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 guidance on using your ePortfolio, including questions and prompts that will help you get started, please visit the Honors & Scholars ePortfolio course in Carmen. To get answers to specific questions, please email eportfolio@osu.edu. Delete these instructions and add your own post.]

G.O.A.L.S.

I feel as though my time so far at Ohio State has opened my eyes and mind to how much diversity surrounds me every day. One of the major components that has helped me realize all of the diversity that surrounds me is the Mount Leadership Society Scholars. Being involved in Mount, I have met people from all over the country, and by taking the classes that Mount offers it has opened up opportunities that I would not have had the chance to do otherwise. I have gotten the chance to talk to people in careers that I want to pursue and hear from brilliant speakers teaching me how to be more in touch with my leadership in every day tasks. I have overall been more aware of myself.

When it comes to original inquiry, I got the chance to plan an execute service events around the Columbus area surrounding victims of abuse. Again, if it weren’t for Mount I would not have had the opportunity to be able help the Columbus community with my other scholars group members and the help that came with planning those events as well. My curriculum that I am taking on this year helps me to attain my future goals of being a psychologist in the future. I am taking classes this year related to my future profession. I am also taking a class geared toward learning more about diversity and social justice in leadership. The class about diversity and social justice in leadership has helped me realize how important things like unconscious biases and things of that nature are in the real world. This class also helped me be more aware of what’s going on in the world around me which helps me to gauge other people’s opinions.

The Mount Leadership Society Scholars has helped me to gain valuable leadership experiences. I have had the opportunity to lead group projects surrounding service and also the opportunity to lead a committee that is in charge of the media and archives that encompass Mount. With those opportunities I have learned more about myself and how I am as a leader. Because of those experiences, I have learned how to grow and become a better leader. As I am a committee chair for the media and archives committee, I am also taking the diversity and social justice class simultaneously; I think this dynamic helps because I can use what I’m learning during class and directly apply it to how I lead my committee. One of the main components of Mount is service. There were various service events that I attended last year, and this year I am taking part in a virtual service opportunity to tutor young students in excelling at their schoolwork. I have been very involved in service throughout high school, and it makes me very fulfilled to be continuing this in college and beyond as well.

With all of the resources provided to me through Ohio State and the Mount community, I am confident that I will continue to grow and become a better version of myself every day.

Career

I feel as though I’ve had a lot of experiences that have shaped who I am and what I prioritize in life. Being a psychology major, I really value mental health and taking care of yourself. With being a mental health advocate, I take part in organizations that also prioritize the same thing. I am currently in an organization, Buckeye Campaign Against Suicide (BCAS), which focuses on different aspects on mental health and dealing with the overall stress of life. I was also in a mentoring club in high school where we targeted social isolation and making everyone feel welcomed. Because of those experiences I’ve had, it has made me realize what I feel is important in my life and what I want to focus my career on. Wanting to be a clinical psychologist in the future has stemmed from my passions and also the continued involvement with mental health drives the want to pursue mental health in my future.

Artifact 1

As a first-year, it’s common to have to take the general education classes to get them out of the way. That’s exactly what I’m doing right now. One of my classes that I’m required to take is Spanish. In high school, I was never a huge fan of Spanish; having to learn a whole new language as well as their grammar and vocabulary set isn’t easy. However, Spanish here at Ohio State is something that I look forward to most days. In addition to the grammar, vocabulary, and sentence structure, my professor also teaches the culture of the Spanish-speaking regions. In my high school Spanish classes, the teacher would only touch on cultural ideas, but the class was mostly the nitty-gritty stuff of Spanish. Here, my professor makes culture something that you need to learn and we are even tested on it. Some thing that we learn about are the types of food, the clothing, the traditions that are practiced there, and the things that make that certain place unique. For example, I am learning about how the origin of the salsa dancing is in Cuba, and certain dishes from the Dominican Republic and how they’re made. I think that this stuff is important to learn because it teaches me about the country in which Spanish is spoken and about the country as a whole. Having a Spanish class where the entrirety of Spanish is taught and not just how to form a sentence is a valuable experience that I .

About Me

Amanthi Ranatunga is a first year undergraduate student at The Ohio State University. She is one of only 95 students admitted to the Mount Leadership Scholars program at OSU. Amanthi is studying Psychology and in the future she hopes to become a Clinical Psychologist and help those who suffer from mental illnesses. 

Amanthi is originally from Mason, OH where she attended the William Mason High School (MHS). She graduated high school with Summa Cum Laude, and she was also involved in many extra-curricular activities during high school; some of those activities include Student Government, National Honors Society (NHS), and Students Involving and Befriending Students (SIBS). Amanthi is very proud and honored to be chosen by her 870+ peers as Junior Class President and Senior Class President, to represent them in MHS Administration and Student Government. One other most important and meaningful activities that Amanthi did in high school was as a member of SIBS, where she strived to develop and foster an inclusive atmosphere in Mason High School and Middle School, and to stop isolation of kids and bullying activities. Outside of school, Amanthi volunteered for many organizations such as Matthew: 25 Ministries, UC West Chester Hospital and Christ Hospital. 

Amanthi was a year-round competitive swimmer for 12 years. She was a four-year varsity letter swimmer at her high school, a member of the Mason Manta Rays (a 2018 USA Swimming Gold Medal Club, ranked # 8 in USA out of more than 3000 teams), and a summer league swim team. She has earned multiple swim awards, including Academic All American in Swimming. Swimming really helped Amanthi develop many skills – including time management, multi-tasking, focus, and discipline. This Summer Amanthi taught swimming to kids whose ages ranged from four months to twelve years and instilled those skills in her students. 

Amanthi is very excited to be a Buckeye and she’s looking forward to her undergraduate career at OSU. She chose Psychology as her major because she is very interested in a professional career helping others. She is interested in research, internship and Study Abroad opportunities that will help her career goal of becoming a Clinical Psychologist.