My STEP signature project took place from September 2020 to early January 2021 and consisted of a 10-week National Academy of Sports Medicine Certified Personal Trainer course with various lessons, webinars, and assignments, a CPR and AED certification class, and a final exam certifying me as a personal trainer. Throughout my project I was given the amazing opportunity to learn from and interact with NASM fitness experts and other students pursuing their personal training certifications. With the completion of my STEP signature project, I not only gained a CPT certification and CPR/AED certification, but I also gained a wealth of knowledge on exercise, wellness, leadership and how to kickstart a potential career in personal training.

My STEP project challenged my views of the world around me. Now more than ever before, fitness and wellness are crucial to both physical and mental health. With the number of individuals battling chronic diseases rising, the need for personal trainers and those hoping to motivate or safely and effectively assist others trying to reach their goals is at an all time high. My project allowed me to step back and look at the world around me through a lens of leadership. It challenged me to identify current needs in our world and question how I might apply my new skills to working on serving those needs. It gave me the opportunity to truly see just how beautifully unique everyone in our world is. Different people have different needs and therefore may be at different points in their fitness journeys or lives. My project has helped me to feel better equipped to recognize, respect, and respond to the different needs of others by applying the frameworks that I learned throughout the program.

My CPT STEP project also challenged my understanding of myself. It forced me to look at my own life and see where I might improve my overall mental and physical wellbeing as well as goal setting practices. The project also allowed me to analyze my relation to the world around me. In gaining my CPR/AED certification I saw how certain skills that I now possess have the potential to be used as life-saving tools in dire circumstances. It is empowering to know that I now gain knowledge that will allow me to better serve my community. My project also challenged my understanding of my potential future career path. This was particularly transformational as it allowed me to feel as though various doors in the fitness industry are now open that I otherwise may not have had access to. Professionally, this project gave me the space to practice leadership skills and network with individuals of varying backgrounds. Academically, this experience inspired me to consider new paths for post-graduate higher education. Overall, I felt that this project made me a more well-rounded student and individual. It allowed me to pursue new topics unlike those that I primarily study at Ohio State. This was exciting as it sparked my curiosity and passion for learning.

There are several events, activities, and interactions that led to the transformation I experienced. One interaction that was particularly impactful was that with the fitness leaders and other students in the program on our discussion board. Despite being only a small fraction of my project, the NASM discussion board was exciting and influential in that I got to see how my peers understood and applied various topics that we learned about. The discussion board got me excited to collaborate with my peers and showed me how influential this collaboration of aspiring fitness leaders might be in real world settings. I witnessed firsthand the variety of solutions that different people can come up with for similar situations by merely drawing on the information that we learned and their own past experiences.

Other activities that led to the transformation previously described were the various assignments, video lectures and webinars, and the CPR certification clinic in which I took part. The assignments were transformational in that several consisted of me applying techniques that I learned to real-world circumstances. It was exciting to see how the material that I learned truly could be applied to fostering real change within the world. The video lectures and webinars were also transformational because I was able to hear from real fitness experts in the field who have used and continue to use the skills that I learned to help clients reach their goals. It was encouraging to see the potential that a career in personal training or a related fitness field might have. Finally, the CPR/AED certification clinic was especially transformational because I heard from a first responder who detailed the importance of CPR training. He pulled from his own experiences, giving real world examples, and explained how just by being CPR/AED certified, we might save lives. His testimonials were inspiring in that they showed me how as both a certified CPT and an individual certified in CPR/AED services, I can truly make change and serve others as a leader in society.

As a Finance major, screenwriting minor, individual passionate about fitness, and active volunteer, I am someone with a plethora of interests. With that said, I have struggled to find exactly what path I hope to take upon graduating from Ohio State. The transformations that occurred as a result of my STEP project not only solidified my passion for helping others but opened my eyes to a number of careers that I can pursue with my certification. It exposed me to a world of opportunity and allowed me to pause, reflect, and be excited to take on the next chapter of my professional, academic, and personal journey. I also feel that these transformations have better prepared me for life after my college years are over as I will be able to be more introspective about my own health and will be better equipped to enter the world as a leader, Buckeye, and force of positive change.

