I have developed my global awareness so far by taking opportunities to learn about other cultures in the classroom. By taking Spanish to fulfill my language requirement, I have not only gained valuable skills by learning a new language that allows me to communicate with a greater number of people, but learned about the many vibrant cultures of Spanish speaking countries. Learning about these countries was valuable, because I learned to re-evaluate my biases, because I used to believe that all Latin American countries were very similar, but through my Spanish classes I found that these countries and the people who inhabit them are diverse. One day I would like to travel to Central and South America, and my Spanish classes were a major part of what inspired me to work towards this goal. While I likely will not be able to travel to these countries until after I graduate, I do plan to further develop my global awareness before the end of my college career by studying abroad. This will give me a firsthand experience of new cultures, and allow me to fully immerse myself in a different way of life. Currently, I plan to study abroad in Sweden and Denmark during summer 2021, and I am very excited by this opportunity.
I’ve gained insight into the research and creative process through several of my classes. I’ve had to write research paper in classes for both of my majors, and it was interesting to read through academic papers, and learn more about the research process. I’ve been especially interested by reading economics research papers, because they often detail how data is collected and how the researchers use it to draw conclusions. I’ve also gained a better understanding of the creative process through my coursework; I enjoy creative writing, and studying literature in my English classes has allowed me to develop my own skills and gain a more critical perspective so I can improve my own work. I hope to continue to develop these skills as I continue with my English classes, and that my experiences with literature will continue to inspire me to devote time to my writing.
I am committed to academic enrichment because I included a variety of courses in my honors contract—showing my desire to gain skills in a variety of fields—and chose appropriately challenging courses as GEs. I want to take GE courses that interest me and challenge me, instead of simply choosing the easiest option. I also have performed well in my courses so far, and have been able to succeed even when the coursework is challenging. I believe that my skills in both my majors will be valuable in my future career. Though I am not sure yet which career I will choose, I know that my skills in understanding data and connecting theory to real life events and issues that I’ve gained from my economics major and the writing skills I’ve developed from my English major will be extremely valuable.
I have a great deal of leadership experience, as I held several leadership positions in high school, and I have continued to develop my leadership skills in my college career as well. My biggest opportunity to develop these skills so far has been with my job at the cafes on campus. I was recently promoted to Student Lead, and in taking on this new role I will be responsible for training employees, and assisting the other managers in delegating tasks during shifts. Even before I was promoted, my job has allowed me to become a better leader by helping me learn how to work effectively with my peers and solve problems, and I have often stepped up by offering advice or help to new employees.
In high school, I performed a great deal of service, as a minimum amount of hours was required every year in order to graduate. Though these activities were often fulfilling, I was not always passionate about all of them, as my main motivation was to just fulfill a requirement. However, so far in my college career, I’ve looked for opportunities to seek out ways to participate in service that I am passionate about. This is a continuing goal as well, because I would like to devote myself even more to service in the future. One of the most fulfilling service activities I participated in during high school involved directly serving impoverished people in my hometown, and I would like to seek out an opportunity to do something similar in Columbus or through the university before I graduate. So far, my service activities have focused on social justice. I am involved in student organizations that perform comedy, and I have performed in shows that were fundraisers for organizations associated with social justice issues that I care about. I also independently served my community this past year during the beginning of the COVID pandemic: during spring, I made and donated reusable masks to a children’s hospital and homeless shelter in my hometown.