This semester I had the opportunity to do two explore Columbus’s with my mentee, Rachel. Last semester we went and got breakfast at First Watch with another pair of mentor mentees. This semester we decided to just do our explore Columbus’s by ourselves. When picking what to do we decided we wanted to definitely go to the short north. There are so many options there and so many cool things to do. For our first experience we decided to go to simply rolled. This is an ice cream place where they roll the ice cream for you and mix it right in front of you. Neither of us had ever been. When deciding what to do first, we were discussing our favorite foods. We both said that we really loved ice cream. In the short north there is Simply Rolled and Jenis ice cream. But like I stated earlier neither of us have been to Simply Rolled so we picked that place! We went on a beautiful Saturday and took the bus down to the short north. Since it was so nice, the bus was very hot and stuffy. The weather was so nice, it felt like seventy degrees out. We were even lucky enough to be able to enjoy out ice cream outside. Both Rachel and I got the cinnamon bun flavor. It was a limited time offer so we figured we should get it now in case they do not have it the next time we come. To make it they cut up a cinnamon bun into tiny pieces and combined that with the ice cream. Then at the end they put icing on top of it. We both loved it! When we were sitting outside we got passed by some many different people and dogs. It was fun for us to just people watch for a while. We both also really love dogs so it was so much fun for us to pet a bunch of different ones. One of my favorite things about this trip was not only getting the yummy ice cream but how easy going the whole trip felt. It did not feel like something we were forced to do but something we wanted to do. Our conversations flowed easily and we did not run out of things to talk about. Rachel and I get along very well and I can see us staying friends even after I complete the two years required for us to be in the ACES program. For our second explore Columbus we decided to get food in the short north. We picked the restaurant Northstar Cafe. I have been here before and really enjoyed it. Rachel had never been but wanted to so we picked it. We went one Monday after we finished all our classes. Again, we took the bus down to the short north. We considered walking but decided to just take the bus because we were feeling lazy. The first time I went to northstar I went for breakfast, so this time when we went for lunch I was able to get something new! I got a delicious burger with perfectly cooked fries on the side, but Rachel does not like red meat, so she got a salad. We laughed about us getting two completely different meals one being extremely healthy and the other not so much. We said both of our meals were so good! The only problem we had with the restaurant was that it was kind of expensive. Especially for us broke college students. The weather was not as nice when we went to Northstar so we sat inside. Turns out these two places were right across from each other on high street. We said we would definitely recommend simply rolled to everyone. The only thing is that you should come hungry! Before going to get ice cream we had each separately ate decently large meals and were SO full after eating our ice cream! We both will defiantly go back! Northstar, we said we would recommend it to people if they go knowing that it is decently expensive. I am not sure if Rachel will go back but I will go back with my family I believe. I think it is a nice place for us to go on Sunday after church one day! I really enjoy hanging out with Rachel, whether we are getting food, ice cream, or just talked at ACES meetings we always have a good time. I can not wait to be able to hang out with Rachel more next year. We learned about all the cool places Columbus has to offer and all the different people. We saw so many different personalities. For someone going on the same experience, I would recommend going out of your comfort zone and trying something new!

I loved being able to hang out with my mentee again. One thing I really enjoy about my mentee Rachel Copes who is a business major and I’s relationship is that these interviews do not feel forced. They are more of just a conversation and us hanging out rather than a forced interview that we have to do for our scholars group. Before looking into the questions I had to ask her, we just talked. We talked about different things going on in our lives and how we were enjoying school. I know she was a big part of buckeyethon so I asked her how that went and we talked about it for quite some time. I could tell how excited the subject made her and she told me she could not wait till next year to do it again.

The first question I asked Rachel was out of the academics section. I asked her, “What kind of study habits have you developed? Did they work successfully in the fall?” She told me she has made a new habit of studying in the study rooms in her dorm (smith-steeb). She did not do it much last semester but has now started going there almost everyday. She likes being able to get work done with people around her especially her friends. She used to mainly work in her room and it was very easy for her to get distracted. This way she has people around her to motivate her to continue working.

