[ “G.O.A.L.S.” is a place where students write about how their planned, current, and future activities may fit into the Honors & Scholars G.O.A.L.S.: Global Awareness, Original Inquiry, Academic Enrichment, Leadership Development, and Service Engagement. For more information, go to: http://honors-scholars.osu.edu/e-portfolio. Delete these instructions and add your own post.
Global Awareness: Students cultivate and develop their appreciation for diversity and each individual’s unique differences. For example, consider course work, study abroad, involvement in cultural organizations or activities, etc .
Original Inquiry: Honors & Scholars students understand the research process by engaging in experiences ranging from in-class scholarly endeavors to creative inquiry projects to independent experiences with top researchers across campus and in the global community. For example, consider research, creative productions or performances, advanced course work, etc.
Academic Enrichment: I interviewed Ren Kuzmanovich, a current junior. Ren is a biology major and Spanish minor on the pre-med track. I decided to interview Ren because although I am a neuroscience major, I am considering minoring in Spanish and I am also a pre-med student. Ren started studying for the MCAT in February of 2017, since she is taking the test in June. She recommended starting at least 5-6 months in advance of the exam. She also emphasized the importance of research, and how it doesn’t necessarily have to relate to one’s field of study; for example, Ren is researching farm life this upcoming summer. She suggested subscribing to the Undergraduate Research Office email, while also going on the websites of areas of interest and emailing professors that research seems interesting. Overall, Ren’s advice was very useful, and I plan on using it in order to tailor my path during my next three years at Ohio State.
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.
Service Engagement: This year, I got my 20 hours of service through a few different organizations: Global Health Initiative, Project Impact, Muslim Family Services of Columbus, and MLK Day of Service. With Global Health Initiative, we listened to a few health professionals at Nationwide Children’s Hospital discuss the importance of public health and the many careers and opportunities it encompasses (3,5 hours). With Project Impact, we visited the Ohio House Rabbit Rescue to interact with abused, untamed, and/or aggressive bunnies to make them more adoptable(4). In addition to these organization at Ohio State, I volunteered with Muslim Family Services of Columbus, which I’ve been volunteering with for the past two years(6). This semester, I helped organize clothing and toy donations to distribute to Somali-Muslim families in the low-income areas of Columbus. And finally, I joined HSS in MLK Day of Service, where we went to COSI and organized surgical kits for middle-schoolers to perform a pretend-hip-replacement surgery(7 hours).
The most impactful volunteer experience for me was my time spent with Muslim Family Services of Columbus. I always knew that the Somali-Muslim population was growing in Columbus, but I never realized that it was one of the largest in the country. This experience was the most impactful for me because I was it made me realize how directly I could affect a community. When organizing clothes, I realized that many of the items came from local shop owners that manufactured too many articles of clothing and were willing to donate them. As a result, many of the skirts, shirts, and shoes were exactly the same, only varying in size. Most of the clothing was designated for children between the ages of 8 and 12. When I thought back to being around that age, I realized that I took most things for granted: my mom always bought my clothes, sometimes even letting me choose which color or design I wanted, and I always matched my shoes to my headband. But the kids receiving the clothing I organized never had a say in anything that I saw as a “necessity” when I was in elementary school. As a result of this experience, I realized that I really enjoyed helping those less fortunate than me, and that I should always be thankful for what I have, regardless of how little or unimportant as it may seem.