Month: October 2017

G.O.A.L.S

Each component of G.O.A.L.S plays a vital role in my future success. Every letter contributes a unique skill that will shape me into a well-rounded individual. Original Inquiry is the opportunity to apply what is learned in the classroom to real life situations. I am a believer that any learning not applied in life is learning wasted. Participating in research is how I plan to apply my knowledge outside of the classroom. This research will not only give me the chance to apply my knowledge, but it will also give me valuable experience that will give me an advantage in my future career. Academic enrichment will help me plan and prepare for my future aspirations, including getting accepted into dental school. I have declared a chemistry major and plan to keep taking rigorous science courses in order to be best prepared for the schooling ahead of me. Service engagement has been an extremely rewarding part of my life thus far. Because of this, I plan to continue to participate in various service projects. One of the most impactful activities I have participated in was being a Leadership Intern at Camp Invention. As a leadership intern, I helped a group of elementary school students explore science and develop passions. I lead them through various science-based experiments and activities. This not only helped the children discover their passions for science, but also deepened mine. This opportunity confirmed my plans to pursue a degree in science.

Although all the components of G.O.A.L.S are extremely important to my future career success, Global Awareness plays a major role in my success as a human being as well. Developing a deeper appreciation for each and every person’s differences has and will continue to help me see the world through a new set of eyes. Every person goes through their life facing and overcoming different challenges. These challenging experiences shape each person into who they become as a person. Recognizing this is vital in the battle against close-mindedness. It allows me to not only understand each person’s differences, but also embrace and utilize them. I understand the challenges some families have to face and realize that there is often no money left for dental care. Because of this, I hope to travel to areas of high poverty and provide free dental care for children who normally could not afford it.

Leadership Development is another key component of G.O.A.L.S. Developing leadership skills is extremely important to any career. Unfortunately, true leadership is something that is commonly misunderstood. True leaders do not not simply assign orders to people, they motivate others to think for themselves and create their own paths. A key component of this is recognizing each individuals strengths and utilizing them. This is something I had experience in while planning my senior prom. I was the leader of a group who was in charge of the various decorations. In order to completely plan and create the decorations on time, I had to recognize each individuals strengths and guide them in activities that utilized these specific strengths. Since I hope to open my own dental practice, this quality will help me build a dental team that can use their individual qualities to enhance patient care. I will need to examine each person in the team carefully to determine their strengths and weaknesses in order to maximize the potential of our team. Overall, every aspect of the honors and scholars G.O.A.L.S is necessary to be successful in my future career.

Artifact #2

All throughout high school, teachers claimed that they were “preparing us for college”. Unfortunately, nothing I experienced in high school prepared me for what I have faced during my first semester here at Ohio State. Since the time I arrived on campus, my life has been a series of trial and error. This has been most prevalent in my academics. My first round of midterms hit me like a brick wall, especially in Math 1151. Although I had taken AP Calculus in high school, I was still struggling in the course. While I still believe I was well prepared for the first exam, I did not have the correct mindset while taking it. I was used to breezing through my exams and turning them in. I entered my first exam extremely nervous, but confident. Similar to high school, I rushed through the exam and felt confident in all of my answers. Even though I still had about 20 minutes left before I had to turn in my exam, I was so eager to get it over with that I turned it in without looking back over it. As I walked home, I felt great. I honestly believed there was no way that I did not receive an A. This feeling quickly faded when I got my score back the next day and got a B. Although a B is not a failing grade, I had wondered what I missed because I knew how to do every problem. When I received my exam back later that week, I realized every point I missed was easily avoidable. All of the questions I missed were due to avoidable math mistakes that could have been caught if I would have gone back through and checked my answers with that remaining 20 minutes. As the second exam approached, I promised myself not to make this mistake again. I once again finished the second exam with around 15 minutes left, but this time I used all of those 15 minutes to carefully check back over my answers. While checking over, I caught two mistakes that I had made. After the 15 minutes were up, I turned in my exam and eagerly awaited my grade. Two days later, I found out that I got a 96/100 on my exam! I felt so relieved. Through the experience of rushing through my first exam and not getting the grade I hoped for, I learned a valuable lesson for exams: always take the remaining time to check over the exam for errors. I hope to continue this and hopefully continue to receive As on my exams.