My Second Year

My second year at Ohio State, to say the least, has been even better than I anticipated. I solidified my major as well as my career track. I got to mentor freshmen Humanities Scholars and help young Buckeyes find their home and place in Ohio State. I lived in my sorority’s house and got to make the most amazing memories, including a spring break trip to Chicago with my best friends. I started a job at the Geology Library and found my new favorite study spot. But most importantly, I found myself. Last year, I completely lost myself, in the mess of being new and unaware. This year I learned who I am as an individual, and got to better myself mentally more than ever. Yes, my second year got cut short due to a pandemic, but I’m so grateful and excited to have been able to spend 1.5 semesters in Columbus and I can’t wait to get back to the place I feel most myself.

Pen Pals

Last year, I was a member of the PenPals at Ohio State, the organization partners with local schools to write weekly notes to students. I loved being a Pen Pal to my friend Matthew. Every week, I got to learn more about his goals, dreams, and week as a 4th grader. I loved spending a few minutes to decompress and just appreciate the fact that I was making a difference in this young boy’s life regardless of how large the impact was. I really wish this type of opportunity would have been available to me when I was a 4th grader, as it would feel amazing to have someone you barely know cheering you on from a distance and helping you become your best self. I highly recommend this organization as we as students are able to make a difference and be a role model for someone else, as well as brighten the day of a 4th grader!

G.O.A.L.S. Update & Career Plan Reflection

My experience in Scholars has been amazing, every event we hold directly relates to the Honors and Scholars G.O.A.L.S. and we are informed of these on our Humanities calendar. Some of my favorite events are our service events, we participated in the MLK Day of Service, our Treat-the-Hungry food drive on Halloween, and we made sack lunches for the food bank. I served as a mentor this past year and it was an amazing leadership opportunity. I also love our learning events, like our Doc and Talks, and our Humanities Book Club. The Humanities Scholars group has definitely provided me with so many resources to focus on academic, professional, and personal goals. I can’t wait for next year for another year of growth in my G.O.A.L.S.!

GOTR 5k- Fall Semester

Last fall, I went to downtown Columbus one early Saturday morning with my sorority. We got to cheer on the young girls who participated in Girls on the Run of Central Ohio. It was such an amazing experience to help these girls feel powerful and strong enough to run and complete a 5k.

There was one specific girl that to this day I always remember her. I was giving out high fives and she asked me, “Can I get a hug instead?” I bent down and gave the young girl a hug not knowing her situation, why I was the one to give her a hug or if that was just the support she needed to keep going. All I know is that I will never forget my opportunity to support these girls and I can’t wait for the next 5k!

About Me

I am also a member of the Humanities Scholars program through the University’s Honors and Scholars. I am an active member of the campus sorority Gamma Phi Beta, where we raise money through various ways to support Girls on the Run of Central Ohio. I am also apart of the Young Scholars Program and a Scholar Ambassador for YSP to help other first-generation college students. I currently work at the Geology Library in Orton Hall. When not in class you can find me with my friends exploring Columbus and enjoying life!

My First Year at OSU

Well, here we are, the end of the second semester. How is it already the end of the year? This year went so fast and honestly it is all kind of a blur, but we did it, well at least almost. I can’t believe that I am done with my first year at The Ohio State University. I remember thinking, wow I am about to go to college, and I was so scared because I didn’t think I would know anyone here, or I thought I would have a terrible roommate or, that I was a failure because I didn’t have a set major. Except this first semester was completely the opposite. I met so many people, thanks to good ole Baker East, Humanities, YSP, and just by being a part of the Buckeye community. My roommate is so far from terrible. She is literally the sweetest person I have ever met, and I’m so lucky to have been matched with her. Knowing what I want to major in, well funny you should be concerned… but I was not alone. So many people, along with myself have already changed their majors, and that’s okay! Fear no more, it’s a commonality across the campus, us Buckeyes have no idea what our future holds, and we are 100% fine with that, and by the end, I decided that Industrial Engineering is my perfect match,

This year I got to experience so many different things, my first football season, along with the Best Damn Band in the Land. That was probably the best part about this first semester, as this was the most amazing experience, along with beating TTUN. I also got to do some really cool things with Humanities, like go to the Wild light Zoo, Treat- the- Hungry, Explore Columbus Day, Rock Painting, see Hamilton at the Ohio Theater. If I would have never gone to these events, I would not have met some of my best friends and would not have created these memories. These are times that I will never forget and memories that will last forever.  I also joined a sorority, Gamma Phi Beta, where I’ve been able to raise money for Girls on the Run of Central Ohio, as well as make lasting friendships and memories.

However, this first year challenged me to learn who I really am and helped me to grow into the person I am today. I have learned so much about myself that I can’t even begin to explain. I have seen my own personal growth in terms of my maturity and mindset. I have also learned that I am not perfect and that I can only keep bettering myself every day. I have had some setbacks, some eye-opening moments, some proud moments, some days where I feel like I do not belong. All of these have shaped me and helped me to make it through this semester and for that I am beyond grateful. Through every setback, I have come out stronger and I have grown to appreciate my struggles, as they have made me who I am today. I am so thankful for this first year and so happy with my decision to come to Ohio State.

