My First Semester at OSU

Before I started my first semester at OSU, I had a lot of concerns about how it would go. I wasn’t sure if I would make any friends, how well my grades would be, and I didn’t know if I would be able to adjust to OSU’s culture. Fortunately, as the semester progressed, a lot of my doubts were answered. I was able to create friendships with people in the Humanities Scholars program, and with people who aren’t. My grades are decent, but throughout the semester I learned the importance of time management (although I probably won’t properly manage my time until next semester). The Humanities Scholars helped me not only find a community, but also helped me learn more about the importance of communities as a whole.

Humanities This Week

I was staring at the President of the Untied States, a zombie, and several video game characters simultaneously. The President spoke first- “Halloween is meant to be scary, your costumes should represent something your afraid of.” Sonic the Hedgehog said “it’s a costume party, you’re supposed to have fun, not a panic attack.” The zombie tried to recite the history of Halloween as an attempt to justify why his costume was the best. I tried to agree with parts of everyone’s arguement, but my equivocation only made the situation worse. We kept arguing about the importance of Halloween and whether or not we should keep celebrating it. We didn’t reach an agreement, but each person’s argument reflected their own culture, and the discussion was informative.

I’m Brendan Outlaw. I’m from a small town in Florida, Jupiter, but I came to OSU to pursue my interest in cinematography. I enjoy nature, art, and most importantly- interacting with friends. I’m certain that Ohio State is the best place for me to grow as an actor, a student, and as a person.

My First Week at OSU

“New state: new me” I kept repeating to myself as I watched my family drive away. I was alone- everyone I knew (and everyone who knew me) was 10 hours away- this is my chance to reinvent myself, “new state: new me” I repeated. This thought, however, progressively became less comforting and more terrifying. In high school, I was an average student with an underwhelming social life, but OSU is my opportunity to change that. I am incredibly excited about the possibility of me improving as both a student and a person. The Ohio State University offers several services that I could use to help improve my academic performance and there is a wide variety of clubs that I could join to make friends. However, there are so many support services because the classes are significantly more difficult than they were in high school, so I am nervous that I still might not succeed. My first week of classes have gone well- the classes are interesting, the professors seem nice, and I was able to learn where my classes are a lot faster than I was expecting. As the semester progresses, I expect the classes to become more difficult, but still manageable (assuming I can effectively manage my time). I also expect the Humanities Scholars program to help me become more knowledgeable on various aspects of humanity, such as language, religion, and culture.

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 guidance on using your ePortfolio, including questions and prompts that will help you get started, please visit the Honors & Scholars ePortfolio course in Carmen. To get answers to specific questions, please email eportfolio@osu.edu. Delete these instructions and add your own post.]

G.O.A.L.S.

[ “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 guidance on using your ePortfolio, including questions and prompts that will help you get started, please visit the Honors & Scholars ePortfolio course in Carmen. To get answers to specific questions, please email eportfolio@osu.edu. 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: Honors & Scholars students pursue academic excellence through rigorous curricular experiences beyond the university norm both in and out of the classroom.
  • 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: Honors & Scholars students commit to service to the community.]

Career

[“Career” is where you can collect information about your experiences and skills that will apply to your future career.  Like your resume, this is information that will evolve over time and should be continually updated.  For more guidance on using your ePortfolio, including questions and prompts that will help you get started, please visit the Honors & Scholars ePortfolio course in Carmen. To get answers to specific questions, please email eportfolio@osu.edu. Delete these instructions and add your own post.]

Artifacts

[Artifacts are the items you consider to be representative of your academic interests and achievements. For each entry, include both an artifact and a detailed annotation.  An annotation includes both a description of the artifact and a reflection on why it is important to you, what you learned, and what it means for your next steps.  For more guidance on using your ePortfolio, including questions and prompts that will help you get started, please visit the Honors & Scholars ePortfolio course in Carmen. To get answers to specific questions, please email eportfolio@osu.edu. Delete these instructions and add your own post.]

About Me

[Your “About Me” is a brief biographical statement that might include your intended major, your academic interests, your goals, as well as the things that make you unique.  Definitely include a picture! Also, remember that you can always update this post at any point. For more guidance on using your ePortfolio, including questions and prompts that will help you get started, please visit the Honors & Scholars ePortfolio course in Carmen. To get answers to specific questions, please email eportfolio@osu.edu. Delete these instructions and add your own post.]