College Transition Lecture Reflection

For me, college has always represented a daunting and mysterious future. I did not know what to expect from classes, teachers, roommates, or the campus itself. My biggest worry was and remains to be not finding a “place” that I belong at OSU. This is in terms of both choosing a major and finding a group of people that share my interests. The majority of people that I meet already know what they want to do with their lives and are excited to be taking classes that pertain to their major. I worry that I will never be as excited as they seem about any particular topic or future career path. I enjoy a wide variety of different classes and subjects, so I struggle with the idea of having to finally settle on one or two to pursue. Also, I worry about forming friendships and meeting people who I have things in common with. It is difficult to come from home where you are surrounded by close friends and family to a college where you have to form all new relationships.

Despite these challenges, I am extremely excited to explore the wide variety of possibilities at OSU. Since my arrival, I have met people from all over the country and the world, learned about clubs I did not know existed, and rode a COTA bus around Columbus. I love being a part of a campus that is as diverse and interesting as OSU. There is a different activity or event going on every day, and I have not been bored for a second.  I am also excited by the academic possibilities. While having over 200 majors can be frightening to think about, it is really amazing to think that I could decide to pursue just about anything here at OSU. I know that no matter what major I end up choosing I will be a part of a quality program, and that is really comforting for me.

While high school will definitely be remembered as simpler than college, I do believe that I learned many skills there that will serve me well as I continue my academic career. I would say my greatest strengths are my work ethic and dedication to learning. I have always been greatly fascinated by my school work and love to learn new information. I know how much time and effort it takes to succeed in school and have always been willing to work for my success. I know that I will face new challenges in college but I believe that I will be able to work through them in time.

I have encountered many exciting clubs and groups on campus. Some of the specific co-curricular activities that I have gotten involved with are Book Club, Make-A-Wish, and Phi Alpha Delta, a pre-law fraternity. I have always loved to read, so I knew that I definitely wanted to find a book club which would motivate me to continue reading and allow me to discuss what I have read with others. I also knew I wanted to find a service organization on campus to be a part of. Make-A-Wish particularly stood out for me because of their efforts in aid of children. Finally, I recently have been thinking about attending law school. I thought that the best way to decide if that was what I truly wanted to do was to talk with other people who were choosing that career path, so I joined PAD.

While attending the college transition lecture, the advice from the panel that most resonated with me was to be open to new majors or career paths that I had not previously considered. As I have started attending classes and meeting new people, it has become clear to me that there are many majors that I did not even know existed. I want to explore as many things as I can so when I finally choose I will know that I made the right decision.

Year in Review

[ “Year in Review”  is where you should reflect on the past year and show how you have evolved as a person and as a student.  You may want to focus on your growth in a particular area (as a leader, scholar, researcher, etc.) or you may want to talk about your overall experience over the past year.  For more information, go to: http://honors-scholars.osu.edu/e-portfolio. Delete these instructions and add your own post.]

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 information, go to: http://honors-scholars.osu.edu/e-portfolio. 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 information, go to: http://honors-scholars.osu.edu/e-portfolio. 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 is a reflective description of the artifact that attempts to communicate its significance.  For more information, go to: http://honors-scholars.osu.edu/e-portfolio. Delete these instructions and add your own post.]

About Me

[Your “About Me” is an introduction and should provide insight into who you are as a person and a learner.  This should include a picture of you that is appropriate in a professional/academic context. This information should be continually updated.  For more information, go to: http://honors-scholars.osu.edu/e-portfolio.  Delete these instructions and add your own post.]