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 project was volunteering with Esperanza which is an organization that works within underserviced areas in Cleveland to help increase post-secondary education access. I held various roles including collaborating with a team on the curriculum for our Lidreares Avanzado program. The program included workshops such as Fasfa Help, Study tips, How to get an internship, and volunteering near seminars over zoom. I would also volunteer at events as needed whenever Esperanza would host events.

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.

I truly understand the community I grew up in and was raised in more than ever. Working within the community to improve the community allowed me to realize how much each individual can learn and grow with positive surroundings. Although the situation was often dire during events such as Backpack where we donated over 250 bookbags filled with school supplies. Seeing everyone come together to help those less fortunate changed my view of the world and made me realize the impact we can have on those around us. Also helped me realize the value of strength in numbers we had numerous people show up to volunteer their time and effort. As the size of the group increased our group became faster and more efficient while we also enjoyed each other’s company and everyone’s effort.

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.

 It’s hard to put into words what I felt during my time at Esperanza but it felt enlightening. I hypothesis that the group made me feel this way because whenever I would look around during our events I would feel a sense of belonging and accomplishment. There’s a saying I’ve heard for as long as I can remember ” You are who you surround yourself with “. This was the first time I could sense and feel as if my surroundings were indeed making me who I am. It was through my time at Esperanza where I could feel the maturity and sense my transformation into a better more aware version of myself. 

When I state I felt like a more aware version of myself I mean I understood my surroundings better than ever. For example, during our pack back event, we had given school supplies to any car that would drive through our parking lot. To my surprise, there was a surreal need for school supplies as after a couple of hours we were near out of supplies and had given a near 250 backpacks out. I became more aware of the need and struggle around me since not very far from where I live there many students who can’t access the school supplies they need. As I become more aware I find that now I can find answers to issues since I better understand them. Another example includes me contacting our first-generation college students and as a first-generation student, I understand the struggle of having parents who are clueless about financial aid and everything that comes with the admission process. But as I worked closely there was something many of our first-gen students and I had in common. We all came from low-income families whose parents never got to go to college and have had to work low entry and often low-income work by default.

This summer made me see the world in more detail than I’ve ever seen it before it in a sense woke me up. Problems I always thought were so straightforward such as why don’t more people eat healthier. I always thought people eat unhealthy food options by choice but I learned it’s not always so straightforward as some people don’t have access to healthy food options due to virus of factors such as location and affordability.

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 plans.

This change is significant for me because it’s personal. Now I understand what my parents went through and why it’s almost as if this summer made me understand my background more than I ever did. The development I made over the summer has altered my academic, personal and professional goals greatly for the better. I no longer want to turn a blind eye or ignore the issues around me. Esperanza has taught me that each person is capable of making a difference and when we come together we can do more than we think. With that said I have already started to shift my academic, personal, and professional goals to be more centered around lesser served areas. Evidence of this transformation can be seen even as this semester I joined doctors without Borders which is an organization that seeks to get doctors in areas with desperate medical needs such as war-torn areas. Another example of this transformation can be seen as I start teaching English as a second language on September 27th. 

To conclude and summarize Esperanza showed me there is more to our communities than we often see. I believe that it’s because it’s often so much easier to ignore than to take action. I decided I no longer want to ignore the issues around me going forward I want to focus my medical career in underserved areas. Until I graduate and can start practicing medicine I continue to reach my hand in help. I want to finish my reflection by saying I do plan to return to Esperanza next summer and lastly by saying thank you to the Step program for making this possible and quite literally changing my life. 

