My STEP Signature Project consisted of local service-learning at Matthew 25: Ministries, located in Cincinnati, OH. This project was originally supposed to be completed over the entirety of winter break, but due to unforeseen circumstances involving COVID-19, my time there was cut short. The time that I was able to serve there, I found it rewarding to know that I was giving back to others and helping out the community behind the scenes. I specifically made sure to focus on my communicative skills, as well as rediscovering my passion for community service and helping others. The site where I worked at, was very much volunteer-based, and I mainly worked outside with other volunteers, helping to unload cars and take their donations to their correct corresponding gaylord box.

I had originally planned for a study abroad program through STEP when I first applied, but restrictions again involving COVID-19 had made this very difficult. But I realized that it had been a while since my volunteer days, so I chose to rekindle the passion I had for helping out others since I was younger. I had volunteered at my church’s food pantry/soup kitchen when I was younger and wanted to feel the same way I had back then, while also sticking to COVID-related regulations. After remembering my experiences with my church, I decided to reflect on some of the other volunteer places that I had the opportunity to visit, recalling my time at Gorman Heritage Farm and Twin Towers Senior Living Community (all based in Cincinnati, OH. Then, I remembered my high school experience at Matthew 25 Ministries and I wanted to revisit.

As I worked beside my fellow volunteer companions, I realized that this experience has helped me learn that it is okay to take that break and help out others, even with the smallest gestures here and there. I am a senior and as I get close to graduating and facing the real world, I plan to help others wherever I go and in whatever form, whether it be volunteering, donating, or just giving some friendly advice. I also felt that I was able to understand that it is also okay to ask for others help too. I am a non-confrontational, independent, and usually quiet person, but I learned that it is okay to speak out and ask for help because you are not being as much of an inconvenience as you think you are. And if you are like me, the person helping you might even appreciate that you asked them in the first place. I love helping others, so when I hear that someone needs help I feel like a dependable and reliable person.

Coming back to Matthew 25 Ministries was also a chance to develop my socializing skills, as I was also presented with the opportunity to meet and mingle with fellow volunteers. And I knew I was making an impact by providing relief to those who were affected by natural disasters. When I volunteered we were specifically focusing on donating to those affected by flooding and tornadoes in Kentucky and Indiana. This ultimately helped fuel my passion for volunteering, and left me eager to come back every day.

Also, the interactions with the staff helped me realize that I am more of a people-person than I give myself credit for. I just figured out that I prefer to work behind-the-scenes or be the middle-man who helps and supports others through small but impactful gestures. Also, they were able to reinstill the same thrill and fulfilling feeling I had felt when I first volunteered at Matthew 25 Ministries. And with my newfound passion, I felt that my voice grew with it. I was able to voice my concern, confusion, and ultimately ask for help when I needed it.

I was also able to view the world in a different light as well. I realized that helping hands can be kind of intimidating, and pride may get in the way of wanting or receiving help, but help is usually free and is of your own will. Being able to help others without expecting something in return is a very gratifying feeling, that truly keeps me coming back to help others as well. We can only be strong together as a community when we all are prosperous and living comfortably. And it only takes a minute of your time to give someone the help they need to go towards the right direction.

This change is significant and valuable for my life because even when my major is Korean and I have the main goal of translating for the U.S. government in mind, I realize that I can use my rekindled skill for helping others to fuel my passions for translating. I hope that my words and translations can provide even just the tiniest amount of help to not only my country but for the betterment of the world.

My STEP Project was a service-learning trip to Hawai’i, also known as the Big Island. We participated in local service projects including planting trees in a dry forest to help prevent degradation of the land and removing invasive plants such as Guinea grass from gardens and sacred lands. In addition to the service aspects of this trip, we also learned about the Hawaiian culture and alphabet.

One major thing that transformed during my STEP trip was my idea and view of traveling. Instead of traveling to see the cliche parts of that destination, such as the beaches and palm trees in Hawai’i, I want to travel to be fully immersed in the culture and way of living in that location. For example, the tour guides of my trip said that one of the most common things people say when they first visit Hawai’i is to comment on how green it is. However, most of that greenery is from invasive plants, so the natives look negatively at the greenery. Small pieces of information like this are important to know in order to fully understand and respect the destination that one has traveled to.

