classes.  I would say by my senior year I was averaging 30 hours a week on research apart from all my other courses.  It just became a bigger and bigger time investment as I got further along.  I entertained some other kinds of extracurriculars, but the more I talked to [my professor] about my career plans the more it seemed like I needed a great research record and I should invest as much time as possible doing in doing that.  So I really put a lot of time into that.  Other than that I had some part time summer jobs but, I didn’t do study abroad, I didn’t do a single thing that would be like a clinical like experience.  I seriously considered it but I was counselled against it.  And I took the advice I was given.”

Do you feel you made the right choice of major(s)?

“I don’t know if there was a right or a wrong.  I think that it was a pretty reasonable choice.  Looking back I can see reasons that I did it that I would still share and some reasons that I wouldn’t.  You just can’t know what it would’ve been like if you had done something different.  I’m relatively satisfied with my choice.”

If you could go back and do it again, would you choose the same major? Why or why not?

“I think what I might have done is done something like psychology and statistics.  Something with a bit more of a quantitative bent to it.  That’s an interest that I developed through grad school.  I didn’t really think that would be something I’d be very interested in as an undergraduate, but I only had a couple of courses in undergraduate so I really wouldn’t have much of an opportunity to know that about myself.”

 

I chose to interview Dr. Strunk because I have been interested in psychology since grade school.  This interest was reinforced by my AP Psychology course senior year of high school.  I find it interesting to study how things in the brain that we cannot even see influence who we are as people. I want to minor in Psychology so I thought Dr. Strunk would provide insight into the area.  He was very forthcoming about his own experiences with the area without being overdetailed.

This interview reinforced that I want to minor in psychology; however, I am still unsure about what career options would be right for me if I chose to major in psychology.  I know that I would not enjoy research or teaching at a college level since I want to directly interact with the people I am helping.  Before I decide on a major I need to decide in what careers I would feel satisfied.  If I choose to continue with the minor, I need to determine which minor best fits my interests.

The advising appointment was helpful for figuring out what classes I should take in to satisfy G.E. credits and explore possible majors.  The college lecture videos have also helped to see all the majors that Ohio State offers and rule out ones that did not fit my interests.  The “What Can I do with This Major?” activity helped me figure out possible career options that stem from my interests.

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.]

College Transition Lecture Reflection

As college starts, I want to just skip over the actual college transition process.   I want to be at the part where I have my routine, close friends, and a handle on my classes.  My biggest worry as I transition is being academically successful.  In high school, I did not have to study too much; however, I know that will be necessary if I want to succeed in college.  I am worried that by the time I figure out how to stop procrastinating and learn how to force myself to study it will be too late to save my grades.  I know that if I can learn how to study I can succeed in college.  This worry is why the advice about learning how to study resonated with me so much.  I realized that many students at Ohio State are in the same boat as me.  We never have had to study as much so we never had to develop those skills; nevertheless, now college is a wakeup call for us to learn how to do so before it is too late.  In high school, I was academically strong in the majority of subjects, especially English and history classes.  I am a strong writer and enjoy reading.  Also, on group projects, I always did my best to do my share of the work.  I hope that some of these academic strengths will help me in college.  Even though I am worried about the academics in college, I am excited about other things.  I am excited to meet new people and make new friends.  I have always gone to small schools so I am excited about the opportunity to meet many people with different backgrounds.  Meeting people who are different than me will challenge me and show me a new way of seeing the world around me.  I hope to meet new people in various co-curricular activities.  I am interested in getting involved with Undergrad Genetic Counseling Club, Brain OSU, Circle K, Humanism in Medicine, and the Black Student Association.  I know that I need to find a few clubs to which to commit, but for now I want to join different types of club and determine which ones I like the most.  As I transition to college, I am both excited and nervous; nevertheless, I know as I get involved, learn how to study, and meet new people I can be successful.

About Me

[Your “About Me” is an introduction and should provide insight into who you are as a person and a learner.  This should include a picture of you that is appropriate in a professional/academic context. This information should be continually updated.  For more information, go to: http://honors-scholars.osu.edu/e-portfolio.  Delete these instructions and add your own post.]