Year In Review

I feel as though I have grown a lot since the beginning of the year. When first coming to OSU I was not very independent. I hadn’t lived without my parents aid. Towards the end of the summer I was scrambling trying to learn how to do my own laundry. Granted I still take my laundry home to my parents fairly often, but that’s not the point. I felt I wasn’t prepared for the college life. I thought I would be lost in this new environment I was being thrown into. Luckily that didn’t happen. I was in the OWL program so I was able to move in early. This was one of the best decisions I made, because it allowed me sometime to adjust to the new living style. I was able to be toured around campus way before classes started so I could get a feel for where everything was. I was even able to make a few friends that gave me some nice tips to start out the year. The OWL program was a great thing because it gave me more time to prepare and get acclimated.

My first semester wasn’t the best. Coming off of a very light course load senior year did not help me prepare for the intense math and physics courses that are 1151 and 1250. Seeing as though I had never taken a physics class at all, this was a very intense class for me. Nor had I taken a math class that moved so fast, or was that intense. These classes were a wake up call for me. College courses were not something to be taken lightly. Thankfully I had my Engineering and CSE classes under control so that I could focus most of my time on the other classes. But this was another concept I struggled with. I found it hard to split my time between studying and doing activities with friends. STEM scholars allowed me to have a more productive outlet when it came to relaxing. The events offered a nice break from schoolwork yet also informed us about classes and other STEM related news. Overall I think of this semester as a learning experience. It showed me that my old way of studying was not going to cut it for college, and that something was going to have to change.

Second semester was a bit more of a success for me, I feel. I still had a few challenging courses that would take a lot of effort, but I also took some general education courses to lighten the course load. I cut out some of the less productive and more pleasure based activities that occupied a lot of my time first semester. One of these being Buckeyelan, a club that planned video game tournaments on campus. I feel as though I was able to focus more, and get help when I needed it this semester. I went to office hours when it was needed, and I even got a tutor to help me while I was struggling with Math 1172. I didn’t want to make the same mistakes I did first semester. Although I still struggle with time management, I’m am not nearly as bad as I was first semester. I have realized my mistakes and I am learning from them. STEM has helped keep me on the right path. The events continue to be a productive and fun way to use my free time. Volunteering at CPA is usually a nice experience that I am happy to spend my time at. STEM has given me a great group of students and friends that have similar interests as me, and that help me grow academically and socially.

G.O.A.L.S. Essay

All of G.O.A.L.S is important to my career but a few stick out to be more important than the others. Academic Enrichment and Original Inquiry are the two that are more popular. Academic Enrichment is an extremely important to any CSE major. A 3.2 is required to get into the major, which is the second highest requirement for engineers. Not only good grades are important but also the classes that are taken. CSE pre-majors follow a fairly strict guide of what classes to take, most semesters requiring 17 credit hours. Academic enrichment is the core of any major. It is what allows students to continue learning important topics. Even after college, I will be continuing to learn more about CSE and other aspects of engineering and mathematics through internships and job experience. CSE is such a wide and encompassing field that there is almost always more to learn and discover. Technology is ever advancing and we will have to keep our minds sharp if we want to keep up with it. I would also enjoying eventually teaching some of what I learned to the younger generation. It is important to teach students and young kids about coding. The academic aspects CSE majors require high concentration and discipline when it comes to academics.

There are a multiple different fields you can specialize in for CSE. These can range from video game design which can focus on building environments and actions for players to interact with, to data-basing which focuses on storing, sorting and finding trends in data, to AI development which focus on the creation and foundations of simple AI, and Security and Networking which involves creating secure areas where people can store data and use applications without worry of being hacked. Based on all these different variations of CSE you are able to specialize to something that really peaks your interest. I will be specializing in Security and Networking because I am very interested in learning how to create software to protect peoples personal computers and data. I will also be taking a few classes in AI, just because I find the concept of Artificial Intelligence fascinating and I an very curious to learn more about it.  Original Inquiry is what fuels creativity. It is what sets learning into motion. Inquiry motivates us to continue researching and continue advancing technology. The first time I ever tried coding was because I was curious how it worked. Now I continue wanting to learn how to do more with coding. Original Inquiry makes me want to keep learning more about coding. Original Inquiry doesn’t only influence my want to learn more about just coding though. I always enjoy watching and learning more about movies and making movies. When movies get tied into concepts that I’m learning in coding classes, it makes the learning experience that much more enjoyable. For example I watched the movie “Ex-Machina” which involves the analysis and ethics of creating conscious AI. It was very interesting to see such a well created movie cover a concept that I am considering working on later in my career. Original Inquiry helps make you interested in what you are doing and drives you to continue learning more about what interests you.

TV 11

High school was not the most interesting time in my life. I had the same classes as most kids, I was in band, and in general just an average guy. I would have been just another generic high school student if it wasn’t for my involvement in TV 11.

