IA Reading Day Events

Social + Academic Development

26 April, 2022

Ohio State’s Reading day provided students with an opportunity to catch up on studying and de-stress before finals week. On the 26th of April, IA joined in with some excellent programming events to create an atmosphere conducive to self-care and academic success. I attempted to attend all three of the IA events on this day, but I only was able to make it to two.

The first event I attended was the Coffee and Cram session which ran from 11am to 4pm at the Kunn Honors and Scholars house. Despite living very close to this building and frequenting Mirror Lake, I had never set foot in the Honors and Scholars house before. This event provided coffee, breakfast, snacks, and several study rooms available for students to fuel a day of studying. The fuel and atmosphere put me in a very productive mood, and I finished a final paper for my Environment and Natural Resource Policy class during the three hours that I spent there.

The next event that IA Scholars hosted was the Buckeye PAWs De-Stress. I was sad to be a few minutes late to the Oval, because I heard that I missed out interacting with a lovable therapy dog named Crockett. Hopefully Crockett makes an appearance next semester during finals season.

The final IA event was very similar to the first. Reading Day Coffee and Snacks brought me back to my old home, Smith-Steeb. My friend and fellow IA-er, Ella, and I enjoyed a much-needed afternoon coffee and snack break following a successful day of studying.

Overall, I was very appreciative of the effort made by the University and IA Scholars to provide resources, spaces, and food for students during one of the most stressful times of the semester. I was grateful to be able to take advantage of these events as they were very beneficial to my academic success and well-being on reading day. I look forward to similar events like these being held in future semesters!

RUOK? Day 2022

Wellness 

1 March, 2022

On March 1st from 4-7pm, the Buckeye Campaign Against Suicide hosted RUOK? Day in Performance Hall at the Ohio Union. This event focused on the 9 dimensions of wellness: Career, creative, emotional, environmental, financial, intellectual, physical, social, and spiritual. During this event participants were able to visit different sections of the room that corresponded to the RUOK? acronym. The “R” section hosted community resources such as Columbus-based mental health advocacy groups. “U” Offered university offices and resources. This section included the most dimensions of wellness with every thing from career services to physical recreation resources.

“O” included student organizations. I made sure to attend the Never Walk Alone group’s both. This club, in which my friend and roommate, Emma Morgenstern, serves as an executive board member, is a mental health advocacy club for OSU students. It was great to see and learn from one of my best friends and fellow IA-er! 

The “K” section hosted knowledge, where groups offered tools, resources, and promoted awareness for mental health. Finally, “?” stood for asking difficult questions. This section answered questions about the event, as it was made up of the Buckeye Campaign Against Suicide, the hosts of the event.

In the last year, OSU has made a strong effort to provide wellness resources during the COVID-19 pandemic. International Affairs Scholars’ new wellness chair demonstrates this commitment to wellness and wellbeing. I think it’s great that the university, and our scholars program promoted this event. I am very satisfied with the resources and opportunities that I was able to take away from attending this event.

Besides visiting Emma’s booth, my favorite resources of the afternoon were the therapy dogs. I enjoyed getting to know four very lovable and stress-relieving dogs on the floor of the Ohio Union. Pictured below is Samson (a very good boy).

Knowlton Career Fair

Professional Development

24 February, 2022

On the afternoon of February 24th, I attended the Knowlton School’s Architecture and Planning career fair. This fair offered students the opportunity to connect with companies within the architecture, design, and city & regional planning industries. Eight architecture firms and planning organizations were set out in the atrium of the Knowlton building. I attended with the intention of speaking to the Mid Ohio Regional Planning Commission representatives.

This was the first in-person career fair I had attended at Ohio State, and I was excited to speak with professionals in the field of city and regional planning. Because of my community development specialization within my EEDS major, I have developed a strong professional and academic interest in regional planning as it relates to transportation and sustainability. A couple of weeks ago, I applied to an internship through the Mid Ohio Regional Planning Commission (MORPC), and after some email correspondence between the member Member Services Coordinator, I was encouraged to meet with representatives at the career fair.

I had a great time discussing all things transportation and planning related with the two representatives. We swapped contact information, connected on LinkedIn, and made plans for an informational interview. I walked away from the career fair feeling like I had learned a lot about the planning field and made some great new connections.

