Dementia

I have recently found a lot of things to point me in the direction of working in the mental health field or with the brain in some way. My grandfather struggled with memory loss and dementia and just recently passed away. Seeing his memory loss progress so rapidly over the past year, and doctors being unable to prevent it, really made me interested in learning more about the brain and why this happens. I think it would be really interesting to work as a neuropsychologist and work with dementia or Alzheimer’s patients to help treat them and determine the best course of action for their lives. In this career, I would also be able to work with people with other types of neurological and nervous system disorders, which is something that I have always been really interested in.

It has been really interesting to see how so many parts of my life seem to be pushing me towards a career that allows me to work with the brain in some way. This has definitely reassured me that I am in the right major, and am on the right track to figuring out exactly what I want to do for the rest of my life.

Cheryl’s Cookies

I gained some more work experience this semester, as I began a job in November at the Cheryl’s Cookies near campus. I applied for this job as a seasonal position so that I could work a lot over winter break. I began working around Thanksgiving and worked about 15 hours each week until winter break, where I worked nearly 30 hours. This job provided me with a lot of meaningful retail experience, which I will definitely be able to use in any career or job that I hold in the future. I also held some managerial roles, which gave me some really great leadership experience. I worked on communication, responsibility, teamwork, and interpersonal skills, and this experience will definitely help me in my career in the future!

Family Development

HDFS 2200: Family Development is by far one of my favorite classes I have ever taken. This is a class that I decided to take because I had room in my schedule, and was hoping to try to figure out what I want to do with the rest of my life. I learned so much in this course and learned a lot of things that I will be able to take into my future as a mother, wife, friend, psychologist, and person in general. Our final was to write a paper highlighting our top ten takeaways from this course, which is what I have linked below. We talked about topics such as gender norms, arranged marriage, consent, the gender pay gap, marriage, and familial differences based on socioeconomic status. These are all topics that I truly believe will help me be a better mental health professional in the future, as well as a person in my daily life. After taking this course, I decided I wanted to take more like it, and officially declared an HDFS minor.

HDFS 2200 Final Reflection: Top 10 Takeaways

Abnormal Psychology

Fall 2021, I took Psych 3331: Abnormal Psych. This has definitely been one of my favorite classes at Ohio State thus far, and has encouraged me that a career in the mental health field would be a really good fit for me. I really enjoyed everything that I learned in this class. My favorite unit in this course was the Panic, Anxiety, and Obsessions Disorders unit, as I have struggled a lot with anxiety myself, and I think this class has helped me determine that this is the group of disorders that I would like to specialize in as a clinical psychologist in the future. I took Fall 2021 as a semester to help me determine exactly what I want to pursue as a career in the future, which is why I took Psych 3331. This class definitely helped me realize that a career in mental health is a great fit for me, and is something that I want to pursue throughout the rest of my four years at Ohio State! I am now really excited to continue taking more psych courses, and have even thought about potentially minoring in psychology as well.

Huckleberry House Volunteering

This past week, I volunteered at the Huckleberry House in Columbus with my scholars program. It was honestly such an eye-opening experience for me; one that I will definitely remember for a long time. We went to the House to serve a meal to the teens living there and the staff that work there. Working in the kitchen, and trying to prepare the food was extremely difficult. The oven didn’t work at all, and the stovetops were very finicky. There weren’t very many teens staying at the house at that time, so we didn’t have to prepare much food, but I definitely felt like the teens could have benefited from a healthier and more substantial meal than what we were given to prepare for them. They did not have up-to-date appliances or even enough silverware for all of the teens.

This experience, paired with the knowledge I gained in my PUBAFRS 2150: Intro to Nonprofit Organizations class this semester, made me realize how important volunteering, and donating to small organizations is. The Huckleberry House clearly does not receive the funding that it needs from the government in order to carry out all of its programs.  The House doesn’t just provide the teens with a place to sleep, but instead provides them with counseling, and independent skills training so that they are equipped to take care of themselves and get out of their potentially dangerous home situation. It is such an incredible organization seeking to help a population that is often overlooked. 

I am definitely interested in continuing to volunteer with this organization in the future, or even participating in the counseling services once I become a licensed clinical psychologist. Overall, this was a very meaningful volunteer experience, and one that I will think about for awhile.

 

FESTA ESL Program

Throughout high school, I volunteered with an organization in my hometown called FESTA. The organization provides ESL classes to parents, and childcare to the kids while their parents learn English. I volunteered roughly twice a week, helping to watch and care for the children. This was one of the most transformational experiences of my high school career. I discovered some of my passions, was able to practice my Spanish skills with the kids, and truly just enjoyed volunteering.

This semester, I have been able to keep volunteering with this organization, as I live so close to my hometown. I have developed an even greater passion for working with kids, and ultimately volunteering with FESTA has helped me solidify the fact that I do not want to continue on the pre-med track. I would love to work with a nonprofit like FESTA in the future. Due to this, I am going to be taking an Intro to Nonprofit Organizations class next semester to learn more about organizations like FESTA so that I can have a better idea of how I could get involved in one in the future.

I have built so many fun relationships with the kids, and made so many great memories. This is a volunteer experience that I will hold close for my entire life, as it has definitely impacted my view on the world, and on the immigrant population in the U.S. I am hoping to work for FESTA next summer as a camp counselor for their summer lunch program, and want to continue volunteering here the next few years as well.

Mental Health

I started my first year of college with the intention of eventually attending medical school. Over the course of this year, I have changed my mind a few times. For a more detailed explanation, visit my first year review here. Now, I plan on working in the mental health field. This semester, I took part in the Honors and Scholars Semester of Service. I was in the Mental Health Awareness group which allowed me to develop my interest in mental health. We met twice a month and talked about different important aspects of mental health such as the mental health stigma, different types of mental health illnesses, and the history of mental health around the world. These meetings, combined with my personal struggles with mental health, as well as my interest in neuroscience, have made me want to have a career in the mental health field. I am unsure of what exactly I want to do, but now I know that I want to help people recover and learn to cope with their mental illnesses.