TV 11 was the video productions program at my school. It was far from begin just another Gen-Ed class. Using various resources and connections in the video and media industry, Tom Wilson, the teacher and head of TV 11, built a state of the art production studio with a fully functioning set, control room, and over 30 editing stations. Wilson gave students an almost limitless amount of resources to allow them to create any type of video or show, should they choose to do so. The students in the class are assigned jobs working at the station throughout the week. My job was director of the show “Up to Date”. Working oh this project every week greatly impacted me in many ways that could be described using some of the STEM EE G.O.A.L.S. “Up to Date” was a global news show that covered recent events around the world. This show influenced global awareness and leadership development. I was able to stay in-the-loop with many issues facing the world at the time, and even influenced the scripts for the selected stories because of this. Being the director of the show, I was in-charge of the cameramen, sound, and all the other various “behind-the-scenes” aspects of the show. This taught me hold to delegate work and have accurate communication with my peers. Overall this show greatly influenced me and my high school career.

Critical Reflection

Through the STEM Scholars program I have learned many organization and time management skills. These skills have aided me in my time here at OSU and will continue to help me later on in life. The STEM events have strengthened my relationship will my peers and also enhanced my academic experiences here at OSU. The volunteering has opened my eyes to some of the struggles of inner city schools, but also given me great memories and an experience that I will always remember.

Welcome to my Honors & Scholars e-Portfolio

Hello and welcome to Ryan Springer’s E-portfolio. This site will contain various information about me and my experiences at The Ohio State University. I know how to code in C++ and I am currently learning java. I am skilled in filming, editing, and producing video. I have helped produce videos as a paid employee, and just for the experience. I hope to be employed at a major tech company in the future. I will take any opportunity that comes my way.

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.

[ “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: 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

Ryan Springer

420 Dillion Cir, North Canton, OH, 44720 | 330-354-2798 | rspring02@gmail.com

Education

Bachelors Degree | Spring 2019 | The Ohio state university

  • Major: Computer Science and Engineering
  • Related coursework: Specializing in Security and AI development

Skills & Abilities

Management

  • Directed a news television show for NCCS TV 11

Sales

  • gained experience in sales through selling Geek Squad insurance

Communication

  • Customer Service required efficient and forthright communication with the customer

Leadership

  • Directed a crew of 6-11 people for TV 11 news once a week
  • Hosted an official tournament for BuckeyeLan at OSU

Experience

Cameraman/Editor | NCCS TV 11 | Aug 2014- June 2015

  • Responsible for recording, editing and producing a video of highlights from the Hoover High School Girls Basketball Team.

Customer Service Specialist | BestBuy | Nov 2014- April 2015

  • Cashier on the frontlines of the store.

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 is a reflective description of the artifact that attempts to communicate its significance.  For more information, go to: http://honors-scholars.osu.edu/e-portfolio. Delete these instructions and add your own post.]

About Me

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My name is Ryan Thomas Springer and,  I am a freshman at the Ohio State University. I am in the STEM EE scholars program and studying to get into the Computer Science and Engineering Major. I have always been interested in computers and learning how they work. I am aspiring to become a programmer at a company such as Microsoft or Google. Now that I got all of the boring introductions out of the way I can talk about some fun stuff.

My favorite movie is “The Big Lebowski” by the Coen Brothers. It’s a comedy starring Jeff Bridges and I strongly suggest it to anyone who has a strong sense of humor. I have a passion for movies and film, but not until I took multiple Video Productions classes at my high school, Hoover. These classes taught me to appreciate all the effort that goes into making a movie. It taught me about all the teamwork and planning that is required to produce a high quality movie. Every shot of a movie is storyboarded and planned out with an insane amount of precision. I tried to use the same method when I made my movies for the class, and even when I had to do projects for a Programming class. A strong planning method is a great tool to use in anything you do.

Have you ever heard of the game foursquare? You know, that thing that fifth graders play at recess. Well try to imagine a bunch of 18 year olds playing it. That basically sums up my senior year of high school. A bunch of my friends and I started a foursquare club. It never became an official club at the school but it got big enough to get a page in the yearbook. The thing I like about foursquare is that there are no winners. No matter how many people you get out or how good you are at the game, you can’t win. What you can do, is try your hardest. You should always strive to give everything your best effort.

When I was born, I was diagnosed with Tetralogy of Fallot. Which is just a fancy way of saying I had a hole in my heart. I had to have open heart surgery at 11 months old. Thankfully, I survived and haven’t needed surgery since then, but I still need to get check ups on it annually. It has impacted the way I live, but not necessarily in a bad way. It taught me to live everyday to the fullest. Surround yourself with the things and the people you love. Things that are out of your control can happen, but you can’t let the fear of what could happen stop you from experience what is happening.

My top five strengths are harmony, consistency, analytical, relator, and positivity. These strengths represent me extremely accurately. They express how I act toward others and how I accomplish tasks. Harmony shows that I mainly focus on completing the task at hand. If I am unsure how a task is completed, I seek out help from someone who does. This is the main way I complete any work given to me. Consistency describes how I go through the day. I like having a routine. If I do the same thing over and over again I will get better at it. This can mean using a certain method of studying or practicing. I also feel comfortable having a routine throughout the day. Just as I like having a routine, I also need a plan. My analytic strength helps in my ability to plan. I am able to prioritize and figure out what I need to get done and when. This is one of the strengths I use often in my everyday life. I use the relator strength when communicating with teammates. It helps by allowing me to show my teammates my view of thinking. Lastly my positivity strength helps me always maintain a good attitude. Knowing these strengths doesn’t change my future goals, but it does make me aware of what I can do. It shows me the path that I need to take to achieve my goals. I need to use my planning and people skills to learn what I need to and accomplish the steps on the way to my goal.