Sophomore Mid Year Review

My college career is nearing its mid-point, and thus, it is time to review all that has happened over the past year. My journey at Ohio State in the past year has involved travel to other continents, learning the language computers speak in and finding my home in the club Ohio Staters, Inc. In my reflection, I wish to reemphasize my involvement in pursuing the GOALS of the Ohio State Honors and Scholars Center.

 

Global Awareness:

Since my last reflection, I have grown significantly in the realm of Global Awareness, both through my academic and personal life. In May of 2018, I had the wonderful opportunity to travel to Uganda with 14 other Ohio State Students. Here, I immersed myself in the culture of the country- living with a family for two weeks, and participating in their daily activities. Additionally, I was enrolled at the School for International Training in Kampala, where I took classes on the importance of human security in the developing world. With this class, I was exposed to a variety of humanitarian issues in the region, including: poverty, AIDS, pollution, and cultural conflict.

In addition to my trip to Uganda, I will be traveling to Slovenia in a few weeks with the student ministry CRU. Here, I will be sharing my beliefs with students at the University of Ljubljana, and will work with them to create a similar ministry on their campus. I am excited to explore a new are of the world, and to be challenged both spiritually and emotionally.

 

Original Inquiry:

One of the most exciting advancements of the past year is my involvement in the Office of Administration and Planning at Ohio State. Upon being offered a position as a Data Analyst, I have accepted and dived into the work! Currently, I am using analytics to assist teams in Traffic and Transportation Management as well as the Department of Public Safety as they implement new programs to make students day to day lives easier and safer. I have been able to apply many of the skills that I have learned in class, including high level statistics and computer programming. Additionally, I am learning more about the business environment, taking part in the project and budgeting process with multiple projects.

 

Academic Enrichment:

My main dreams for life do involve the realm of analytics. I am a firm believer that with the data-driven skillset, anybody can be successful in pursuing their passions. For me, these passions involve transportation and societal planning on a high level. To advance closer to my passions, I have chosen to minor in City and Regional Planning, and additionally am factoring in classes through the Geography, Aviation and Design Thinking majors to fully nurture my mindset. Even down to the GEs, where I have immersed myself in a variety of interesting and challenging topics such as Eastern European Immigration and the Historical View of the Apostle Paul, I am growing in my critical thinking skills.

 

Leadership Development:

Through my involvement in Big Data and Analytics Association, Ohio Staters, and Indianola Presbyterian Church, I have had the opportunity to grow in my leadership skills. In serving on the executive boards for BDAA and Staters, I have increased my responsibilities in both organizations. For both, I have additional duties, meetings and opportunities for assisting in the processes of the groups. In my church, I have taken on the role as the student in the Community Engagement Committee, where I bring to light the issues affecting campus, and make recommendations to the congregation on how to best include the population of the university community in our services and events.

 

Service Engagement:

In Ohio Staters, I work to plan various events in an around campus that help to improve the welfare of student lives. While this is not as critical of a service activity as working at a food bank, I believe that this is the place where my skills can best serve the world around me. In the past year, I co-chaired the project Buckeye Ballots, where supplies for absentee voting were distributed around campus to increase participation in local elections by students. This project was successful, with over 300 participating, and next year, I hope to further improve it.

Thats what is up with me! If you have any questions about the events of my past year, feel free to email me at radakovich.4@osu.edu

Reflection on my G.O.A.L.S.

As my first semester of colleges comes to a close, it is time for me to reflect on my GOALS statements. Since the start of the year, I have attended many interesting talks, workshops and other events, where I have learned about the breadth of opportunities here at the university. After all of these, I have decided to drop my Poly Sci major and instead pursue two minors: Political Science and City & Regional Planning. With these two, I will be able to cover many of my interests, including transportation, which I wouldn’t have been able to specialize in with my original plan. That being said, my current GOALS statements are as follows:

Global Awareness:

I intend to look at the ways people travel from place to place in multiple cultures. With this information, I would love to find ways to streamline the processes, fight the forces of traffic and work to reduce greenhouse emissions through more efficient systems and better mass transport systems, both in the US and abroad. Additionally, I am looking to travel to Uganda this summer to learn more about human security and the availability of food, water, education and healthcare in other countries. Then, I want to use data to investigate how to make these more accessible.