My STEP Signature Project fell under a combined topic of Leadership and Community Service. Through volunteering 15-20 hours a week with the nonprofit organization, Young Life, I was able to be trained in leadership skills as well as be a mentor and safe presence to high school students. 

With my STEP Signature Project taking place during a global pandemic, my expectations of getting to be a part of a local community were altered, yet the experience was extremely transformative towards my view of myself and my view of the world. The semester was seemingly dark with severe Covid-19 restrictions within schools and communities, but Young Life was still able to provide a safe “place” for kids to find hope and connect to people relationally within a heavy and broken semester. The semester began by looking like we would not be able to connect as an organization with students or with other volunteers due to social distancing restrictions. However, we were able to overcome barriers and provide meetings virtually along with events outside and socially distant. I was able to learn how to navigate strain amidst a team of volunteer leaders and gather creative energy together to continue on in healthy ways. 

My understanding of myself grew as I recognized perseverance through very hard circumstances. I learned what it looked like to encourage other volunteers and root for each other when it felt like there was nowhere else to go. I was able to learn how to give grace to myself and to others when our initial plans fell through. My view of the world emerged as more hopeful than ever before because of recognizing that there is beauty in disaster and unique ways that we can come together even when it seems difficult. This project also allowed me to remember to think outside of myself and always check in on others. Many high school students are struggling to make sense of their world, and now more than ever, it is important for people and mentors to show up, be present, and listen to what they are going through and experiencing. Through a lot of brokenness and change this semester, I am left hopeful for how our world is better equipped to handle hardship in the future!

There were several key components to my STEP project that leave me hopeful and have taught me to endure. One key sequence of events that displayed this was what we call “campaigners” which is more or less a Bible Study structured through Young Life. Campaigners is usually a setting for kids to form relationships with each other and be encouraged in their individual spiritual walks, but campaigners was not able to operate as it would in a normal semester. Instead of piling in a living room and sharing snacks every week, we were able to mask-up, spread out around a bonfire in lawn chairs, and have an interactive Bible Study with kids each week. Although this looked different than normal, it left me hopeful that relationships will always continue, with or without normalcy! I was also given a lot of hope that the team of volunteers kept getting more and more creative with providing spaces for kids to be that was a safe outlet from school and home-life. 

Another aspect of this project that built leadership skills and equipped me for community service were the leadership meetings led by Young Life staff members every Friday night. Each meeting was a chance to learn how to invest in kids’ lives, how to care for people outside of ourselves, and again refreshed me and reminded me that I will always seek to be a servant to others, in or out of a global pandemic! Leadership meetings were centered on Scripture, and from the meetings I was given tools and resources to further learn how to communicate with kids and families, how to practically care for people when we cannot always be together physically, and again I felt restored in hope that we can have large influences on kids’ lives by simple acts of checking in and making them feel known and loved. 

“Club” is another part of Young Life that we get to have in a normal semester. This is a place of outreach to students that is typically a fun and high-energy event every week. Students usually invite their friends to burn some energy and disconnect from school or other points of tension in their lives. Relationships are established in this environment and often kept for years. Although we were not able to run a normal semester of club, through perseverance, hope, and endurance, my team of volunteers was able to provide events for kids to be at together. These “club” nights included an outdoor movie night, a socially distant and goofy game night, a bonfire, a cookout, and more. We could have stopped looking to show up for people when the initial Covid-19 restrictions were put in place, but after learning to give ourselves grace for not being able to provide a normal space, we were able to persevere and lead and set up a safe place for kids to be! 

Coming out of this project with more hope to persevere through hardship, practical skills to care for people and communicate with people in new ways, and tangible leadership skills among other things, will greatly impact my future personal and professional life. As I finish persevering through this last semester of nursing school, I will be set up with endurance to show up in my career for patients that need cared for. Just like high schoolers, my patients that I am a nurse to will need to feel valued and cared for. Regardless of personal circumstance, I am continually better equipped from all of my volunteering with Young Life to think outside of myself and serve any given population. These skills will be skills that I take into my job as a nurse, into relationships with my family and friends, and beyond!

