University has been interesting. How I perceive it right now is that it is “high school on steroids.” The reason I say this is because everything is fast paced due to classes being semester long. There are so many extra-curriculars that I can participate in. There are many volunteer opportunities that are available. There are research opportunities available. These opportunities were all available in high school, but not to the magnitude they are present at university, especially at OSU. On top of that, the variety of academics at university is enormous, there is a class for every interest. It was sort of like that in high school, in the respect that there was a class for English, Maths, Science, Social Studies; however, at university, there are more specific courses geared towards different areas of each topic.
For me personally, I have appreciated my time at University. I was able to improve my critical thinking skills, as well as my ability to handle my responsibilities, as well as balancing priorities. For my first semester, I registered for 17 credit hours worth of courses. The first half of the semester was tough because I wasn’t really prepared for university. In high school, I typically listened to lecture and read the text book, and that was enough for me to get an “A”, however, at university, I am grateful to have professors who have actually made me master the content by applying it to real life circumstances, as well as asking trick questions and other sort of quizzing to make me think about a concept in multiple perspectives, rather than just regurgitating information. It took a few weeks for me to get accustomed to that, but once I got the hang of it, I was able to do my homework more efficiently, as well as better balance my time between academics, extra curriculars and other.
In addition to academics, I am glad that I had the chance to join a few extra curricular clubs, such as Code 4 Community, Medical Innovations Club, Pre-Medicine club, and other organizations that allow me to take up leadership positions as well as provide service back to my community. In high school, I was mainly focused on keeping good grades, but once I reached university, I desired to give back to the community that had aided me in reaching to college.
I also had the chance to join the Biological Scholars program at the Ohio State University, and this program had aided me in the transition from high school student to more prepared college student. For starters, the Biological Scholars program had given me the opportunity to meet new people , whether that was faculty member or other students. The Biological Scholars program had also aided me in previewing research that is occurring at the Ohio State University, and it also gave me the resources to be a better applicant for medical school. Resources like research opportunities, volunteer opportunities and other that make me a better applicant. The Biological Scholars Program had also helped me figure out my passion, and nurture my interests that have started in high school. Interests in research, as well as service were strengthened by being a part of this program, and it also helped me become a more empathetic person overall as I learned to relate to the people I had to help when I was volunteering.
In my opinion, we ,as human beings, are always personally growing, however what really matters is what we do with that growth. This semester, I feel that I have grown to be a more empathetic person, because of the volunteering opportunities that I have taken. So when reflecting back on these experiences allow for me to appreciate how far I’ve come from my past, less mature self.