I come from the village of Lexington, OH, and I attended Lexington High School for three years instead of the usual four due to family reasons. With four years’ worth of high school crunched up into only three, I took both sophomore and junior English during my sophomore year, taught myself Pre-Calculus the following summer, and took Chemistry and Physics during my senior year, all the while taking Economics and Health as independent study. The workload was practically double the amount, with homework from several different classes being frequently assigned on the same day. I sometimes thought of quitting all together. But thought of gaining the added experience of being an early senior encouraged me to keep going. I eventually graduated with straight A’s and High Honors in May of 2015.
During my high school career, the one thing that I looked forward to every day was marching band. I was honored to be a part of the Lexington Band of Gold for two years as a trombonist. Not only did I enjoy marching band, but it also taught me valuable lessons on leadership and teamwork. I was one of three seniors that led the trombone section during my second year, and throughout the competition season, I was able to learn how to work with a diverse group of people and to lead said group when the time comes. I learned to value the opinions of my fellow band members and to respect their differences. I have come to realize that those lessons are what have made the Band of Gold so successful for over 30 years. Marching band has taught me how to be a leader and teammate, and I plan to use those valuable lessons on my study and activities here at Ohio State.
One may ask, “How did a music person ended up being involved in STEM EE?” My father, who currently works in management at Newman Technologies, graduated from Meiji University with a Bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering. My father was one of the most influential people in my life, and he was the one who got me into science and mathematics. He taught me the wonders of mathematics and science and the numerous possibilities and opportunities that one can gain from them. Throughout my elementary school years, my father told me stories about how he got a job at Honda as an engineer/designer and how he enjoyed every moment of it. What he stressed every time was that he couldn’t have gotten that job and gained that experience if it wasn’t for mathematics and sciences. His inspirational stories eventually got me interested into aviation, which in turn led me into engineering and the associated mathematics and sciences. Thanks to my father, I was able to hone my artistic skills as trombonist while developing an interest in math, science, and engineering.
What I bring to Ohio State is diversity, friendship, and leadership. I am a Japanese who moved to the United States when I was four years old. I understand that I am different, and I value that. It’s that difference that makes us who we are. In terms of friendship, I am a very outgoing person. Because of that, I am adept at making new friends and spreading friendship to others. Leadership-wise, I was a class representative at my high school and, as stated above, one of the trombone section leaders in marching band. I believe that these experiences will allow me to increase my potential as a leader, student, and friend at OSU.
At Ohio State, I will study Aviation at the College of Engineering and learn to become a professional pilot. In the near future, I hope to intern at one of many commercial airlines partnered with Ohio State and eventually become a full-fledged airline pilot.
-Junn Shimizu