Humans of OSU

   

    I chose to interview Thomas Miller. He is a first year here at OSU. He is studying aeronautical engineering, and hopes to work for NASA one day. He told me that one day he wants to be apart of sending the first people to Mars. This goal was very specific but I could it to be awesome, that he has a clear idea of what he wants to do at much a young age.

    We talked about where he came from, which was Parma, Ohio. After hearing about his high school, I realized that him and I came from a similar school. One that focused on football, sports and excellence over a student who was excelling academically. I found this to be very interesting and made us connect in a way that we never realized we would. He continued on and talked about how he was the only boy of four children. He said growing up he always felt sheltered and like he had three more moms than everyone else. He talked about he was super excited to be out on his own, to become himself, and truly find himself, whatever that ended up being.

    When I asked him, why he chose Ohio State, his answer was very simple, “Why wouldn’t I want to go to Ohio State? It’s the perfect school.” I was able to agree with this simple statement however I wanted a little more information, asking what exactly is so perfect about this school? He then went into more detail, “Well, OSU is about 2 hours away from my house, that’s 2 hours too far, by 2 hours too close. OSU made me feel at home when I came for a college visit, I felt like I was able to be apart of a something amazing, whatever I decided that to be. The football, actually all the sports, it’s a D1 school, who doesn’t love a good sporting event? But my final reason would be is, this is the place I’ve always dreamed of coming to, since way before I even understood what college was. I’ve been an Buckeyes fan forever, and I just knew I wanted to become a Buckeye one day, and I never gave up till I got that admissions letter, and that’s when I knew this was going to be my new home.”

    Talking with Thomas made me realized that everyone is similar in a way that you will never realize until you decided to take the time to learn about that person. I found this conversation to be very beneficial and it made me understand him on a more in-depth way. I left the conversation realizing that I knew more about him that most people take the time to learn. After this conversation, I have a new level of appreciation for those conversations where things get a little bit deeper than we like, because that means the conversation is important and has meaning, unlike the superficial conversations we have on the daily that have little to no meaning. I really appreciated this conversation and will strive to have more conversations like it in the future.

Humanities This Week

Where have I seen Humanities in the past week?

Humanities are all around us, everyone comes from a different background, with different culture, and languages. This is not new information, however, every time I find myself talking with someone new I meet, I encounter humanities. Being on such a large campus, like Ohio State, I have the opportunity to meet someone new everyday.

A very recent example of where I’ve seen the humanities, is when I participated in the Treat-the-Hungry service experience. This event allowed, myself and other scholars to go and trick-or-treat for canned goods, to donate to a local food bank. This experience was very fun, and even heartwarming. Each house we went to, knew what we were doing and was very welcoming to donating to us.

To continue on with the Halloween aspect, this holiday allowed for people to come together, and hang around people who share a common intreset or love for Halloween. This also shows the humanities as people were able to be creative and create super unique costumes as a way to express themselves.

My First Week at OSU

Well, we made it to week 2. We made it through a full week of Baker East, of new classes, friendships and new lifestyles. Looking back, the past week was a blur. It went so fast and was full of so many different events that by Saturday I was exhausted.

Move-In Weekend- (Move-In Day, Floor Meetings, The Involvement Fair, Buck-I-Frenzy, Humanities 1st Year Retreat & Convocation) The first weekend on campus was so exciting and everything I expected. I met so many people, got a chance to be involved, and got a taste of what Ohio State is all about. The first few days leading up to the first day of class allowed me to get comfortable with campus, with the people I would be living on the floor with, the other Humanity Scholars and get myself as mentally prepared as I could.

First Week of Classes- In all honesty, the first few days of classes was extremely boring and expensive. Going over syllabi for hours upon hours, while being told to buy access codes, books, and other required materials. However, my first week of classes went very smoothly and I wouldn’t change anything about it. The “boringness” allowed me to get acclimated to my teachers, their teaching styles and their expectations. My first week made me feel more prepared going into the second week and future weeks to come.

Second Weekend- Friday night, my new friends and I ventured down to Short North to celebrate a birthday, this was so much fun, to just explore the city surrounding Ohio State and make memories with other Scholars. Saturday morning, I went and volunteered at the Community Commitment. This was an amazing experience and I’m so glad I decided to wake up early on my day off to give back to the Community. This experience allowed me to reflect on my own behaviors along with coming up with ideas to change the way the community as a whole behaves. As mentioned above, by Saturday afternoon I was drained, and spent the rest of Saturday relaxing, and preparing for my next week of classes. Sunday, some friends and I took a COTA bus and went to Polaris shopping center. This was so much fun and allowed me to explore, make memories and get off campus for a few hours.

My first week at Ohio State was everything I could have imagined and allowed me to become more comfortable in my new “home.” It allowed me to be comfortable saying I love being in Columbus, and at Ohio State. It gave me a clear understanding of how welcoming Ohio State is, showed me how many opportunities there are and the amount resources that are available to me. All in all my first week at OSU proved me to that I made the right decision when I chose Ohio State as the place to further my education.