The next question I asked her was out of the involvement sections. As I stated earlier, I knew she was very involved in Buckeyethon but I was curious as to what else she has gotten involved in. The question I asked was, “ how do you manage your time between your involvement and your academics?” She told me she uses a planner to manage her time. She has used it all year and it has treated her nicely. The one thing she needs to continue working on is knowing her boundaries. She is trying to not get too involved in things so she does not over work herself. Her number one priority is still her grades and she needs to keep this in mind when planning things.

The next section was the ACES section. The question I asked her was, “How was your first semester in ACES? What has surprised you about the program?” She said so far her first seamster has been going very well. She enjoys it a lot and has enjoyed getting to know everyone within ACES. Something that has surprised her was the community service that is done within ACES. She loves community service and has been looking for more ways to get involved on or around campus involving community service. She likes all the opportunities ACES gives for her to get involved and all the information it gives her about different clubs and such to get involved in.

The next question was form the careers section, “Does your college have a Career Services office? How do you plan to utilize this office in the future?” She answered by saying yes we do. I was glad that she knew about career services because they can be so helpful. She then said she plans to utilize it by becoming QUIC certified. I did not know what this was so she explained it to me. She told me that to be interviewed on campus through fisher she had to become QUIC certified. This means she has to go through a training and do a mock interview. She said she does not mind doing it because it provides her with extra practice and more opportunities to build herself as.

The last question I asked her was from the miscellaneous section. I asked her, “What is your favorite memory from last semester?” She told me right away with no hesitation that it was the Penn State football game and being able to rush the field. This sparked a great conversation between us because football is my favorite part of fall semester too! I loved the penn state game and every other game as well.

For the future, I plan to use this information to really dig deep into who Rachel is rather than just the surface of getting to know each other. I know what to talk to her about and what to stray away from. I know her likes and dislikes. And now she knows mine. I can not wait to continue this friendship.

For our explore Columbus, my mentee Rachel and I went to First Watch for breakfast. First Watch is located on High Street. I have been to this restaurant before and absolutely loved it, so I wanted to share my awesome experience with my mentee! Leading up to the day we had picked I was getting so excited. My favorite type of food is breakfast food and breakfast food is one of Rachel’s favorites. This is partially why we picked this place, so we could share in our love of breakfast food. We decided to go with her roommate and my good friend Casey. We also picked First Watch because it is in walking distance for all of us, or a short bus ride. This was really nice because the day we went was so cold out! Luckily we all warmed up with some hot steamy coffee. Being there was really nice. The atmosphere and environment at the restaurant is so cool! It is very homy and welcoming. It was great for us to just sit down and talk. The first thing we talked about were upcoming exams. My mentee had mostly actual tests where as I had mostly projects and papers. We both said we would prefer to write a paper than take an actual test. This allows for you to have time to think and perfect what you are working on. Finals are so stressful, even just thinking about them is stressful so it was nice to be able to take a break from the busyness of school and have a nice breakfast. We also talked about where each of us were from because we had forgot. My mentee is from the dayton area. I thought this was really cool because I have family around Dayton. Rachel did not know that I moved from North Carolina a couple summers ago. We had a really long talk about the differences here and down there. Since it was so cold out that day, a main thing we talked about was the weather. They did not know that North Carolina got snow! I told them about how one time, the weather called for snow every day for a week and every day the school board canceled school But, the funny part is that it never actually snowed! There was just a high chance of snow. She told me how rare it was for them to actually have a snow day at her high school. Another thing we talked about was how barely any people from her school went to Ohio State. I said I could relate because no one from my school in North Carolina has ever gone to Ohio State besides me! Even after we all got our food, it was hard to eat because we were talking so much! All four of us came to an agreement that the food was for sure the best part of the whole trip. It was so fresh and delicious. Casey and I got breakfast sandwiches, Rachel got a traditional breakfast that had eggs, potatoes, toast and bacon, and Casey’s mentee got lemon pancakes. All of us loved our meals. The last time Rachel and I got together we discussed how we both wanted to join some type of christian organization. She told me some more about hers and how much she loves it. I am going to go with her next semester. Since First Watch is only a breakfast place we had to go kind of early. I could tell we were all tired. This was a little rough at first but then with our coffee we all perked right up! We would most definitely go back to this restaurant. Since they live in smith steeb it is really close to them! They said they are gonna go back and bring their friends! My roommates and I love going there. We go maybe once a month! I would for sure recommend it to a friend. Something really cool is that First Watch has many different locations all around Columbus and even all around the state of Ohio. Rachel said she would love to have the opportunity to take her mom! By going to this location, we learned how many different atmospheres are all around Columbus. There is a huge school, concert halls, fancy dinning restaurants, and even small simple breakfast places. We figured out that no matter what you are feeling Columbus most likely has a place for you to go! This is so awesome for people who do not live in the city. There are so many opportunities and experiences for all different types of people. All you have to do is look!! 

