Although I have only attended college for a few short months, I have already begun to notice changes in myself. In the time I’ve been here, I have gone from a high school senior with little to no involvement in extracurricular programs outside of band to a college freshman in over 5 cultural, and academic clubs and organizations. Each program and club has helped and influenced me in different ways. Coming from a primarily white high school, there weren’t a lot of clubs made for people like me. I could only express myself culturally at home with my family or with the few black friends I had. Being on a campus like OSU has changed all of that for me. With clubs like the Ethiopian Eritrean club and the Black Student Association I can come together with people similar to me and talk about life, the news, and society. The Minority Engineering Program has also helped me believe that there are people on this campus that want to see me succeed. I didn’t get that kind of feeling in high school as much as I do here. I believe because of that, I have focused more on my studies. Being in the Biological Sciences Scholars Program has helped me to become more involved in community service. Before becoming involved in the program, I had very little community service under my belt. I didn’t realize how rewarding and fun it could be to get a group of friends together and help people and animals in need. Overall, I believe I have become a better person since I’ve come to campus. I’m more involved in the campus community and I am able to express myself in ways I wasn’t able to before.