1. For my STEP project I spent almost 4 months as a volunteer fireman in my hometown of New City, New York. I engaged in this role on a near daily basis, responding to incidents ranging from fires to rescues to extrications. As a result of my activities this Summer, I am happy to consider myself a much more well rounded, community oriented man.
2. Reflecting back to the onset of my STEP project I can very easily describe myself as out of touch. Ever since spending the Summer as a fireman, I am happy to say that I view myself as a much more down to Earth person. I learned so much on and off scene with so many people who I view as role models. Listening to the stories and advice of my mentors who were at 9/11 and so many other emergency incidents, I gained such a great respect for my own life and the impact it has on those around me. While I can only hope to make the difference on the world that some of these men have made, I believe I laid a solid foundation towards building a life of dedicated service.
3. One specific incident that I believe contributed to this epiphany occurred around 4 in the morning in the middle of June. We received the call for a structure fire and after waking up in a haze, the adrenaline set in and I raced to the firehouse. After preparing myself mentally for the worst and being ready to be on scene until 7 in the morning doing everything I could to save these peoples’ lives and property, we arrived on scene to find absolutely no smoke, and no flames. After a thorough inspection of the house, it was obvious that there was no incident here and we all packed the truck back up. It was in this moment that I exclaimed in disgust at how my time had been wasted and my sleep schedule ruined.

What was said next to me was something I will never forget. A man who I had known since I first joined the fire department 4 years ago told me “we only show up on their worst day, be happy this wasn’t one of them.” After sitting for a moment to let the gravity of that statement set in, I realized how deeply truthful it is. With that job I get to make a tangible difference in someone’s life every single day. Aside from renewing the love and respect I have for emergency services, hearing that made me realize that I need to value myself to be able to make the sacrifices it takes to be a good fireman and a good person.

Another experience that always brought me back to reality was the meals shared with everyone in the department, young and old. Everyone shared the same room and ate the same dinner after a drill, meeting or big fire. And the conversations never excluded those of us who were the “young guys” or those who weren’t the favorites. It was brotherhood in the truest sense…something I will cherish and chase forever.

This was an incredibly significant development  for me for dozens of reasons, but the most important aren’t the communication skills or calmness under pressure it taught me. I believe the most important thing doing this helped me realize is that every contribution makes a difference. I don’t need to be the leader or the focal point of something to be valued anymore. I just need to feel that I did something to help people, my team or just moved the world towards the greater good. This Summer is one that changed my life for the better and set me on a path to becoming a person I feel others will be proud to be acquainted with

I worked at the Barry-Eaton District Health Department for my STEP project, working specifically with the health promotion team. The projects I worked on involved the distribution of vaccines and recruiting participants for Healthy Capital Counties focus groups. 

My project transformed my view of the inner workings of public health at a government level. During my time in the department, I sat in on staff meetings. I was able to see the collaborative nature of public health as projects, advice, information, and ideas were shared between individuals. It was very encouraging to see the team work within that department, and the variety of work they were doing all at once. Across an 8 person team, the department was working on 2 separate focus group projects, COVID-19 vaccine and other immunization clinics, and keeping the community updated on COVID-19 information, all while trying to restart tobacco, safe sex, safe marijuana use programs that had to be put on hold during the pandemic. It was very impactful to see how prepared the team was for what seemed like the chaos of the delta variant, and how quickly the team adapted to the unforeseen situations throughout the summer. Before this experience, I was more interested in pursuing non-profit public health work after graduation, but now I am much more interested in working for a government agency. 

The other transformation that occurred, was a change in understanding of COVID-19 and public opinion of the vaccine. I was able to see, as the Pfizer vaccine was approved for younger individuals, children and parents enthusiastically coming into clinics. At some clinics information sessions were held to better inform the more skeptical target audiences. At clinics in the middle of summer, only a couple people would get vaccinated over the course of many hours. And of course there will always be the people who believe the conspiracy theories, and refuse. With all of the variance in attendance and enthusiasm, I was able to better understand where those unvaccinated are coming from, whether that be they are uninformed, misinformed, or simply not motivated to make the effort. 

I was given the opportunity to sit in on one of the focus groups that I had helped recruit for. While the content that was discussed there consisted mostly of information and ideas I was already aware of, the outcome of the event was an incredible example of how flexible the staff members have to be to perform their jobs. This particular focus group had 13 people register, and only 2 people ended up showing up. Both individuals were also late, so there was a short period of time when there was some panic that the recruitment process would have to be done again. By the end they were still able to collect important information in more of an interview style. Dinner was provided for participants, so there was also the issue of the leftover meals, which were donated to a community-led food distribution box nearby. It was a great example of how the department does its best to support the public, solves problems creatively, and uses all their resources.

