Global Awareness: Being a part of not only the third largest university in the US, but the world surrounding it as well, it is imperative that students, including me, take initiative to achieve at least some level of global awareness. With a large campus comes even bigger opportunities for us, including general education requirements that incorporate global studies into our understanding of the world, studying or researching abroad, and getting involved in clubs on campus. I plan to join the Committee for Justice in Palestine and Buck-I-Serv, as well as the Muslim Student Association. I may also be declaring my minor as international relations and diplomacy, but I’m not certain about that yet.

Original Inquiry: Ohio State 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.” And although it sounds intimidating at first, getting the chance to work with a researcher is not that hard at all – just reach out to researchers whose work you know of, professors of classes you enjoyed, and they’ll absolutely do their best to help us to these opportunities. As a biology major on the pre-med track, it’s rather important that I get involved in research, and since I want to be an oncologist, it’d be awesome if it was within that field.

Academic Enrichment: Honors students at the Ohio State University already have an academic plan set for them to help guide them along the first two years at OSU, filled with honors and upper level courses. But beyond this, there are extra curricular activities that can provide valuable academic as well, like the academic team or a pre-professional fraternity – both of which are examples of how you can take your interests and combine them with your academic future.

Leadership Development: A great way to demonstrate and grow in leadership is to get involved with extracurricular activities early in the undergraduate student experience and work your way up through upcoming years by chairing events, and eventually becoming a board member of this group, or taking initiative to start your own club. Another way is employment! I do have a job at OSU and not only is it an easy way to make money, but it makes me feel productive and organized, and it’s a great way to learn about how to foster teamwork and cooperation amongst the people around you.

Service Engagement: With a campus as big as OSU’s, there are events for the local community and global community alike that give back, for example, Community Commitment day where any and all volunteers do something, for the city of Columbus and our campus, any and everything that needs to be done. For more wide-scale outreach, there are clubs like Buck-I-Serv that travel abroad to aid those in need of our help. I plan to get involved with Buck-I-Serv and if I am able to, either work or volunteer at Wexner Medical Center since I do have a lot of experience in volunteering in hospitals.