Month: November 2017

STEM EE Scholars Interview Project

This project granted me with the opportunity to engage with my university and the community. I was able to interact with people that I may not have been able to otherwise. Because of this, I am now more connected to my school.

It was especially helpful to be able to communicate with Dr. Wyslouzil and Isa C. Fernandez-Puentes. Graduate school is something that I am strongly considering, so it was good to get insight into the process from my graduate teaching assistant, Isa. I am also wanting to complete research opportunities before finishing my undergraduate, so it was helpful to discuss these opportunities and how to get involved with Dr. Wyslouzil.

Please click on the link below to read more about this opportunity for engagement.

Alex Short – Interview Project

Making a Childhood Dream a Reality

“A roller coaster.” That’s what my answer was to my mom as she took a home video of me on our camcorder and asked what I wanted for my fourth birthday. “A roller coaster, mom.” Not any new toys, not money, Hot Wheels, Legos; nope – a roller coaster.

My childhood love for these scream machines may have been something that was, at first, just a wild dream. However, as I grew and matured, I soon noticed that it was something that I actually wanted to make happen. Heading to Cedar Point at least once a summer was one of my favorite activities, to the point in which I set up a job shadow at the park during my junior year of high school. I had the pleasure of observing Robert J. Decker, Cedar Fair’s Senior Vice President of Planning and Design, go about his daily duties as a theme park designer, and getting more exposure and insight to the field.  I even got the chance to be on-site of the new, record-breaking roller coaster, “Valravn”. A photo from this experience can be seen above. This experience provided me with more than I could have ever imagined, and I now know that I would have completed my goal if I can end up in a position like Mr. Decker’s in the theme park design industry. This small but rapidly growing field is something that has caught my interest more and more over the years, and I am now in love with the aspects of engineering and design behind roller coasters and other theme park attractions than I ever have been before.

Coming to Ohio State was no exception to this. Before coming to campus, I became aware of a group that focuses on these exact interests, Theme Park Engineering Group (TPEG). Throughout the first few months of TPEG, I have already found a community of people that I can openly express my affection for roller coasters with, without being thought of as the kid with some wild dream.  Through the group, I have already begun to get involved by becoming an official member, helping out with projects, and making plans to attend the International Association of Amusement Parks and Attractions (IAAPA) Expo this month. TPEG is a great opportunity for me to network, gain more exposure to the field, and collaborate with people with similar interests. Because of this, TPEG has become one of my favorite activities here at OSU and I am so excited to see where the group takes me.

Welcome to my Honors & Scholars e-Portfolio

Welcome to Alex P. Short’s ePortfolio. The purpose of this website is to showcase me and my academic accomplishments and experiences as I go through my education here at The Ohio State University.  This page will be continually updated with the most recent updates and accomplishments throughout my academic and career journey. The About Me tab will tell you more about me, where I came from, what I am currently involved in, and what I aspire to become. The Artifacts tab will display several of my experiences from my academic career here at OSU. The G.O.A.L.S. tab will explain the goals of the Honors & Scholars Center at Ohio State as well as how they apply to me as a student. You can find my contact information at the bottom of this site. Thank you for visiting, and feel free to inquire with me about anything!

Year in Review

[ “Year in Review”  is where you should reflect on the past year and show how you have evolved as a person and as a student.  You may want to focus on your growth in a particular area (as a leader, scholar, researcher, etc.) or you may want to talk about your overall experience over the past year.  For more information, go to: http://honors-scholars.osu.edu/e-portfolio. Delete these instructions and add your own post.]

G.O.A.L.S.

Being an Honors and Scholars student means more than just getting a title on your diploma. Being a part of Honors and Scholars is a commitment to the G.O.A.L.S. of the Honors and Scholars Center at The Ohio State University. G.O.A.L.S., which stands for Global Awareness, Original Inquiry, Academic Enrichment, Leadership Development, and Service Outreach, has provided a framework for me to be successful both at the university and beyond.

Global Awareness: Students in Honors and Scholars programs cultivate and develop their appreciation for diversity and each individual’s unique differences.  Coming from a small town with not a lot of diversity, it was often hard to imagine what life could possibly be like outside of our little “bubble”. While frustrating, I tried my best to explore and be aware of what else was going on around the world. Coming to Ohio State granted me with endless opportunities to become involved in such a diverse community. The requirement to live with my Scholars program in a learning community for my first year as a Scholars student allowed me to interact with people from different backgrounds. Another way that I have been able to gain global awareness is through my coursework. Ohio State offers a great variety of academia that provides a well-rounded education. I am currently taking linguistics as a GE which, surprisingly, provides me with a lot of knowledge about language and how impacts cultures around the world.

