The event that I attended was put on by the Unicef club at Ohio State. They invited Benjamin Perks, a representative of Macedonia to come and speak to students on campus. This event was held in Mendenhall room 100 on October 4th from 7:30 to 8:30. Benjamin brought light onto the treatment of children, and how important raising children with a positive home environment is. Because Benjamin work for Unicef, an internationally charity, this event directly relates to the fundamentals of the IA program. I am fascinated by psychology, and Benjamin dove into the psychological development of children, while showing how cold parenting and physical punishment can adversely impact a child. I have taken psych courses in the past, and similar ideas were presented in those classes. Many people do not realize how important a low-stress, positive childhood can benefit a child. Many psychological hardships (not all) can be tied to difficulties that were faced when we were younger, and often times it will take people years to get past things that happened in their childhood. I am currently taking a physiology class, and recently we talked about cortisol levels in children. Cortisol is linked to stress so when kids grow up in high stress environments, the cortisol will inhibit growth hormone, resulting in decreased growth, fragile bones, high blood pressure, decreased immune system functioning and many other negative effects. Due to this, Benjamin stressed how important the well being of children is, and he was an advocate for the enforcement of non-physical punishment for children when they misbehave as physical punishment can also be harmful to one’s mental and physical health. He said he presented this same presentation to government bodies throughout the world, and many of the politicians denied poor parenting practices in their countries. However, he said that when he presented the same information to the teachers in those same countries, they believed all of the things that he was saying, as they interacted with those children first hand. They were the ones that could identify the children who had harsher home lives. At the end of this he told his story about how he grew up from a tough background- living in orphanages and foster homes and constantly getting kicked out of schools. He attributed his actions as a kid to his harsh childhood, but said there was hope for kids like him. He had a teacher at his last school that believed in him and saw his potential- something that he admitted he couldn’t even see at that time. The kind actions of one teacher dramatically changed his life and provided hope for his life. After he finished his presentation, there was a question and answer portion where students asked him questions relative to his job. Many questions were specifically about what he does, how much of a budget he has, and how his team decides to allocate the resources. Looking back, I wish that I asked him about how he proposes to help teachers to foster growth and hope in children who come from tough backgrounds so that they can bounce back despite adversity.
Reflection #1 – Academic
The event that I attended was the Education Abroad Expo on September 4th at the Ohio Union. This event relates to International Affairs because it literally involves students traveling to foreign countries in order to gain new experiences. This event provided insight into the types of study abroad programs available for students at Ohio State and helped me to narrow my study abroad interests. I have always wanted to study abroad, and learn more about how people in other parts of the world live. I have a particular interest in countries that have french as an official language as I like to think of myself as somewhat conversational in french, and would like to improve my abilities. This expo related to french classes that I have taken because we often compare cultures of french speaking countries with the United States, and this expo showed the opportunities available to me to be able to experience these cultures.
As of now, I intend to pursue nursing, and do humanitarian work in foreign countries when I have time. Helping others that are not as fortunate is important to me and I would like to travel to third world countries with organizations such as smile train to help other people with basic procedures that can make profound impacts on their lives. A family friend is a nurse that has done a decent amount of humanitarian work, and she seems to have really gained a lot from it, thus I would like to do the same. She said that it is such a rewarding experience because some people live with treatable conditions for years, then doctors and nurses come in, treat them, and their responses are indescribable.
If I could design my own education abroad program, it would be in a third world country that speaks french. Being able to speak directly with patients, even if my french is only proficient, would be much more beneficial than using a translator, and it would help me to improve my conversational abilities. I would like for the program to be with doctors and nurses whom I could shadow, and get first hand experience. This program would be the best of both worlds for me, as I would like to better learn french via immersion and help people in need. I think this program would benefit me personally as I would be forced to experience cultures entirely different than my own, and it could help me see the world in a different way. This experience could also help me to be grateful for all of the things I have available to me such as food, medical care, education, and so many more things.
I think this type of program would be most beneficial to my career goals, as I would witness basic medical procedures, while also making an impact on people without access to decent medical care. I would want this program to take place over the summer for a month at the most. This is because I feel that a week or two is not enough time to build solid relationships with patients, and over a month would be too long for me, as I may eventually feel homesick.
Welcome to my Honors & Scholars e-Portfolio
[The Home Page will show a running blog of your recent posts, which are categorized and show on that category’s page. Please delete this post or edit with your own information.]
Year in Review
[ “Year in Review” is where you should reflect on the past year and show how you have evolved as a person and as a student. You may want to focus on your growth in a particular area (as a leader, scholar, researcher, etc.) or you may want to talk about your overall experience over the past year. For more information, go to: http://honors-scholars.osu.edu/e-portfolio. Delete these instructions and add your own post.]
G.O.A.L.S.
[ “G.O.A.L.S.” is a place where students write about how their planned, current, and future activities may fit into the Honors & Scholars G.O.A.L.S.: Global Awareness, Original Inquiry, Academic Enrichment, Leadership Development, and Service Engagement. For more information, go to: http://honors-scholars.osu.edu/e-portfolio. Delete these instructions and add your own post.
Global Awareness: Students cultivate and develop their appreciation for diversity and each individual’s unique differences. For example, consider course work, study abroad, involvement in cultural organizations or activities, etc .
Original Inquiry: Honors & Scholars students understand the research process by engaging in experiences ranging from in-class scholarly endeavors to creative inquiry projects to independent experiences with top researchers across campus and in the global community. For example, consider research, creative productions or performances, advanced course work, etc.
Academic Enrichment: Honors & Scholars students pursue academic excellence through rigorous curricular experiences beyond the university norm both in and out of the classroom.
Leadership Development: Honors & Scholars students develop leadership skills that can be demonstrated in the classroom, in the community, in their co-curricular activities, and in their future roles in society.
Service Engagement: Honors & Scholars students commit to service to the community.]
Career
[“Career” is where you can collect information about your experiences and skills that will apply to your future career. Like your resume, this is information that will evolve over time and should be continually updated. For more information, go to: http://honors-scholars.osu.edu/e-portfolio. Delete these instructions and add your own post.]
Artifacts
[Artifacts are the items you consider to be representative of your academic interests and achievements. For each entry, include both an artifact and a detailed annotation. An annotation is a reflective description of the artifact that attempts to communicate its significance. For more information, go to: http://honors-scholars.osu.edu/e-portfolio. Delete these instructions and add your own post.]
About Me
[Your “About Me” is an introduction and should provide insight into who you are as a person and a learner. This should include a picture of you that is appropriate in a professional/academic context. This information should be continually updated. For more information, go to: http://honors-scholars.osu.edu/e-portfolio. Delete these instructions and add your own post.]