Original Inquiry:

I have started doing research with Professor Erin Lin of the Political Science department. Here, I am challenged to think outside the box in coming up with better data processes for her research team. Additionally, I am learning a lot about her studies in Cambodia, including the fascinating trends between genocide and political efficacy. Through research, I am able to define the problems that I want to study and then I can actually act on those questions.

Academic Enrichment:

Outside of my academics, I find time to read, go to talks from experts, and learn at workshops offered throughout the university. Over the past few months, I have attended a number of events, including talks by JD Vance (author of Hillbilly Elegy and Political Scientist), Sarah Williams (Professor at MIT and Urban Planner through Data Analytics, specializing in urban transport systems), and Richard Hipp (Creator of SQLite, the most used relational database system in the world), as well as talks from employers, and experts in the fields of Data Analytics, Public Policy, and Political Systems.

Leadership Development:

Through the semester, I have gotten very involved with FYLI, or the first year leadership initiative. Through this program, I have learned a lot about myself and have been challenged to grow as a leader.

Service Engagement:

I have participated in numerous service opportunities this year, including through FYLI, my church, and Buckeye community commitment. I look to use my skills and new things that I learn to help other people, improving lives, and the health of the environment through finding efficiencies in development and ways to break the cycles of poverty.

 

My Growth Since August

 

Since I started here in August, many things have changed in my life. Among these, the most drastic are in the realms of my attitude and in work ethic. For my attitude, I have always been a my way or the highway kind of guy, but here now being put in a room with 3 other people to spend my life, I have learned a lot about cooperating and taking others opinions into account. I think that I have become a much more openminded and tolerant person from realizing that it is much better to recognize peoples skills rather than their flaws and to embrace those things. Additionally, I have grown mentally in the realm of myself. I have been working on being less hard on myself. In the past, I have always jumped to conclusions about the way things are turning out and I have thought negatively of myself. Now, I am using different techniques, such as mindfulness, meditation, running and knitting as ways to effectively clear my mind, stay positive, and live a happier and healthier life.

 

In the realm of academics, I have begun to use my time much more wisely. Whenever I have free time, I am working to get ahead in my classes and extracurriculars. I had definitely been a procrastinator in high school, so this has been a very big change in my everyday lifestyle, and one for the better! In the future, I look to keep practicing these healthy habits to reinforce my advances in mentality and hopefully come out a better person throughout this process.

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.]

G.O.A.L.S.

[ “G.O.A.L.S.” is a place where students write about how their planned, current, and future activities may fit into the Honors & Scholars G.O.A.L.S.: Global Awareness, Original Inquiry, Academic Enrichment, Leadership Development, and Service Engagement. For more information, go to: http://honors-scholars.osu.edu/e-portfolio. Delete these instructions and add your own post.

Global Awareness: Students cultivate and develop their appreciation for diversity and each individual’s unique differences. For example, consider course work, study abroad, involvement in cultural organizations or activities, etc .
Original Inquiry: Honors & Scholars students understand the research process by engaging in experiences ranging from in-class scholarly endeavors to creative inquiry projects to independent experiences with top researchers across campus and in the global community. For example, consider research, creative productions or performances, advanced course work, etc.
Academic Enrichment: Honors & Scholars students pursue academic excellence through rigorous curricular experiences beyond the university norm both in and out of the classroom.
Leadership Development: Honors & Scholars students develop leadership skills that can be demonstrated in the classroom, in the community, in their co-curricular activities, and in their future roles in society.
Service Engagement: Honors & Scholars students commit to service to the community.]

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.]

Artifacts

[Artifacts are the items you consider to be representative of your academic interests and achievements. For each entry, include both an artifact and a detailed annotation.  An annotation is a reflective description of the artifact that attempts to communicate its significance.  For more information, go to: http://honors-scholars.osu.edu/e-portfolio. Delete these instructions and add your own post.]

About Me

Mitch Radakovich is a first year Data Analytics/ Political Science major at The Ohio State University. He is from Cincinnati and is interested in these fields because of the plentiful applications which can really help out the world. Aside from academics, Mitch enjoys nature, music (including singing and playing trombone), and laughing.