Another aspect that changed over the course of my trip is my appreciation for nature and the Earth. For the first part of the trip, we stayed on a permaculture farm. Permaculture is a way of living that involves knowledge of indigenous people, biological science, and applied knowledge in order to minimize inputs and outputs. On this farm, there was compost for our food and biological wastes so this could be recycled and used for heat and mulch to help nurture up-and-coming plants. Furthermore, this farm had numerous different sources of fruits and vegetables (including banana trees, peas, squash, papayas, and many others) that could be used as a source of food. Having this experience allowed me to appreciate what is given to humans naturally through the land and to try to work with the land to achieve our goals.

One aspect of my experience that led to the transformations listed above include walking through Kalopa forest. We walked through this forest with a Hawaiian local, and we learned about all the native and invasive plants. It was shocking to me to learn that a large majority of the plants (and organisms) on Hawai’i are invasive. I was able to ask the tour guide some great questions during the hike, such as what is even classified as an invasive plant/specie because all life on Hawai’i was not here originally. The answer is that native plants and animals came to Hawai’i by “wind, wings, or waves”; one of the three original methods.

Another part of the trip that stood out to me was when we visited the dry forest and helped plant trees. One super important tree that we learned about was the Wiliwili tree which has been on Hawaiian land for over 10,000 years. However, in the last couple of hundred years, people would dig up the Wiliwili tree and sell them to resorts. Thus, the local project that we helped work on was a preservation effort to help prevent degradation of the land and to preserve the native trees in Hawai’i such as the Wiliwili tree. Our job was to plant four trees. This may sound a lot easier than it actually was because we were planting these plants in a dry forest, so we had to dig up lots of stone until we found soil, and then we would re-root the plants and plant it in the soil and then mark it with a flag so it could be connected to the irrigation. This was very impactful on me because these trees/plants have the potential to live for 200-300 years, so the effect that I had on the Hawai’i land could last for hundreds of years (or longer since my tree could help prevent the degradation of the land).

Lastly, another key aspect of my trip was learning the Hawaiian alphabet. Knowing this is important not only to respect the Hawaiian culture but also to pronounce the names of every place/name that we went to correctly. We learned that the Hawaiian alphabet largely consists of seven consonants (H, K, L, M, N, P, W) and five vowels (A, E, I, O, U), and these vowels are pronounced similarly to Spanish. After that, we just add every possible combination of one consonant and one vowel together and that is the alphabet. We also learned some key phrases such as “my name is ___” which is “’O wau ‘o ____”. Knowing simple phrases like these can help us fit in better and show that we care about the Hawaiian culture. Furthermore, to my surprise, I learned that almost everyone pronounces “Hawai’i” wrong, and there a “’” in the word. Learning the alphabet taught me that it does not take much to learn the basics of ones culture and doing so can drastically improve understanding and respect for that culture.

This STEP service-learning trip to Hawai’i brought transformations that are extremely valuable to my life. I can use my new idea of traveling and appreciation for the Earth to apply to my future personal and professional goals. Personally, whenever I am traveling in the future, I can be sure to research in depth about the culture and the things that are important to people that live in the destination I am interested in. This way, I will have a more profound experience and will be able to better connect with the culture. Professionally, I want to be a physician one day, and having numerous profound experiences with different cultures can be used when connecting with people from a wide variety of backgrounds. Overall, I really enjoyed this experience and am very grateful to STEP for making this happen.

Over winter break after Autumn semester 2021 I embarked on a service trip that took place on the Big Island in Hawaii. This trip was a volunteer trip hosted through Give Volunteers. Each day we worked with a different non-profit and had a different project and task we were working on. Some of my favorites were clearing invasive species in native forests, planting native wili wili trees in a dry forest, clearing ocean plastic that washed up on shores, and working with aquaponics. Each day had it’s own adventure and activity. Alongside each activity we took the time to learn about Hawaiian culture. Immersing ourselves in the native Hawaiian culture, while giving back was one of the coolest once in a lifetime experiences that I have ever had.

One thing that I noticed after each project was that our team work went a long way. Each time we were explained our task for the day, I was usually overwhelmed with how big the project seemed. In only a couple of hours I was already amazed by how much as a team we were able to accomplish. It had me constantly thinking that if more of us came together to fix our societal issues, or truly any problem we have, we can accomplish way more than we think. Another thing I noticed was we do not need as much as we think we need to be happy. We had just a small duffle bag and hardly enough clothes for 10 days yet it felt that I had absolutely everything that I ever needed.

