The acronym “G.O.A.L.S” stands for the ideals of the Honors and Scholars program and what its students strive to exhibit as being an Honors or Scholars student.
The “G” in the acronym “G.O.A.L.S” stands for “Global Awareness”. Global Awareness is all about being aware of differences between people from different backgrounds, and being able to view ideas from different perspectives. Global Awareness is also being cognizant of the bigger picture and the implications of a problem and its solution worldwide. Being able to think from multiple perspectives is a result of global awareness because both require the trait of being open to diversity and respecting different opinions. I , as a student at the Ohio State University, am fulfilling of Global awareness as I am a taking courses that teach me about different cultures and ideologies as well as courses that teach me about different concepts in different subjects that expand my knowledge. Being aware of different ideologies allows me to better apply what I learn from my courses to real life. I will continue to exhibit this trait as I spend my time at OSU as that is how I can better my contribution to society.
The “O” in the acronym “G.O.A.L.S” stands for “Original Inquiry.” What this means is that students who exhibit this characteristic are curious and always ask questions to better understand the world around them. I am naturally a very curious person because I believe that by asking questions, I can better understand the concepts that I am learning. When doing a service, like tutoring, I always ask questions to the student and guide them through concepts through the questions I ask them so that they can piece together the ideas from what they know. If they are stumped, I do help them, but I believe that by being curious, it allows for better learning and understanding.
The “A” in the acronym “G.O.A.L.S” stands for “Academic Enrichment.” What this means is that students will challenge themselves academically. Challenging oneself academically can take many forms, whether it is by taking a heavy course load, joining organizations that allow one to apply the concepts they learn in class into real life uses and many more. I have academically challenged myself, with regards to both the amount of courses I take, the rigor of the course and the organizations that I have contributed to. As a freshman at the Ohio State University, I challenged myself my first semester by taking 18 credit hours worth of classes and doing my best to excel in each course that I have taken. In addition, I have joined multiple organizations such as Medical Innovations Club so, so that I can learn other concepts that I wouldn’t have otherwise have learned in school, such as coding in Swift.
The “L” in the acronym “G.O.A.L.S” stands for “Leadership Development.” What this means is that one acts like a leader. A leader is defined as someone who empowers another, and allows them to feel confident with the task that is at hand. I have been able to develop my leadership skills this year as I am a project lead for the app development project in the Medical Innovations Club, in which we try to develop an app that gives diagnosis based on specific conditions a patient has. So far, none of us know how to code, so I’ve been responsible in making sure everyone understands the concepts of Swift(the programming language) and XCode (The platform used to code) so that when we go to program the app, we will have an easier time.
The “S” in “Service Engagement” in the acronym “G.O.A.L.S”. This means a student donates some of his/her time to give back to his/her community. I have donated my time as a volunteer for the Columbus Host Group(CHG) of the Remote Area Medical. As a volunteer for the CHG, I aid in the creation of clinics in the Columbus area so that people who don’t have access to insurance that pays for medical care or for people who just can’t pay for medical bills. I also volunteered along with my Arabic teacher to create a presentation to teach people who don’t know Arabic, how to read the Quran and how to read Arabic, and the rules associated with it. I also look forward to applying to volunteer at hospitals in the future.
I chose to be a part of the Biological Science Scholars because I believe this program gives me the opportunities to expand on the depth of each of the aspects of the acronym of “G.O.A.L.S”. I believe that my initial levels of each aspect of “G.O.A.L.S” is minimal and that I can expand on each aspect of the acronym so that I can become a better contributor to society. I will academically challenge my self at my time at the Ohio State University, as well as spending some time giving back to my community through volunteer opportunities, as well as organizations within the Ohio State University. I recognize that to become a successful Biological Science Scholar, I need to be consistent with each aspects of “G.O.A.L.S”.