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Year in Review
My sophomore year at The Ohio State University has, for obvious reasons, concluded in a way which I never would have expected. The COVID-19 epidemic uprooted my life here at school and has changed both my short and long term plans academically and socially in countless ways. This school year was meant to be one of planning; planning for the rest of my university career as an undergraduate student and planning for my graduate studies. I was able to go far with my planning, setting in motion many things that would have enabled me to meet my G.O.A.L.S. in the future, but now that planning has led to plans being put on hold indefinitely or has rendered them impossible to accomplish.
I spent the majority of this year pursuing a STEP scholarship through Ohio State in order for me to study abroad in Amman, Jordan during the spring of 2021. I spent hours in weekly meetings my first semester planning my project and structuring my proposal to study abroad, and I submitted my final proposal in April of this past year. Now, with the pandemic still raging, my hopes of being able to study abroad during my time here in undergraduate studies are becoming slim. I had hoped to broaden my global engagement and further push myself in learning Arabic in a fully immersive environment with this project as well as to push myself to study political conflicts in the region through the program I was planning on studying through.
This year I also restarted my training and participation in Model United Nations through the Collegiate Council on World Affairs club at Ohio State. I have not participated in Model United Nations since graduating high school, and I have found collegiate participation to greatly bolster my ability to engage with other individuals in a competitive setting as well as strengthening my leadership abilities. I was set to take part in the spring Model United Nations session of conferences before COVID-19 restrictions were announced, but I am continuing my work with this extra-curricular remotely for the Fall 2020 semester.
This year I have gotten involved with refugee advocacy through an organization called Us Together which is based in both Columbus and Cleveland. I was supposed to start an internship this past summer with them to do work with refugee communities in Cleveland, many of whom have come in recent years from countries like Syria. This work was put on hold due to health concerns, but I am planning on working with this organization during the summer of 2021 depending on the status of the public health situation at that time. I have plans to go to law school following my undergraduate studies and immigration and refugee advocacy is one are of law I am deeply interested in. This potential internship with Us Together was and is meant to give me more insights into these vulnerable communities and hopefully inform me on a future career path working with these communities and our legal system. Engaging with these communities is important to me because I live alongside them and they contribute so many positive things to the environment that we live in.
This past year was full of planning. I cannot say my first year and a half at Ohio State went far beyond trying to excel at my academics, but I took the time to map out the next few years ahead of me. Due to circumstances out of my control, many of which I have had a hard time coping with, some of the things I have talked about in this review are put on hold or not happening any longer. My study abroad seems unlikely to happen this year and due to more pressing things the Fall of my senior year, it is unlikely that I will be able to study abroad then. I still have a commitment to broadening my global outlook by funneling my STEP money into another project (still undetermined) that may help me reach my goal of becoming fluent in Arabic as well as engaging closely with the Arab community that I have come to know much about during my studies. My internship will hopefully be able to be realized next year and my commitment to helping the communities around me is still fervent, regardless of the circumstances surrounding COVID-19. Some of my planning may be moot at this point, but I am still pursuing the same sense of fulfillment that went into that planning. My sophomore year was strange and unlike anything I have ever experienced before now. It has molded me in ways which won’t even be known to me until years from now.
G.O.A.L.S.
[ “G.O.A.L.S.” is a place where students write about how their planned, current, and future activities may fit into the Honors & Scholars G.O.A.L.S.: Global Awareness, Original Inquiry, Academic Enrichment, Leadership Development, and Service Engagement. 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.
- Global Awareness: Students cultivate and develop their appreciation for diversity and each individual’s unique differences. For example, consider course work, study abroad, involvement in cultural organizations or activities, etc.
- Original Inquiry: Honors & Scholars students understand the research process by engaging in experiences ranging from in-class scholarly endeavors to creative inquiry projects to independent experiences with top researchers across campus and in the global community. For example, consider research, creative productions or performances, advanced course work, etc.
- Academic Enrichment: Honors & Scholars students pursue academic excellence through rigorous curricular experiences beyond the university norm both in and out of the classroom.
- Leadership Development: Honors & Scholars students develop leadership skills that can be demonstrated in the classroom, in the community, in their co-curricular activities, and in their future roles in society.
- Service Engagement: Honors & Scholars students commit to service to the community.]
Career
[“Career” is where you can collect information about your experiences and skills that will apply to your future career. Like your resume, this is information that will evolve over time and should be continually updated. 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.]
Artifacts
[Artifacts are the items you consider to be representative of your academic interests and achievements. For each entry, include both an artifact and a detailed annotation. An annotation includes both a description of the artifact and a reflection on why it is important to you, what you learned, and what it means for your next steps. 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.]
About Me
[Your “About Me” is a brief biographical statement that might include your intended major, your academic interests, your goals, as well as the things that make you unique. Definitely include a picture! Also, remember that you can always update this post at any point. 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.]