Original Inquiry: Honors & Scholars students understand the research process by engaging in experiences ranging from in-class scholarly endeavor,s to creative-inquiry projects, to independent experiences with top researchers across campus and in the global community. I know that I want to take advantage of undergraduate research opportunities while I am here at Ohio State. Research allows me to expand my knowledge as well as expose myself to new environments and people with whom I may someday work alongside of. I am interested in getting research in the Department of Physics and am planning to do this my sophomore year after finishing my Physics courses.

Academic Enrichment: Honors & Scholars students pursue academic excellence through rigorous curricular experiences beyond the university norm both in and out of the classroom. The Ohio State University provides a world-renowned quality education. This was a huge deciding factor when I decided to attend here. Being a Scholars student expands these opportunities even more, first by allowing me to take a Scholars seminar course. Because of this course, I have been able to expand my knowledge of the university and what it means to be a Scholars student here. It is great to be able to enrich my academic experience by working with my Scholars coordinator, as well as the other students here on campus associated with my Scholars program.

Leadership Development: Honors & Scholars students develop leadership skills that can be demonstrated in the classroom, in the community, in their co-curricular activities, and in their future roles in society. There are endless opportunities here on campus to become a leader. These opportunities were presented to me on day one when I decided to be a welcome leader for the University’s move-in day. I also took the role as a floor representative in my dorm for BuckeyeThon, the University’s largest student-run organization. In addition, my Scholars program also has allowed me to expand my leadership, as I have applied to be on the leadership council for next year as a second-year Scholar. This opportunity will allow me to get even more out of my Scholars program, as I will be able to engage with the program and its participants to a large extent.

Service Engagement: Honors & Scholars students commit to service within the community. As a part of the STEM Exploration and Engagement Scholars program, I am required to provide STEM-based outreach to my community. Despite it being a requirement, I do not see it as such. I am passionate about empowering our society by pushing kids in K-12 to consider STEM majors. STEM majors are the key to our future, and we need more students who want to partake in these. Through STEM Scholars, I am able to use my skills to help kids one day achieve an education in a STEM major and, therefore, I am helping invest in the future.

The Ohio State University’s Honors and Scholars Center allows high-ability students to get more out of their experiences at the institution. I have been able to witness this first-hand by being a Scholars student. I am able to, furthermore, become a more well-rounded student and person because of the opportunities put in front of me by the Honors and Scholars Center at Ohio State.

“College is Different from High School”

We’ve all heard it: “College is different from high school”. As much as I heard this, for some reason, I could never fully understand what it meant. I knew college would be a big change from what I was used to in the classroom. I knew that college coursework requires much more independence, concentration, and hard work in comparison to high school courses. In high school, I could cram the night before a big test, write a paper in one night, or simply show up to class and pass with a solid B. When I left my dorm for my first day of classes at Ohio State, I knew that I needed to be on my A game if I wanted to achieve my goals of getting into the mechanical engineering major, then graduating, not to mention obtaining a masters degree down the road.

As I attended my first day and got all the syllabi, I immediately began stressing out. The very first day of chemistry, we covered almost an entire chapter of the book. The very first day of my fundamentals of engineering class, I showed up late (I had to sprint across campus in 5 minutes to make it on time). Overall, I was beginning to question whether or not this was really for me. That week never got any better. More and more work kept piling on, and I didn’t understand any of it. The hardest part for me was that I was expected to be this extremely successful person in life, not just by my family and peers, but by myself. When it dawned on me that there was a possibility that that would not pan out to be true, I questioned everything.

It took a lot for me to bounce back. I began by seeing my academic advisor. I told her that I truly did not think that I could handle the course load in front of me. I ended up dropping chemistry and, instead, picked up an extra general education course.  Following that, I decided to see an academic coach. I expressed to the coach my situation and what I wanted to happen. He helped me formulate a study plan and tactics to help me be more organized. From there, I began attending tutoring sessions and even purchased a new planner to be more organized and block out my time.

College is hard, there is no doubt about it. I knew it coming in, and I still know it now. The changes I have made to my study habits and lifestyle help, but college is still college, and it requires a ton of hard work and dedication. The transition for me could have gone smoother, but I am so glad I stuck it out.

About Me

Welcome! My name is Alex Short and I am a second-year Mechanical Engineering student at The Ohio State University. I grew up in Archbold, Ohio, and graduated from Archbold High School in May 2017. At Ohio State, I am involved with the STEM (Science Technology Engineering and Mathematics) Exploration & Engagement Scholars program. Other organizations I am in include the Theme Park Engineering Group (TPEG), NeverWalkAlone, and Theta Chi International Fraternity. Following graduation, I plan to go to graduate school and then hope to land a job in the theme park engineering industry, a small but rapidly growing and exciting industry involving engineering and design.

I am extremely excited for all the academic, social, and personal enrichment opportunities that are available to me here at The Ohio State University, and cannot wait to see what is in store for me as I make my way toward the future.