Second Year: Semester 2

Over the past two years as a Dunn Scholar, the largest improvement I have seen in myself is in my social skills. As a result of being in scholars I have made several lifelong friendships that have forever changed my experience at Ohio State for the better. Being thrown head-first into such a social setting virtually forced us to build relationships and lean on one another.

Life lessons I have learned from being in DSWS is that anyone has the potential to surprise me. For example, there are so many people in scholars who prior to being in this group together I most likely would not have gotten to know, much less become friends with.

Before being in DSWS I was a relatively shy individual who was very used to having everything a certain way and being able to control most aspects of my life. Following my experience in DSWS, I have become much more willing to go out of my comfort zone and try as much as I possibly can while I have virtually anything in the world at my finger tips, courtesy of Ohio State.

 

An aspect of DSWS I have been very grateful for is the connection I have received for STEP. Being put into contact with Susie Whittington because of scholars has had such a positive impact on my year. Her charisma is so infectious and her positive attitude was always brightened my day. Also, she is always so happy to see all of us and it reminded me that there will always be someone at Ohio State that I can go to for anything. The way she ran our STEP program was extremely effective in making the experience something I value and appreciate most at Ohio State.

Finally, Buckeyethon was such an incredible experience and being able to participate with a group of individuals I have a personal connection with made it that much better. Being able to see all of the children receive so much honor and recognition for their impossible battle was such a rewarding moment of my life and something I would never trade for anything.

Welcome to my Honors & Scholars e-Portfolio

Welcome to my Honors and Scholars e-Portfolio, I am a Dunn Sports and Wellness Scholar. I am currently majoring in finance at the Fisher School of Business, and am very excited to see what new experiences and opportunities The Ohio State University will have for me over the next four years.

Year in Review

This past school year has been truly a life changing and eye opening experience, I think I have grown more throughout these past months in school than possibly in my entire life. One of the very first things I learned throughout my first weeks at Ohio State was that I am not alone here. I was very concerned that I would struggle with being away from my family and friends from home, and while I do miss them very much, I have been able to make a home for myself at Ohio State as well, one in which I have made new, possibly life-long, friends. The new relationships and friendships I have built have also opened my eyes and allowed me to look at situations in ways I possibly would not have considered without their influence, which is a new skill that has had a significant impact on me.

I have seen how strong willed I am as a person and how unwilling I am to give up on anything, an attribute I admire about myself. My strong will has been what has kept me involved with skating and what has allowed me to keep up with my classes, both of which I have performed at the level I intended. Also, this has been the first year since I started school that I have managed to avoid getting sick, even when all of my suitemates have gotten sick this year one time or another. My motivation to eat healthy and exercise have truly paid off this year.

With that being said, I have also learned that there are moments in my life when I need to slow down, moments in which I must realize that while I am capable of doing anything I set my mind to and am willing to work towards, I cannot do everything. Throughout this year I have also been experiencing highs and lows with my mental health. I struggle with self worth and self confidence, whether it be with school or simply with myself personally. At the start of 2017 I made a resolution to pay attention to my mental health and do whatever it took to return myself to someone who admires the person they see in the mirror, I know it will not be a quick turn around, but I am confident that I am headed on the right path.

G.O.A.L.S.

Global Awareness: My current activities that are expanding my Global Awareness include my scholars program for Dunn Sports and Wellness where the necessity to accept each and every individual’s differences in strongly emphasized. My future plans to expand my Global Awareness include joining a Spanish club at Ohio State and studying abroad in Europe in the coming years.
Original Inquiry: My future plans to further my Original Inquiry include continuing my education in business at the Fisher College of Business, furthering my ability to speak, read, and write in Spanish, and enhancing my arithmetic skills while pursuing a minor in mathematics.
Academic Enrichment: My future plans to further my Academic Enrichment include obtaining a Bachelor’s degree in finance, a minor in Spanish, Mathematics, and possibly International Business
Leadership Development: I would like to further my leadership development in the Dunn Sports and Wellness program during my time at Ohio State.
Service Engagement: I plan to volunteer for the Columbus Marathon in several months, the Buckeye-thon fund raiser, along with several other volunteer opportunities in local area of my hometown.

Artifacts

 

TiedHands

This picture is called Tied Hands and is a photo I submitted to the Scholastic Art Competition in January of this year. I received an honorable mention award for this particular submission and overall message that went along with it. The main message I attempted to portray in this image is how tied down we are as a society by the concept of possession and the constant greed that restrains people in their everyday lives, hence the bindings in the photo being different articles of jewelry.

About Me

 

Hi everyone, my name is Abby Schmitt, I grew up in Hudson, Ohio which about two hours North of here, and about half way between Akron and Cleveland. There are four people in my family– me, my older brother Nick, who now attends the University of Cincinnati, my mother, Tiffany, who is a pharmacist, and my father, Ralph, who is an industrial engineer. I attended Hudson City Schools all the way from kindergarten through my senior year of high school; regardless of what many of my fellow graduates would say, growing up in Hudson was incredibly rewarding and I am very grateful for the experience I had. Growing up through Hudson schools in addition to my skating career has allowed me to become both a very competitive learner, along with being a patient learner. I am also a competitive figure skater and have been skating since I was five years old. Skating is a large part of who of I am as it has been a main focus for me over the past thirteen years, it has taught me countless life lessons along the way including patience, discipline, and perseverance. I have been able to turn my passion for skating into a profession, I am a Learn to Skate Instructor at the Chiller Ice Rinks around Columbus, along with starting my own business as a private coach. I love being able to teach things to people that I love, and seeing others enjoy it as well.

As of now, my future plans consist of graduating from Ohio State with a Bachelor’s Degree in Business with a finance specialization to pursue a career as a financial planner; also, I am on track to obtain a minor in math and Spanish with hopes to study abroad in Spain sometime in the coming years with the likeliness of picking up a second minor in French.