I was also able to see, and better understand, this dynamic summer through the lens of the staff meetings. In May and June, the number of people coming in to be vaccinated dropped swiftly from numbers in the 600s, to max 200 people a day (assuming they all showed up), and then just 10s of people. By July, mask mandates were out and only a couple people would come to clinics. As August began the number of individuals increased once again, with school starting and the threat of the delta variant. Throughout these changes, press releases, announcements, and community suggestions were being planned and altered as new information rolled in. This is especially true with the delta variant, the woman in charge of PR had a statement about delta prepared a couple weeks before it made its way into our counties. It was powerful to see the level of preparation and level-headedness they all maintained despite the unprecedented nature of everything that has happened in the past year and a half.

During my first few days volunteering at the clinics I primarily worked on checking people in up front. BEDHD had secured a part of the Lansing mall to set up a vaccination clinic, so there were many people passing by who did not know who we were and what we were doing. It was so interesting to field the questions and comments of passers-by and provide them with information they needed to make decisions about their health. Those passing by were not all supporters, but that is part of the gig. I felt the excitement of walk-ins most there, especially when they said they were coming because a friend told them to rush over by the end of the day. A particular interaction that sticks in my mind was a woman who was already vaccinated came up to thank us for being there. It was interesting to field these questions and comments, but this direct interaction was most impactful because it reminded me of how passionate I am about public health and the accessibility of health services.

With my career as a college student halfway over, it becomes increasingly important to focus on steps toward making career goals happen. I was more undecided about plans after grad school before this summer. All planning and preparation is constantly subject to change, but it’s nonetheless important to have a driving purpose. Networking, gathering relevant experience, and continuing to do well in classes is given more importance with a clear goal in mind. After this experience, my goals have oriented toward public health in a government agency. Likewise, as I am more fully entering my chosen field, it is very important to lead empathetically and work toward understanding the complexities of health issues, like COVID-19, within individual communities. This understanding is vital to designing and implementing programs and interventions that will be effective.

Here I am on my way out to a vaccination clinic!

My name is Logan Gormley, a third year Electronics and Computer Engineering (ECE) student. This past summer I used my STEP funds to participate in a community service project to help automate a community hydroponic farm that was set up by the company Roots Up. Through the duration of the project, I researched what options were available for automation, worked with the CEO of Roots Up to assess requirements of the automation, and ultimately designed and implemented a system to reduce the amount of manual intervention needed to keep the hydroponic farm up and running.

I decided to engage in a service and community learning project such as this for a few reasons. The most important reason was that I wanted to be able to test myself and see how what I am learning in the classroom can be applied to the real world and help real people. I believe most college students hit a point in their education where they question “How will this be useful to me in the future?”, and I was certainly no exception. STEP granted me the opportunity to get out of the classroom and see for myself just how impactful my engineering skills can be. Through my project, I have been able to form an understanding of how I can use my skills to help those around me, an understanding that I would otherwise still be searching for. I hoped to lead a project where I could research, design, and implement an engineering solution to a problem that is impacting people around me.

Another goal I had in mind when setting up my STEP project was to interact with the local Columbus community more. My freshman year I did not leave campus much, and once COVID-19 hit the United States in full force at the end of that same year, I spent the next year almost completely detached from Columbus. As such, I wanted to spend the summer working on this project in Columbus, getting to meet with some of the people involved face-to-face (following COVID protocols of course). Throughout the summer I was able to form connections with those who I would be helping with my automation project, which ended up being quite a memorable experience for myself and had made me feel more grounded in the city.