My Mentee is Rachel Copes. She is a freshman and a business major with a specialization in finance. To conduct my interview we met at the union and had a delicious dinner! Before asking her the official questions, I made sure to just ask her about life and how school is going. I think building our relationship is the most important part of the whole mentee mentor process.

The first question I asked Rachel was, “How did you decide on the major you have chosen?” She started out by reminding me of her major, then began to explain why she picked it. Her brother is someone who she has always looked up to and greatly admired. They have been so similar in many aspects of life including school. Her brother decided that he was going to Ohio State to major in finance and she knew that that was something she also absolutely had to do. Her brother ended up being a peer advisor for the business survey class so he knew all about the major. This also really helped her with making her decision.

The next question I asked was, “What kind of involvement are you interested in on campus?” She jumped at the opportunity to answer this question. She knew that she wanted to join a christian organization. She looked into many including h20 and younglife, but ended up finding her home at Cru. She also is really interested in getting more involved with aces and buckeyethon. A way for her to do this way lead the aces group for buckeyethon! She is super excited about it. Something else Rachel wants to get involved in is a business frat. I was shocked when she said this because I am in a business frat! I was able to help her understand them more and as a pair we bonded a lot over it, it was very exciting.

After that I asked her “What do you think will be some challenging aspects of the ACES program?” The way she answered this raised some questions for me. When most people in aces are asked this question they normally say getting all their service hours, but my mentee said having different opinions in the class than other people. She said sometimes she is afraid to voice her opinion because she does not think it will be valued and she will be made fun of. I hope this is not the case.

The next question I asked was, “What is your dream job and why?” I loved her answer for this! She said being a princess was her dream job, but not just for the simple fact that she would be a princess. She said because it would allow her to get involved with the government and she would be able to represent her country with pride. I thought this was so cool.

The final question I asked her was, “How will you balance academics and involvement?” Her answer to this was something that I think we all struggle with, sacrifice. She said even though she may want to go hang out with her friends, she knows that she has to get her work done first. This is something that I struggle with a lot so I was proud of her for recognizing the importance of sacrifice. She mentioned another thing that she uses to help keep herself in line which is a planner. I also use one of these and I think they are life savors.

Overall, I learned so much about my mentee through this experience and gained a deeper respect for her. I plan on taking all the information I learned and using it to better grow our relationship and pick out fun things for us to do together that explore her interests. I loved finding out all the stuff we had in common and even all our differences! Knowing what I know now will help me connect with her and reach out to her in ways that I did not know she needed. I am excited to see where this year takes us!

In my scholars class at Ohio State I did a film project on the movie The Hunting Ground. This is a movie that brings to light the frequency of sexual assault on college campuses and the fact that colleges are not doing anything about it. In the movie two women take their sexual assault that was poorly handled by the University of North Carolina and go on to advocate for women who have had the same thing happen to them at over 70 college campuses. This is important because sexual assault is not something that should be taken lightly and colleges need to step up and take action in helping prevent this and punishing the rapists. For this project I helped create a powerpoint and give a presentation on the topic. Being in college myself this movie made me more aware of this issue and gave ways to help prevent rape and I will continue to share this information with those around me. 

bibliographical-statement

I have attached my bibliographical statement. In this I explained why being a teacher is important to me and why I want to be a teacher. This is important because teaching is what I want to do with the rest of my life. It is why I am going to college. In it  included some examples of volunteering I have done and how these opportunities helped me be more sure in my decision to becoming a teacher. I had to write this paper for on of my education pre-major classes called school and society. It helped me really dig deep into why I wanted to be a teacher more than just liking being with kids. In it I also included some things that I plan to do when I become a teacher.