Regional planning and community development are incredibly relevant to international affairs. This is one of the reasons that I feel like my major specialization is so enriched my this scholars program.  The structure of a community affects how it interacts with other communities, even internationally. While the MORPC is more of a local institution, there were other planning and architecture firms that worked internationally. One of the firms had offices throughout the US, in Beijing, and in London.

Overall, I’m very pleased with how the event went. I feel like it contributed directly to my professional development, and I’m looking forward to seeing where my new connections at MORPC will take me.

Education Abroad- Getting Started

Academic + Professional Development

7 December 2021

On December 7th at 2:30 p.m., I attended a STEP-approved personal development event called Education Abroad- Getting Started. This webinar, hosted by the Office of International Affairs, explained requirements for studying abroad and the variety of programs available. I attended this event because I am interested in applying to a study abroad program through Ohio State. It was beneficial to learn about the different types of programs offered and the kinds of coursework available to students while they study. I didn’t know that it was possible for students to receive transfer credit if they participate in non-OSU study abroad programs and are approved. I also learned about important due dates relating to the application cycle during the question and answer section at the end.

I plan to apply for a study abroad program through the School of Environment and Natural Resources and Office of International Affairs. This information session helped better explain the study abroad process to me. As an Environment, Economy, Development, and Sustainability major this will be enriching for me academically as it relates to my coursework in SENR. Career-wise I am interested in environmental policy and community development work. The New Zealand: Sustainable Tourism and Human Impacts on the Environment program that I intend to apply for explores these career interests of mine.

I also personally value the environment and learning from communities in other countries that excel in areas where the United States lack.  New Zealand is a great example of this with national and community-based policies that benefit the environment and these communities. I think this program will be enriching both as a student in SENR and as a student in International Affairs Scholars. If accepted, my plan is to use this program to apply for a STEP fellowship. I would also like to use this experience as my second-year project for International Affairs Scholars.

School of Environment and Natural Resources Internship Poster Form

Professional Development

26 October 2021

On October 25th at 2pm, I attended the School of Environment and Natural Resources internship poster forum. The event was held in the main auditorium in the Agricultural Administration Building on west campus. The purpose of the forum was to allow SENR students to present their experiential learning requirements. Majoring in EEDS, I am required to either study abroad or participate in an internship for credit program in order to graduate. The forum I attended hosted a number of students who had completed their internship for credit over the summer. My friend, Ella Sheppard, who is also in IA Scholars presented her summer internship at SenseICs at the forum.

While my first reason for attending the event was to support my friend Ella and see her poster presentation, I also found the event to be professionally enriching. Walking through the rows of posters, I gathered new ideas for internship applications. I was most interested in a presentation given by someone who worked for the Toledo Metro Parks. My plan is to explore roles in the Metro Parks system as a potential internship opportunity. I plan to take a GIS class in the upcoming semester, and I know that many parks systems look for people with that skill. Working for the metro parks would be an excellent way to connect to my community development EEDS specialization.

I enjoyed the broad range of internships presented at the forum. In a single row of posters I saw a sustainability internship for White Castle, a museum conservation internship, and a snake rehabilitation internship at a zoo. What was interesting to me was that all of the presentations tied back to sustainability. This event showed me that there is a role in nearly every field for a major like mine. I was encouraged to see that even companies like White Castle had developed sustainability programs.

IA + LSS Community Cookout

Social

1 September 2021

For my first IA Scholars event of the year, I attended a community cookout event with the Law and Society Scholars (LSS) program. The event was held on September 1^st at 5:30pm in the green space between Smith-Steeb and Park-Stradley Hall. Besides a little bit of wind, the weather was pleasant and warm for the outdoor event. The cookout was a great opportunity to reconnect with my friends in IA scholars from last year. I also enjoyed getting to know the 1^st year IA scholars and the LSS scholars. At the event, I had a chance to talk to both of my IA mentees and get to know them a little bit better. Last year being virtual, it was often draining to attend virtual events after a day’s worth of mostly virtual classes. It was refreshing to attend an in-person event and socialize with others.

Being outside, we were able to safely socialize without wearing masks. It was nice to see everyone’s faces! It’s almost bizarre that I had known many of the people at the cookout for almost an entire year but had never seen their faces in-person before, only via Zoom.