Overall, my STEP project gave me a lot of great experiences. As previously stated, I spent quite a bit of time discussing with John Schrock, the CEO of Roots Up, how I can improve the autonomy of his hydroponic system. We went through various ideas together, with one of the first things I investigated being using a Raspberry Pi for the automation. I set to researching the viability of this idea, and ultimately concluded that a Raspberry Pi would not suffice for a multitude of reasons, among them being that a Raspberry Pi is not ruggedized and designed for use in environments such as a hydroponic farm, and the Raspberry Pi lacking the built-in capabilities to interface with the high-power electronics used in the farm. After reconvening with John and explaining my findings, our next plan was to use a Programmable Logic Controller (PLC). PLCs are ruggedized computers used in industry for automating manufacturing tasks and various other systems. They are inherently designed to endure harsh conditions and interface with high-power electronics, solving the problems I found with using a Raspberry Pi. One issue unique to PLCs, however, was that PLCs often use Ladder Logic, a programming language only used with PLCs, and not something I had any experience in. Thus, it became another goal for the project, for me to learn Ladder Logic programming to implement a PLC system into the hydroponic farm.

It was around this time that the hydroponic farm construction in Milo Grogan that John intended for me to integrate a PLC into was scrapped due to a loss of funding caused by COVID. As such, the scope of my project had to change a bit. John had another farm, one already constructed, built at Cova Cowork. Instead of working with the construction team to automate a new farm, I was tasked with reworking the electrical systems in an already existing farm to simplify and automate it. Thankfully, the actual specifics of what the PLC would do did not change much at all, but I was more restricted in some ways as I had to interface with existing electronics rather than helping pick devices that I was confident could work with the PLC. I met with John and a few community members at Cova Cowork and examined the existing electrical infrastructure and set to work on finding a PLC that met our requirements.

I ultimately settled on a CLICK PLC from Automation Direct for a few reasons. The first reason was that they are compact and would be able to fit within the limited space available. The second reason was that the software used to program them was completely free, meaning there would be no issues for John or someone else to reprogram and maintain them in the future. The third reason is that they have an easy-to-understand system of expansion modules that allow for greater functionality. The final reason was that, especially considering the free software, they were competitively priced, and should a part fail in the future, replacements would be relatively inexpensive. While researching which PLC to purchase I had already began learning Ladder Logic so that when the device arrived, I could immediately begin programming it, and that is exactly what I did.

One hurdle that arose with implementing the PLC system into the existing farm was that the current farm had electronics that used standard outlet plugs, whereas the PLC connects to devices using bare wires. John and I agreed that cutting the plugs off of the electronics was not ideal, as if they ever need to be swapped out or used in another way, the electronics will then need to be re-attached to a plug. The solution I came up with was to create power strips that, rather than ending with an outlet plug, terminated with bare wires that could be connected to the PLC. This meant we were able to keep the plugs on the expensive electronics already in use, and simply plug them into the power strip that the PLC now controls. Nearing the end of summer, with the PLC and its power strips now wired up and my Ladder Logic code complete, I installed my system into Cova Cowork’s hydroponic farm. It quickly became apparent that there was an issue with the system during the first few days, and the system was intended to turn on the farm’s lights at 3pm and turn them off at 9am, but it was off an hour. After some debugging and another visit to the farm, I realized that the issue was a simple logic error in my code, and quickly implemented a fix, and since then, the system has been running as intended.

All told the experiences I had throughout the entirely of my STEP project hit the goals I laid out for myself and then some. Without a doubt I was able to take things I learned in classes like ECE 2060 (Digital logic) and apply them to the real world problem of automating a hydroponic farm. By the end of the summer, I saw firsthand the impact my engineering skills can have, ultimately being able to eliminate the day-to-day need to monitor lighting within the hydroponic farm. Meeting John, and all the people at Cova Cowork has made me feel more at home in Columbus as well. Furthermore, the unexpected changes and challenges that arose throughout the summer gave me firsthand experience with real world project management. In essence, I had to interact with clients, assess their needs, research, design, and implement a solution, all while tackling problems such as funding issues and unexpected changes to design requirements. This view into real world project management was an unintended, extra benefit that I gained from my STEP project, and in my opinion really elevated the experience. My STEP project has reinforced my confidence in what I am learning here at OSU, connected me to the broader Columbus community, and given me real world experience analogous to what I will see in my professional career in the future, and I could not be more glad to have spent my summer this way.

Hydroponic electrical system before automation.

Hydroponic electrical systems after automation installation, now centralized to one system.