One of the coolest parts about this trip was that everyone who came on this trip were all strangers beforehand. None of us knew each other prior and we all took a huge risk flying across the ocean with people we had never met before to a location we had all never been before. It was amazing to see how we could all form inseparable and unique bonds to form a family that could come together and work on these projects and many difficult tasks. We went through ups and downs together and watched each other grow tremendously in only a time span of 10 days. This spoke a lot to me in terms of the team work, as we often mislead how far working together as one can actually get us. As I mentioned, I was often surprised with how much twenty individuals were able to accomplish when we were presented with our task for the day. I would take breaks and look up to just admire how fast we were able to work together. 

The day we spent on the beach clearing up plastic was also a day that I had many realizations and also anger alongside it. In just a couple of hours, our group collected 80 lbs of plastic that washed up from the oceans. We found straws, plastic cups, fishing tools, even ancient laundry detergent bottles. There was a little bit of everything and much of it was also broken down into small pieces. I would sit in a single spot for 1 hour and still not be able to collect every single piece. To think that this was just one single cove on one little island in the pacific ocean was very frustrating. With how much more plastic is out in our oceans, and how we continue to add to it and pollute our ecosystems. It doesn’t become as real until you see it first hand. The frustration I had and still have fuels me to make a change in the world by starting in my own community. 

The power of community is something that also ties back into the teamwork concept. The ongoing problem we have occurring around all of us of destroying our planet, will and cannot be fixed overnight. But we can start in our communities. Making small changes and influencing our own communities is a change that can impact our society more than we know. One person at a time and eventually it will all snowball together and create the bigger impact that we are all trying to make. It starts in our friend groups and in our own communities no matter how small.

This trip provided me with hands-on and real world experiences. I have always had a passion to make a change in the world and to become more sustainable myself but to also change the points of views of the people around me as well. Through working directly with nature and learning about different systems and cultures and how they appreciate and use their natural resources, it really opened my eyes and helped me get closer to this life goal. These small changes include: composting, using less plastic, gardening, voting with my dollars, and overall being nicer to our planet. All of these lessons and practices I have learned I hope to implement in not only my life, but to also inspire the people around me and even the industries around me. I know that change takes patience but seeing the change and impact we made as a group first hand, gave me hope that change can be made and our planet can be saved. 

As I enter the real world and begin my new job next year, I hold an important role to continue to inspire and spread positivity, specifically in the workplace. Our businesses are some of the biggest polluters and bringing awareness to sustainability and introducing it to companies is something I hope I am able to accomplish while I spend my time working. The growth I experienced in a matter of 10 days also gave me a preview of all the growth and change I am going to experience all throughout my 20s and even my whole life. Being comfortable with change is something that will always be a challenge, but exposing myself to being uncomfortable has continued to push me to grow. 

My STEP project involved my roommate Nicole Tranca and I traveling to Hawaii in order to perform various philanthropic tasks focusing mainly on environmental conservation and the removal of invasive plant species. When we weren’t physically removing these invasive species we were learning from locals about the negative impact tourists have had on Hawaii and its people.

While in Hawaii I learned so much about myself and the kind of person I want to be. Having heard about the Hawaiian experience from the locals themselves, my heart was broken. So much of their land and culture has been forcibly taken from them and to this day they’re being illegally occupied by the United States of America’s government. I never realized how little I knew about the culture and the people of Hawaii. I always assumed they were happily a part of the 50 states but, many, if not all, of the indigenious people don’t feel this way. I hope to carry this experience with me and be an advocate for local Hawaiians; the people of Hawaii (rightfully) carry a lot of resentment toward outsiders and I hope to help in mending the very damaged relationship between the Hawaiian people and people from the mainland. 

One of the other volunteers on the trip happened to own a house in Hawaii and mentioned this to our guide who is a local Hawaiian. She had no idea that her family’s house was built on sacred Hawaiian land where generations of our guide’s family were buried, after our guide explained this to her she was dumbstruck. This further confirmed the fact that those from the mainland (including me) know little to nothing about this land that we occupy and even when we don’t mean to we may be disrespecting the people whose land we so admire. A huge part of Hawaiian culture is their connection to the land, they believe that we’re no better than the dirt we walk on because that’s where we came from. Since my STEP experience I’ve carried this motto with me and view the environment, animals, and others in a completely different light.

One of the events during my STEP signature project that led to my personal transformation mentioned above was a talk with a local leader in the community. The leader came and spoke to our group about the connection we all have to each other and the land, he spoke about how The Hawaiian Islands came to be illegally annexed and how much loss the people, especially the elders, have seen in their lives. They’ve had to sit and watch their land be divided by people who knew nothing of its significance. The leader also told us about how this happened to begin with, the American government did allow the people of Hawaii to vote if they wanted to be a part of America but first they sent over enough people from the mainland to outvote the locals, they never stood a chance.

