My wonderfully amazing, dedicated, intelligent, funny, and well-rounded mentee with an intrinsically good head on her shoulder’s name is Madi Hart and these are the five questions I asked her in her second semester interview.
“Are you enjoying your major? Why or why not?” – My wonderful mentee’s name is Madi Hart. She is a English Education major, and she is really enjoying it! She is currently taking classes that are teaching her exactly what she needs in order to be a K-12 English teacher, which is so great! She is so passionate about teaching so the fact that she can jump right into learning her exact interests freshman year is a token of how hard she worked in high school and all of the transfer credits she got to cover those general education classes that almost every major has to take. She is learning exactly what she loves and couldn’t be happier; neither could I!
“Do you think you will keep your same involvement next year? Why or why not?” – Madi is also getting involved in clubs that are taking part in events, studies, and daily activities that are right on par with not only her major, but also her interests outside of the classroom. From the clubs that she got involved in at the beginning of freshman year, she has not dropped any of these clubs because she was very careful in choosing these clubs and making sure she did not put too much on her plate from the start, which is so responsible and mature of her from such a young college student to do. So, she is going to remain in all of the clubs she is in as of right now: Guiding Eyes for the Blind, Pen Pals, and online grading through something called Grade Network. On top of all of this, Madi is going to add some paid work into this mix next semester. She has a position as an OA for next year, she is going to keep working with the online grading, she has a position as an OA for next year, and she also applied to work at the Writing Center, which I have utilized in my years at OSU and I think is one of the best resources on campus. She is also going to be on the Executive Board for the Pen Pals group and is very excited to work to make that program even better. So, if this blurb didn’t convince you already, Madi is an incredibly passionate student who is putting her energy and attention in the perfect places in order to set her up for a very successful future.
“Have you enjoyed the ACES living-learning community in Smith Steeb? Why or why not?” – Living in the ACES learning community was a positive experience for Madi. She said that it definitely gave her the comforting base that made transitioning to college just a little bit earlier because she knew that from the start she would be around great people who are intelligent, hard working, and have similar values and interests as her. However, she is looking forward to moving out of Smith-Steeb and into a single bedroom dorm in Nosker. She is ready to explore and live on a new part of campus and to meet even more great people, particularly outside of ACES. I felt the same sort of way when I was in the ACES learning community. The people I met there were and still are great friends of mine, but to be surrounded by the same people for all four years of college would defeat the purpose of the wonderful diversity we have campus. Having the base that the ACES learning community gives a student is wonderful, but then one must move on and learn not only about themselves and what they really want from their college experience, but also about all of the amazing people that live not even a mile from you no matter where you are on campus.
“Have you had the chance to explore your desired career through internships, field experience, etc.?” – Madi has definitely taken advantage of exploring her desired career through field experience. Her FEEP program has been a success for her in many ways. Even the struggles she has faced while “on the job” have taught her very valuable lessons and skills that she will need when she inevitably sees these problems again. Through FEEP she has learned how to manage a classroom, what teaching styles fit different kinds of students, and she has gained a lot of confidence that will help her lead classrooms in the future.
“What has surprised you about Ohio State since arriving to campus?” – Madi was surprised about how small OSU felt to her during freshman year. She said seeing people from her hometown all over campus definitely helped with this. She loves that now that the seasons are changing and it is getting a little warmer outside every day, there are more and more people being outside and enjoying the sun. She loves seeing everyone that goes to this school and loves the feeling and activities that warm spring days like this bring.