STEP Expo

Academic/ Campus Event Reflection

20 November 2019, Archie Griffin Grand Ballroom-Ohio Union, 10:30-11:30am Session

This event helped me to understand how STEP works and gave me some ideas about what I could do when I do STEP. It related to the topic of International Affairs because many of the people there traveled for their STEP project. This event mostly helped me academically since STEP is mostly academic. It did not really relate to other topics that I have learned in other coursework. After attending this event, I wish that I would have looked at more posters so I could know about more ways that people did their projects. Here is my review of the five posters that I chose:

1) Montana Yoga Retreat

This project was done to improve her yoga skills and relaxation techniques. Basically, she went to Montana for a week and did different types of yoga to get a more balanced lifestyle. I found the whole project to be interesting because I never thought about doing a yoga retreat for your STEP project. I really do not know much about yoga, so it was an interesting topic for me to learn about. Personally, I would not do a similar project because I am not really into yoga, but there is a very slight chance that I would do something sort of similar. This project did not really relate to IA at all, but it could if the retreat happened in a different country and had some more cultural aspects to it.

2) Cru Mission

This project focused mostly on the homeless community in San Diego, California. This presenter went to San Diego and ministered and served the homeless community. I found this project to be interesting because I am also in Cru and never really thought about doing my STEP project about a mission trip. I would consider doing my STEP project on a mission trip since there are so many different mission trips that I could go on and different experiences that I could have. I also would consider doing that since I plan on going on multiple summer missions during my time as a student at Ohio State. This specific project did not really relate to IA but since there are many different mission trips that people can go on, it easily could.

3) IES paris

This project was mainly about language immersion in Paris, France. The presenter went to France and took classes there since she is a romance studies major. This was interesting because I have always wanted to go to Paris, and it was nice learning about the experience that the presenter had there. I also found it interesting because I did not know much about language immersion. If I were majoring or minoring in a foreign language, I would consider doing a project similar to this one, but since I am not currently studying a foreign language, I would not do this type of project. This related to IA because the presenter went to a different country and experienced the different language and culture there.

4) Uganda Global May

This project was about the culture and certain issues that there are in Uganda. The presenter went to Uganda and learned about the people of Uganda. This was interesting because I do not know much about Uganda or what there is there, so it was nice to hear about some of the different things that she did when she went on this trip. I would definitely consider doing a project similar to this since I mostly want to study abroad, and I would like to know more about Uganda. Out of the projects that I am reviewing, I believe that this one related the most to IA because it was all about the people of Uganda’s way of life and issues that they face.

5) Bridgeway Academy

This project mostly focused on children with autism. The presenter volunteered at Bridgeway Academy for their STEP project. She has been volunteering there for many years before, so she used her STEP funds to be able to spend more time volunteering with the kids there. This project was interesting because I am interested in working with kids in the future, and it was nice to hear about Bridgeway Academy and what they do. I would consider volunteering at a place similar to this, but I likely would not do this for STEP since I am mostly interested in doing my project in the study abroad category. This project did not really relate to IA.

Internment: Now and Then

Campus Event Reflection

18 November 2019, Hagerty Hall Room 180, 4:30-6:30pm

I went to this event because I wanted to learn more about internment since it is a big topic at this time. Before I went to this event, I did not really know much about internment. I knew about the basics, but I did not know much about the history of it. After learning about the history of internment, I realized how many different groups of people have been affected by it. The presentation focused mostly on Japanese/ Japanese- American internment at the beginning and then went in to show how it changed from internment to education for Native American/ Indian people which was basically experimental and forced assimilation. After the schools were made for the Native American people to assimilate, they started doing the same to Japanese-Americans. The final part of the presentation focused on how it feels to be seen as a “problem.” It also focused on what internment is now. This whole event made me understand how bad internment really is, so it affected my view of this topic.

This event relates to the topic of International Affairs directly because it was about how the US has treated people from other nations over time. I gained a better understanding of this topic which I believe will help me academically, professionally, and most of all, personally. This event related to everything that I have learned about politics and immigration. It actually related to what we recently learned in our International Affairs seminar about the detention and deportation of Cambodian Americans. After attending this event, I just want to learn from people who have actually been through this experience. I feel like it would be really interesting to hear about someone’s experience firsthand. I also would like to know more about why this happens and what could be done to help the people who have been detained or in internment or detention.