 The leader also spoke of a time when American astronomers wanted to build a massive telescope at the top of the most sacred Hawaiian mountain, Mauna Kea. The first telescope on the mountain was erected in 1970 and the Hawaiian people didn’t mind because they were told it would be the only telescope built. Currently there are 13 telescopes on Mauna Kea and the Hawaiian people had, had enough. Elders in the community came together and sat blocking the only road to Mauna Kea for 3 days, day and night. These people who were mainly in their 80s were arrested on the third day and the younger generation had to watch their kupuna (grandparents) be taken away in police vans, some of these elders couldn’t walk let alone comply with police protocol in order to be arrested. 

The example mentioned above is just one of many times the Hawaiian people have been disrespected and pushed aside, their opinions are almost never taken into account so they have to take matters into their own hands. This was a turning point for me on the trip, this is when I realized going forwardI wanted to become an ally for the local Hawaiian people.

This transformation is valuable to my life because it strengthened my desire to want to make a difference. It also opened my eyes to the fact that American annexation may not be the best thing for those affected by it. Before my trip I had no idea Hawaii was illegally annexed, so what about American Samoa, Guam, Northern Mariana Island, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands? I haven’t been to these places but my STEP trip made me wonder about the local’s opinions on being a part of U.S. territories, do they feel the same way Hawaiians do? Going forward I hope to visit these places and immerse myself in the culture the same way I did in Hawaii, learning from locals is truly the best way to learn about any place.

Our guides spoke about the importance of contacting local officials, that’s how the Hawaiian people have begun to turn the tide in their favor. Hawaiians don’t believe voting in major elections makes much of a difference, they know that the government isn’t necessarily ontheir side and their state representative is mostly just a figurehead. Instead, they’ve begun emphasizing the importance of local elections and electing officials whose goals align with those of the people. Our group leaders really pushed the idea that the trip was supposed to make us uncomfortable and face what we’ve allowed to happen in a place many people call paradise, destroying it. They also pushed the importance of taking this sense of community home with us, they want us to make a difference in our own communities, by helping ourselves we help Hawaii too. I plan to write to my local officials, hopefully I’ll eventually climb the ladder in terms of authority and be able to educate more people about the importance of the issues Hawaiians are facing. I wish I wanted to be a politician, that’s how much this trip has changed me. But, although it may not align with my career goals, personally, I’m making my community a priority because by helping each other we not only help ourselves but the people outside our immediate communities as well.

MOV_7613 – link to video vlog of our trip:)

1. Please provide a brief description of your STEP Signature Project. Write two or three sentences describing the main activities your STEP Signature Project entailed.

My STEP Signature Project mainly involved working as a crisis counselor at the Suicide Hotline in Columbus, Ohio. Through this role, I received calls from various individuals that often were in crisis or having suicidal thoughts. During these phone calls, I worked to de-escalate crisis situations, connect the callers to long-term help or resources to ensure each person received the help and care that they needed.

2. What about your understanding of yourself, your assumptions, or your view of the world changed/transformed while completing your STEP Signature Project? Write one or two paragraphs to describe the change or transformation that took place.

While completing my STEP Signature Project, I learned about mental health and all of the barriers that people face on a daily basis to receive the care they need. This is definitely something that I took for granted and did not realize before this project. Things like insurance, driving a car to get to a doctor or hospital, and even finding providers without wifi are all barriers that individuals in our community face daily. I think that I assumed that most people had access to these things. I also didn’t realize how difficult it was to find providers or receive care without insurance. Additionally, I saw how the interactions that individuals encounter daily can deeply affect them and how they view themselves. This has led me to be a more compassionate and understanding person in every daily interaction that I am a part of.

3. What events, interactions, relationships, or activities during your STEP Signature Project led to the change/transformation that you discussed in #2, and how did those affect you? Write three or four paragraphs describing the key aspects of your experiences completing your STEP Signature Project that led to this change/transformation.

I formed a lot of great relationships with my co-workers and supervisors during my STEP Signature Project. There are many Ohio State Undergraduate students who are also crisis counselors so it was a really great experience to learn from them and also work alongside them. Working alongside other individuals at the Suicide Hotline was like working on a team to make sure our callers received the help and support that was needed. Additionally, working with my supervisor and watching how much she does behind the scenes gave me an appreciation for her work and the amount of time it takes to keep the hotline running 24 hours a day every week.