While this was more of a social event, I had the opportunity to meet new people in fields that I’m interested in. Expanding my network is a professional goal that I set for myself this year, and this event was a great opportunity to do so. The cookout didn’t really directly relate to international affairs, but it was still a worthwhile event that I’m glad I attended. I enjoyed the joint-scholars group aspect of the event and would be interested in connecting with other scholars programs throughout the year. I’ve heard that IA Scholars and LSS Scholars have a bit of a friendly rivalry, but I enjoyed getting to know the people in LSS! I look forward to future social events that IA scholars plans to hold this year.

Current Event Catch Up Night

Academic

1 May 2021

On April 5th from  7pm-8pm, Samantha Zimmerman hosted the final current event catch up night of the spring semester. While I wasn’t able to attend the event on the 5th, I was still able to watch the zoom recording at a later date.  Samantha started the event with Kahoot trivia about current events. Following the Kahoot game, Samantha gave a presentation about 6 current events. The last current event catch up night, she had switched up her presentation style, making the Kahoot about different events than the presentation. I was glad to see she kept this in her programming, because she is able to cover more events.

My favorite event that we learned about was The Weeknd promising to donate $1,000,000 to Ethiopians in the conflict in Tigray. He is pledging his million dollars to the United Nation’s World Food Programme to pay for two million meals.

As an International Affairs Scholar, it’s important to know what’s going on the world. This event is a great way to engage with other students and learn about global news. I have enjoyed attending current event catch up throughout the semester, so I hope that it continues next semester!

“Pale Blue Dot”: History of our Environment

Academic

22 April 2021

On Earth Day, the 22nd of April from 4-5pm, I attended “Pale Blue Dot”: History of our Environment. This webinar event, hosted by the College of Arts and Sciences, offered a history of the environmental movement and the precedent of the U.S. Earth Day protest in 1970. The panelists answered big questions like: “what is the biggest challenge facing our environment today?” and “What makes you hopeful about the future of our environment?” Panelist, Jennifer Eaglin, spoke on the international aspect of the environmental movement, especially within her area of study in Brazilian history and energy. Her comments, especially, related this event to international affairs.

I was also pleased to see the advisor of the Sierra Club Student Coalition and Professor of History, Bart Elmore was another panelist. I enjoyed attending an event that intersected with my Environment, Economy, Development, and Sustainability major. Despite being hosted by the department of history, many of my EEDS core courses hit on lot of the concepts being discussed in the panel. After attending this event, I plan on taking an environmental history class as one of my EEDS electives. As of right now, I am interested in taking History 3700, “American Environmental History.”

Maps: How They Shape the World We See

25, February 2021

Academic

On Thursday, February 25th I attended “Maps: How They Shape the World We See” with Fatoumata Bah and Steven at 5pm.

Mother Language Day 2021- Understanding the Importance of Languages for Identities and Communities

Academic

19 February 2021

On February 19th from 4-5 PM, I had the opportunity to attend a webinar about the importance of preserving languages, specifically endangered ones. The event began with a land acknowledgement followed by an introduction from each of the panelists in both English and their respective mother tongues. Peter Sayer from the Department of Teaching and Learning moderated the event. The panelists and their mother languages included: Susan Ataei (Azerbaijani), Emre Basok (Circassian), Elena Costello Tzintzun (Spanish), and Santiago Gualapuro (Kichwa).

One part of the event that I found to be especially impactful was the explanation of the Girona Manifesto on Linguistic Rights (2011). My favorite takeaway from the manifesto was “Respect for all languages and cultures is fundamental to the process of constructing and maintaining dialogue and peace in the world.” This part of the manifesto directly connects to values in international affairs and our scholars program. We have a responsibility to uphold and maintain this respectful dialogue and acceptance of others.

I also enjoyed responses from Santiago Gualapuro and Elena Costello Tzintzun. In my Spanish grammar class, we have discussed how indigenous languages in Latin America are dying out, and how Ohio State is making an effort to encourage learning languages like Quechua. Mr. Gualapuro’s explanation of the Quechua/Kichwa language tree promoted me to look into the Quechua program here at OSU. I thoroughly enjoyed this event, and I look forward to attending future events about languages in the future!