What I learned from Young Life and how I have been transformed will help me persevere through many seasons of life in my future. I can count on some parts of a nursing career or even any part of my personal life being difficult at times. However, I have, at a foundational level, learned to have hope in darkness, to be adaptable to persevere regardless of circumstance, and surround myself in a community of supporters to cheer each other along the way – because that will be game changing. I have learned lifelong communication skills of how to demonstrate respect and care and so much more, whether it is through a screen, behind a mask, or in person with someone. I am full of gratitude for how my STEP Signature Project during the fall semester has given me lessons and tools to be a better leader in my community and to carry throughout my whole lifetime.

For my STEP project, I earned the Professional Association of Diving Instructors (PADI) Open Water Diver (OW), Advanced Open Water Diver (AOW), and Rescue Diver certifications. Through this project, I learned the basics of SCUBA diving, some advanced diving techniques that have allowed me to advance as a SCUBA diver, and skills to ensure my safety and that of other SCUBA divers.

SCUBA diving is a group activity (at least for divers who have not been trained to dive by themselves) and requires cooperation from all participants. As a result, my STEP project changed my perspective on the importance of working together with others to achieve a common goal. Learning how to respond to dangerous scenarios while SCUBA diving also helped me to understand that I will sometimes need to take the role of a leader even when I have not been formally assigned to that role.

People may dive for a variety of reasons. For example, my goal when diving is often to observe aquatic life that I can’t view easily from the surface. Other people may dive to recover objects from the seafloor. Others may dive to collect food. However, I learned from my training that all of these are secondary goals, whereas the primary goal of any dive is for all divers to return safely to the surface. To achieve the primary and secondary goals of a dive, it is necessary for divers to work together.

I learned to work together with other divers to plan a safe dive during my OW certification course. This includes planning the amount of time that will be spent at certain depths, planning the route of the dive, and accounting for factors like currents to ensure that all divers will remain safe. I also learned during my OW certification course that divers need to cooperate during a dive to keep each other safe. This includes keeping track of your dive buddy’s location, communicating about your remaining air supply and unexpected factors like the presence of dangerous wildlife, and adhering to group safety guidelines, like spending only 60 seconds looking for your buddy if you lose them before returning to the boat to increase the chances that attempts to rescue them, if necessary, will be successful.

During my AOW course, I learned how to cooperate with other divers to dive safely under certain scenarios. For example, I learned how to navigate underwater with a buddy, which is necessary to prevent yourself from getting lost during a dive. However, effective underwater navigation requires teamwork. I learned to navigate by having one buddy keep track of their direction of travel using a compass while the other monitors their depth and surroundings. With one buddy controlling the pair’s direction and the other controlling its depth, cooperation allows the buddy pair to safely navigate to complete the dive. Through the AOW course, I learned to cooperate with others in a similar way to effectively and safely dive at night, at greater-than-normal depths, and while searching for and recovering lost objects.

Finally, the Rescue Diver course emphasized the importance of cooperation during emergency scenarios. I participated in a variety of simulated diving-related emergency scenarios during the Rescue Diver course. Cooperation was important in all of these scenarios. For example, a search and rescue attempt would be much more likely to succeed if all divers involved coordinated their search plans to enable the group to cover the greatest area possible during their search. Similarly, a rescue attempt where one person was calling 911 while another was performing CPR would be more likely to succeed than a rescue attempt where only one person was trying to complete all tasks by themself.

While the need for cooperation among divers was evident during the Rescue Diver course, emergency situations are never planned, so the role that an individual should play in a rescue scenario is not always clear. For example, it might not be obvious who should perform CPR and who should call 911 during an emergency.  Therefore, it is often necessary for someone, usually the person with the most experience and training, to assume leadership role at a moment’s notice. The Rescue Diver course taught me that I may have to step into a leadership role to ensure a group’s success even though I had not previously been designated to that role.

While my STEP project taught me the importance of cooperation and being able to step into a leadership role while SCUBA diving, I will certainly need to cooperate with others and be a leader in other scenarios during my life. For example, I plan to attend graduate school to study ecology, and I will be a more effective researcher if I cooperate with others to achieve things that I would not be able to accomplish by myself. Similarly, I may need to lead research projects when I am the one who is most familiar with the project’s goal. By emphasizing the importance of cooperation and leadership, my STEP project has prepared me to be a more effective collaborator and leader during graduate school and my future career in research, preparing me to be a more successful researcher.

Diving at Gilboa Quarry during my Advanced Open Water Diver certification course.