I would like to share one specific event that occurred at the Suicide Hotline and how it led to the transformations I described in question 2. One night at the Suicide Hotline, I received a call from a young male who had just witnessed the death of his best friend at the hands of gang violence and didn’t know if he could continue living himself. As the call continued, we decided together that he needed to go to the hospital to receive the support necessary to get through the night safely. I asked him his address so that I could dispatch a police officer to his home to transport him to the nearest hospital. However, he quickly shut the option down because he didn’t think it would be a good idea to have a police officer in his neighborhood with all of the recent events surrounding Black Lives Matter. Instead, he told me he would walk to the hospital and stay on the phone until he arrived.

I remember not really knowing how to respond because, in my mind, the police officer transporting him was the safest option but I also realized how different our experiences were from each other. I had never thought twice about calling emergency services if I needed help and was guilty of taking this privilege for granted. This conversation was eye-opening to me as I had never realized the extent that skin color got in the way of health emergencies. Although I will never know what happened after he arrived at the hospital, I knew that I needed to be more educated and support organizations that are promoting social justice in today’s society. To best support my future patients and be a voice, I need to be aware of the things going on within my community. I learned how important it is to listen to my others and seek to understand their experiences, culture, and beliefs before making decisions so that I can provide the best care for them. I have learned that the best decision for myself may not be ideal for someone else, and it is important to meet in the middle between my knowledge and the patient, who knows themselves and their experiences better than anyone else.

4. Why is this change/transformation significant or valuable for your life? Write one or two paragraphs discussing why this change or development matters and/or relates to your academic, personal, and/or professional goals and future plans.

This project has given me a new perspective on mental health and the ways to support an individual who is going through a crisis which I believe is and will continue to be important in my future career as a physician. Not only in medicine but also in my daily life, I feel as though I am equipped to help individuals in my own life in crisis situations. Additionally, through connecting other people with strategies and resources to improve their mental health, I’ve also found myself trying new things to improve my own mental health as well. I’ve noticed that the more mental health strategies that I’ve used, the better friend and person I am able to be towards others. This is valuable in my own life in finding my own happiness in addition to supporting those that I care about.

For my STEP Signature Project, I completed a service-learning project with the organization Proyecto Mariposas, a nonprofit for Latina women and girls in the Columbus community. I worked directly with the president of the organization, Yahaira Rose, and created content and programming ideas as well as managed the social for the organization and helped with events. This summer, I focused on a body positivity campaign on social media for the program as well as kickstarting an ongoing friendship initiative.

While completing my STEP Signature Project, the thing that changed most about myself were my understanding of how much I knew or was aware of the community I was working with. I had been volunteering with Proyecto Mariposas taking on various roles throughout the school year and had learned very much, but I was surprised to see how much more there was to learn and absorb about these incredible women. Not only was I able to interact with the girls and women of the group throughout the summer and gauge their opinions on various social media and content ideas for the program, but I became even more inspired and motivated than I ever would have imagined. The Latina community I had the amazing opportunity to work so closely with are the most resilient, creative, and optimistic groups of people I have ever encountered. I never would have thought at the beginning of my project how much I would truly learn about and learn from these women.

My relationship and interactions with Yahaira Rose, the president of the non-profit was something that led to the transformation I previously discussed. Working with Yahaira has been one of the most positive, educational experiences in my life thus far. Her guidance and feedback as well as personal experience and role in the organization helped me immensely in creating the best content and materials for the girls and women. Her stories, suggestions, and reasoning for it all was eye opening and gave me an incredibly closer look into the lives and experiences of all the Mariposas (women and girls of Proyecto Mariposas).

Additionally, working on the body positivity campaign, “Positividad Corporal con PM” led to a transformation in my understanding of the Latina community and the women I had been working with. As a Caucasian female, my view of body positivity, from my own life and experiences has consisted of dealing and working with poor body image, expectations from society and the media, etcetera. One specific conversation I had with Yahaira during the campaign opened my eyes and view of body positivity for women of all colors. Yahaira was describing how I could add an affirmation or journal prompt (as a part of our daily campaign postings) regarding loving your hair, something she said she had personally had to fight to learn to do. This simple suggestion and conversation led me to again realize that there is so much more to body positivity as well as any feelings or initiatives than what we individually apply to ourselves and think of our personal experiences.

