Flyer found in the MCC
A few weeks ago, I attended a counseling session through OSU’s Counseling and Consultation Service. I went to the office that is located in Lincoln Tower, and I talked to a counselor about transitioning to college.
When I found out that I was required to find a non-academic campus resource, I was a little nervous. It is very rare that I ever seek help at – academic or non-academic. When I went to look for a resource, I was shocked to see how many different ones were offered by the university. I knew that Ohio State has many resources for students, but I did not know that so many were available. There were so many that I was interested in utilizing, but I knew that I would not have the time to go to everything that I wanted.
I found out about this resource when I was in the Multicultural Center. They had flyers on the desk for resources offered around campus, and this is one that caught my eye. I did not make an appointment to speak with someone, but I did walk in and was able to speak to a counselor within a reasonable amount of time. I hoped to get some tips about transitioning to such a big school from my small private school in Cleveland, but they gave me a lot more information than I had anticipated. They coached me to be successful socially and academically through my transition to college. I have been using the advice that they gave me, and it has been very helpful.
One way that I think this service could be improved is by having upperclassmen available to talk with students. This would be especially helpful for Life Transitions counseling that I went to because they recently went through everything I am, so their advice could be very helpful. Unless these students were volunteers, it may be difficult to get the university to pay for them to work there. Also, they would not be certified counselors, so they may not get approved to work with other students. Many people also can need to see a counselor, so there need to be more people available to students when they are in high demand. I honestly believe that I was able to see someone so soon because there was a cancellation.
One resource I think would be helpful for many students that I am not sure OSU offers is a way to connect students that come from the same region. I know many people that attend the university are from Ohio, but there are many students that come from all around the world, so I believe that this resource would be especially helpful for them. It is very easy to excluded you come from a different background than your peers.