Month: October 2020
Year in Review
Freshman year has been one for the books. Navigating my first year in college during the COVID-19 pandemic has been challenging, but has also incredibly rewarding; I have been challenged, learned, and grown as an individual and academic.
This year has been unexpected in terms of the progression of my career interests. I came to Ohio State most excited about the possibility of pursuing a doctorate in clinical psychology after graduation. Today, while I am still very interested in that option, I am equally interested in attending law school. I have used my experience in Ohio State Mock Trial and the network of coaches and alumni in the program to learn more about this path, and am excited to learn more about the legal field firsthand as I volunteer and intern in the legal area in upcoming years.
I am also finding active ways to learn more about clinical psychology. I am thankful to say I found a fantastic opportunity to do so; I will be working as a research assistant in Dr. Cheaven’s Mood and Personality Studies Lab starting in the fall. I believe this will be an incredible way to learn more about clinical-psychology research first-hand and to gain mentorship by Dr. Cheavens, who is a clinical psychologist herself.
Furthermore, I have honed in on my academic interests throughout the year. I came into Ohio State as a neuroscience and psychology double major, but soon realized that I was most interested in the clinical and abnormal areas of psychology. Therefore, I dropped my psychology major to a “Clinical Psychology and Individual Differences” minor. I also learned that I truly do have a passion for neuroscience. I came into the neuroscience major relatively “blind”, as I had never taken a neuroscience course before and solely knew that I had an interest in the neurobiological aspects of behavior. Over the year, my interest in neuroscience continued to increase. Specifically, I found behavioral neuroscience to be fascinating. I am looking forward to taking “Advanced Behavioral Neuroscience” next semester to learn even more about the area, and ultimately declaring my concentration in Behavioral Neuroscience.
Lastly, the highlight of my year has been being part of the Ohio State Mock Trial team. I came into college never having done mock trial, and tried out on a whim. Trying out for the team has easily been one of the best decisions I have ever made. I have developed a strong interest in litigation and law, have expanded my critical thinking, collaboration, and public speaking skills, and have met a life-long group of friends. I am excited to compete on the team for years to come.
My freshman year, while unconventional, has been impactful and memorable. I am extremely thankful for all the lessons and experiences I have gained throughout my first year at Ohio State, and am excited to see where next year takes me.
G.O.A.L.S.
Focusing on my G.O.A.L.S.- Global Awareness, Original Inquiry, Academic Enrichment, Leadership Development, and Service Engagement.
Global Awareness.
Diversity can be seen as a “check the box”. What good is it to have individuals with different ideas, experiences, and backgrounds if they will just be a statistic and will not be thoughtfully listened to and learned from? Each individual’s perspective is incredibly valuable, and I strive to try and understand these diverse perspectives through intentionality and curiosity.
Original Inquiry.
I do not want to be a passive learner. I want to learn about my fields of interest firsthand through research.
Thus, in May of 2021, I joined Dr. Jennifer Cheaven’s Mood and Personality Studies Lab to learn about clinical psychology firsthand. Dr. Cheavens is currently supervising my undergraduate thesis, in which I investigate how early experiences of failure may correlate to mental health outcomes. I have also been able to attend weekly lab meetings in with the graduate students of the lab which always prompt rich discussion of psychological material, receive invaluable mentorship from Dr. Cheavens, and learn more about the process of research firsthand. It has been an incredibly rewarding experience and I am excited to see where my work in the lab goes.
Academic Enrichment.
I am incredibly fascinated by neuroscience, specifically behavioral neuroscience. I am also very interested in the law and am passionate about ensuring that it is applied equally and fairly to all individuals regardless of differences in age, gender, sexual orientation, and race. I have structured my coursework and extracurricular to allow me to most fully delve into my interests in behavioral neuroscience and the law.
I just finished taking Advanced Behavioral Neuroscience this semester (Fall of 2021). I really enjoy behavioral neuroscience as it allows me to understand the biological basis for different behaviors and disorders. I also just completed a Structure and Function of the Nervous System course, which gives me the foundation to understand the brain from a biological and anatomical perspetive.
To cultivate my interest in the law, I participate in Ohio State Mock Trial. Our program is currently listed as fifth in the nation! Being a part of the OSU Mock Trial team really allows me to learn about litigation and court-room dynamics first-hand. Furthermore, it helps me improve my public speaking skills, critical thinking abilities, and on-the-spot responses; these are all skills which are important to succeed in law school and in the legal field itself. Lastly, Mock Trial allows me to connect with incredibly. lawyers in the Columbus area, as the majority of our coaches are lawyers who have greatly enriched my understanding of a career in law.
Leadership Development.
As a high-schooler, I was involved in numerous clubs and had a leadership position in nearly every one. Coming into college, I wanted to be much more intentional about where I invested my time and what I chose to be an active leader in, in order to really focus and grow initiatives that I considered important. As a freshman in her first semester of college, I am currently exploring my different interests and responsibilities first before diving into any formal leadership positions. I want to be a leader to explore my passions, not to further my resumé.
As of now, my greatest leadership has come through my involvement with OSU Mock Trial. Although I have not sought out any formal positions, I feel as if every member of a successful team must lead by example. I do my part by ensuring I am working on my materials each day, come to practice prepared, and work with my teammates and coaches to continue to improve and become the best team possible.
Service Engagement.
Service is extremely important to me. I have been given so many incredible opportunities, which are really not worth much if I can not use them to improve the world around me.
I am working with CRIS Columbus (Community Refugee and Immigrant Services) as a mentor to a high-school refugee student. Working with CRIS has been a great experience and helped me to expand my perspectives by working with those around me.
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
I am very interested in research in the fields of psychology and neuroscience. I realized that I was interested in the research after designing an independent research project my senior year of high school. This project focused on comparing the reported caloric values that are seen on nutrition labels to the actual caloric values as measured by a calorimeter. This research was spurred by the discovery that companies can have a 20% margin of error on the caloric values that are reported; I wondered if companies would under-report caloric values to make their products seem more appealing to customers, as many prefer lower calorie products. The research paper is attached here.