These experiences positively affected me. Throughout the summer I felt myself constantly evolving and growing, expanding my outlook on every issue and topic I was creating content and ideas for. I began to ask more questions when I was unsure about how to approach an area I was not familiar with due to any lack of my own experience instead of shying away from it. During my project I truly began to get comfortable with feeling uncomfortable, in the sense of recognizing there is always more perspectives to gauge and more to learn about everyone, every single day.

The experience I was given this summer to volunteer with Proyecto Mariposas was truly transformational. Not only was I given an ample and effective environment to practice my Spanish and expand my creativity within my study of the Spanish language, but I encountered so many people and opportunities that helped me grow. In working with the head of the organization, Yahaira Rose, and with other members of the board and meeting members of the organization, getting their feedback and input, etcetera, I was immersed into the Spanish community right here in Columbus. In addition, with the body positivity campaign and friendship initiatives we began and will be continuing to work on, I feel as though my experience in planning, organizational initiatives, analyzing viewer behavior and engagement and more helped increase skills I will be utilizing in my future career goal, to be an Industrial Organizational Psychologist.

In this field, I will be working with companies and businesses creating and supervising trainings, programs, and testing to make the workplace a better environment. I also hope to incorporate my Spanish degree in my future career, hopefully helping to increase workplace harmony and diversity as well. This experience was a great immersion experience that will prepare me for both.

https://www.instagram.com/proyectomariposas/

1. Please provide a brief description of your STEP Signature Project. Write two or three sentences describing the main activities your STEP Signature Project entailed.

My STEP Signature Project was a two-month-long, service-based program through Learning Enterprises or LE. Learning Enterprises is a non-profit organization that prides itself on expanding global horizons through international service teaching based on 5 core values. These values include: fostering creativity, expanding horizons, promoting understanding, spreading the spirit of volunteerism, and providing regarding work experience! During the majority of this summer, I had the chance to work with other volunteers and program directors, and teach my own student English 1-on-1. While I was disappointed that I wasn’t able to travel to Panama this summer, I still was lucky enough to meet amazing new people and give back to a community thousands of miles away.

2. What about your understanding of yourself, your assumptions, or your view of the world changed/transformed while completing your STEP Signature Project? Write one or two paragraphs to describe the change or transformation that took place.

Being a Spanish major here at Ohio State prepared me for the challenges of teaching a child a new language. Although, prior to the start of this program I was feeling overwhelmingly under-prepared seeming how I had no teaching experience and was not able to work with my students in person which posed for a more challenging experience. Looking back on this experience I can definitely say I was overreacting because it was much less professional and scary than it originally seemed, especially considering the numerous effective training sessions we volunteers had to complete in order to take a teaching role.

I can now take a step back from this summer and be able to say I helped someone in a way I never thought possible. As I was teaching my student how to speak English; he was teaching me new words I have never heard before and at the same time being patient with me when I was having trouble explaining something in Spanish. I believe this experience was a good supplement to not being able to study abroad but instead was still immersed in the Panamanian culture from the comforts of my desk at home. Besides the cultural differences, I was also introduced to the struggles that many faces, growing up in a developing country without proper resources. Learning about how different the two of our lives really opened my eyes to how good I have had it the past 21 years. I am very thankful for everything my student taught me, but I am even more grateful for being lucky enough to be able to experience something like this.

3. What events, interactions, relationships, or activities during your STEP Signature Project led to the change/transformation that you discussed in #2, and how did those affect you? Write three or four paragraphs describing the key aspects of your experiences completing your STEP Signature Project that led to this change/transformation.

Like I mentioned before, while I was volunteering this summer I got to work with a lot of other volunteers who have very different backgrounds from my own. Some of those who were pursuing a future career in education was of great assistance to me in the process as well because I honestly did not even know where to start when it came to teaching someone. At the same time, my wonderful program director gave a huge helping hand in showing me how to effectively communicate to someone who does not speak the predominant dialect from Spain, which is taught in the majority of our Spanish classes. She was there for me at any hour of the day when I had a question or doubt about the way I was going about things and if I needed to fix something. I would have been totally lost in the making of this if I did not have these inspiring people in my corner.

I may have learned a lot from those who were also a part of the program whether it was other volunteers or my higher-ups, I learned the most from just teaching my student each lesson. The more we had the more confident the two of us were in our abilities to help one another. I attempted many different methods of teaching and took the process one step at a time by using trial and error on what was working and what was not. Eventually, by the third or fourth week I figured out a good routine to set up and this made for a really efficient way of guiding my student through the English language. I learned to love helping him through his weekly quizzes and see him every other day intently listening to every word I say so that he can get better as time goes on.

This program was overall very successful for me but it also came with its’ headaches as well. I was attempting to take on too much with summer classes, studying for the LSAT, and working on top of the weekly lesson plans and teaching. In Panama they have trimesters in school so while he was at school all day and then finished his homework later, he had lessons with me in the evening. With this in mind, anyone could realize we were putting in more work than ever because of how tired we were by the end of the day. This made for valuable life lessons on practicing my patience and pushing through when the going gets tough, and the same goes for my attentive student!

4. Why is this change/transformation significant or valuable for your life? Write one or two paragraphs discussing why this change or development matters and/or relates to your academic, personal, and/or professional goals and future plans.

Coming out of this experience I can definitely say I went through a lot of personal growth throughout this summer volunteering with LE. Not only did I learn new valuable life skills like teaching and working with younger children, but I had the chance to work on my Spanish speaking skills. As much as one would think that a student majoring in a language at the college level would be fluent by this time; that is definitely not the case. Achieving fluency is much harder and more strenous than it sounds, which takes a lot of practice and experience. In light of what has been going on in the world this past year and a half, I have realized I have missed out on a lot of valuable learning experiences, like internships and studying abroad. It is disappointing but I must look past the negative side of things and realize I was lucky enough to get to practice speaking a language I have come to love this summer almost every day. With that being said I can say despite the fact it was entirely online, I still had an amazing time working for such an amazing program this summer, and look forward to putting my new knowledge towards my academics and future career path!

For my STEP Signature Project, I went to San Diego, California, to do service work with the homeless population there. The volunteering consisted of working with Urban Street Angels and PATH, two large service organizations that work directly with the homeless population in San Diego. At Urban Street Angels, I worked multiple dinner services, and helped clean many areas in their facilities, while working directly with the homeless youth who lived at the shelter. At PATH, I helped prepare food to be distributed to the homeless population all across San Diego. 

While I was doing this service, many ideas that I had of the world changed. Before this trip, I had never travelled to the west coast, and I had no idea how extreme of an issue homelessness was in that area. I realized how easy it is for any person to end up without a home. My work with both of the service facilities provided me with eye-opening experiences that made me understand how important it is to continually work to end homelessness in all communities, and to constantly show empathy and kindness to people, because you never know what situation they may be in. 

After working with many of the homeless youth at Urban Street Angels, and learning about their stories, I began recognizing how easily anyone could be in their shoes. Many of the youth were kicked out of their homes due to their sexuality, or due to mental health issues that their family was unable to help them with. Others left their homes because they were put in unsafe situations, and determined that life on the street would be better than living in their current environment. These experiences allowed me to view homelessness from a different lens, and made me determined to want to give back even more to the homeless community. 

While working with PATH in San Diego, I also learned about the most important ways that anyone can help the homeless community. PATH is a volunteer organization that distributes three meals a day to the homeless population around San Diego. They also work to help find housing for this population. When working with the head chef to prepare a dinner service, he began speaking to me about the importance of outreach to the homeless community, and how many people try to help, but do not really listen to their actual needs. PATH works to do day-to-day outreach, and sends people out to speak to the homeless on the streets to provide them with food, and to ask them what they really need. Many organizations just decide what these people need, while PATH actually goes and individually asks people what would help them the most in their situations. This really spoke to me, because I realized that there have been times when I have tried to help others, but not really tried to hear what they wanted. 

Due to these experiences, and my increased awareness of the large homeless population, I began talking to many of the homeless people that we would encounter on the streets of San Diego. From these experiences, we realized that what many of these people wanted was someone to just listen to them, and to not feel invisible. Many people will not even make eye contact with the homeless that they see on the streets, and they told us how much they just want to feel seen and like their community still cares about them despite their situation. They also spoke to us about how they felt that they were always lacking in health products, especially in the midst of a pandemic, and how they wished that there was more comprehensive health education for the homeless community. 

These experiences led me to understand a lot more about how to help homeless populations all over the United States. I plan to bring the things that I learned back to my own community, and to help educate others on the importance of working to serve the homeless population. This also directly connects to the service that I already do in Columbus at a non-profit pediatric dental office and at a food bank. I am planning on taking my experiences to heart, and beginning to help with comprehensive health education at the food bank and pediatric clinic. Due to being a pre-dental student, I am very passionate about educating others on the importance of oral hygiene, and making sure that everyone is able to get proper health care despite their situation. As a future dentist, I want to give back to my community and work to provide for the underserved. This experience truly changed my life and made me even more dedicated to service, and I am so grateful to have had this opportunity.

1. Please provide a brief description of your STEP Signature Project. Write two or three sentences describing the main activities your STEP Signature Project entailed.

For my STEP signature project, I traveled to San Diego to volunteer at Urban Street Angels and PATH which are non-profit organizations that want to end youth homelessness. This experience combined my passions of service and travel. I helped out with deep cleaning the kitchen, preparing meals, and serving the clients. Through volunteering and speaking with the clients I learned further about the San Diego community. 

2. What about your understanding of yourself, your assumptions, or your view of the world changed/transformed while completing your STEP Signature Project? Write one or two paragraphs to describe the change or transformation that took place.

This signature project changed my assumptions about youth homelessness. Although I was aware that this is a major issue all across the country, I didn’t grasp the extent of it. It was interesting to learn about the ways in which organizations are aiming to combat homelessness. In addition, it was a valuable experience to interact with clients who could’ve been my friends outside of the center as it emphasized that homelessness doesn’t have a certain image as some people may think. They were all around my age and had similar interests as me yet they weren’t as privileged. I’ve always acknowledged my luck in the way I was raised and my background, but this project was eye-opening as it made me reflect more on certain things I may take for granted. I also reflected on how youth homelessness is so prevalent in Columbus and how I’m surrounded by the Ohio State bubble so I don’t witness it directly. 

Another highlight of this project was that I was able to learn about Albania since my roommate from the hostel, who volunteered in the same program, was from Albania. Nikoleta shared all about her culture and her life as a student studying abroad in the UK. 

3. What events, interactions, relationships, or activities during your STEP Signature Project led to the change/transformation that you discussed in #2, and how did those affect you? Write three or four paragraphs describing the key aspects of your experiences completing your STEP Signature Project that led to this change/transformation.

At Urban Street Angels I interacted with the clients, other volunteers, and the workers. I volunteered during the evening shift and helped to get everything ready for the dinner service. Every night there was a different person with the rest of the volunteers and me in the kitchen so it was interesting to hear their various perspectives. On the first day, Jared, who is a client at Urban Street Angels, was in charge of giving us the tasks. He was so informative and explained to us how the program works. Another evening the assistant chef led the kitchen and I discussed with him where Urban Angels get funding and how San Diego supports youth homelessness. During each shift, everyone was truly so kind and it was a very supportive environment. 

Even though I had such a great experience at Urban Street Angels, these interactions affected me because I was constantly thinking about the fact that I wanted to help all the clients, but I didn’t want them to think that I view myself as some sort of a “savior” because I was volunteering there. It was a strange balance since I’m sure no one actually thought that, but I kept considering it and I was very aware that anyone else could’ve done the same tasks as me. Overall, I loved getting to speak with and learn from everyone there and it was eye-opening. 

At PATH, they’re dedicated to helping families in San Diego end their homelessness by providing housing and meals. As a volunteer, I helped to pack and bag meals that were being sent to families that same day, and in total, the rest of the volunteers and I packed around 700 meals. In fact, they send 700 meals to families 3 times a day. I discussed the mission of PATH with the workers there and it was inspiring to see their dedication and commitment.

Lastly, a key aspect of my project was meeting Nikoleta. She enhanced the experience so much and I will never forget getting to spend that week with her. Through Nikoleta, I learned all about Albanian culture because she talked about her family back home, her favorite Albanian food, and explained parts of the country such as the government and socioeconomic status. In addition, she attended boarding school in the UK and now she attends university in London so she discussed her experience studying there and how the education system there is different from the American system. It was such a cool opportunity to learn about a different culture and to make a friend who lives on the other side of the world.

4. Why is this change/transformation significant or valuable for your life? Write one or two paragraphs discussing why this change or development matters and/or relates to your academic, personal, and/or professional goals and future plans.

This experience is significant for my life because I value any chance I get to meet and learn from others with different backgrounds than me. It’s important for me to leave my hometown and the Ohio State “bubble” and be in situations that I’m not used to. The development relates directly to my future goals as I hope to become a dentist, and dentistry is a service-based profession that revolves around forming relationships with patients of various backgrounds and experiences. One reason I want to become a dentist is that I’m passionate about the lack of accessibility to dental care to marginalized groups such as the homeless community, and I would love to contribute to narrowing those gaps in accessibility.