Katie and I went to lunch at the Union Market, and it was awesome to sit down with Katie! Katie Taray is a first year student with a Public Affairs major. She is from Canton, Ohio and she has a close family including an older brother with special needs. Originally, Katie and I connected because some of my cousins live in North Canton, which is the rival city to Canton. We know some of the same people, and we both love the alternative band Foster the People! I had never heard about the major public affairs until I came to school, so I’m always curious as to what exactly it is. So, how did she decide on the major she has chosen? Katie has always wanted to be a teacher, and her family had a little influence as well. Her dad and one of her cousins are teachers, yet they persuaded Katie to look outside of teaching as a career to try something else. She believed public affairs could let her go into education policy or non-profit work such as administrative public relations. However, Katie expressed to me that she’s really uncertain about her major, and wants to continue exploring her majors. I told Katie to look into the exploration major program on campus, so she can use her resources to really find the best major for her whether that be something pertaining to education or something outside that field. I felt undecided as well when I came to school, so I think it helped Katie to hear from my experiences.
Currently, Katie is taking mostly general education courses, like myself, but she considers her Spanish class to be her most difficult class. It’s called Spanish pronunciations, and it focuses on vowels and linguistics of the language. I totally understand how this can be challenging when this isn’t even her native language. Other than that, Katie is taking one major course called introduction to public affairs. This course brought up a great discussion for Katie and I. Introduction to public affairs is very political-based she said, and we agreed that it can be hard to contribute to discussions in class if you don’t agree or disagree strongly to the arguments or issues. We discussed how there is almost a privilege that surrounds those that aren’t completely affected by results after people vote on an issue, and we admitted that we can relate to this. It’s hard to understand the weight of issues when we aren’t personally impacted. Although Katie may not like that she is feeling unconfident about her major, I think in the future she’ll be glad that this course has helped her to identify her uncertainty about public affairs.
When it comes to involvement, I asked Katie what kind of involvement she sees herself becoming passionate about. Already, Katie is in three student organizations actually. She joined CHAARG, which is an organization that ignites health and fitness within college-aged women. I think this organization is awesome for creating a positive environment for women to feel comfortable to exercise and surround themselves with others that are motivated to expand their formats of exercise in a fun way. In addition, Katie joined the after school tutoring program for young kids that is at Thompson library, which was mentioned during one of our ACES presentations by the Office of Social Change. Lastly, Katie enjoys Smiles with Style, a program through Ronald McDonald that gives kids with chronic diseases makeovers with eyeshadow, temporary tattoos, or dress up outfits like tutus and tiaras. I really was intrigued by this organization because I’m involved in A Kid Again, which is very similar in giving families and their children with life-threatening illnesses the opportunity to attend social, seasonal events to give illnesses a timeout. Katie admitted that she has attended only one or two meetings for these organizations. I encouraged her to step outside her comfort zone to attend a meeting or event even if it’s by yourself because she might really enjoy it and surprise herself.
During the interview, I asked Katie what she is most looking forward to in the ACES program. To begin, Katie told me she chose ACES because she feels that she has grown up in the education world and loves it. As I said earlier, her family includes a couple of teachers, and they like making an impact on the lives of others. She talked about how in high school she taught Spanish to elementary school kids, and as a kid she loved playing with dolls as I did too. In general, she’s excited to participate in service events, and I told Katie how ACES helped me to first learn about the city of Columbus and the non-profits that are founded and thrive here. Lastly, Katie is eager to learn about ACES and how it can be integrated into her life and her love for education.
Honestly, I think ACES was the best decision Katie could have made in her first semester at the Ohio State University. I know for myself it helped me socially as I almost felt I lived in a learning community as I was so close with my floor mates because most of us were in ACES, and we could discuss events and walk to meetings. As a sophomore, some of the friends I met in ACES are my best friends here at OSU, and I’m glad I decided to complete the Honors & Scholars essay application. I asked Katie, what is your back up plan? Katie believes if something in public affairs or public relations doesn’t work out, she will likely become an elementary school teacher, which I think is a great path if she was to take it. Katie has a love for children, societal change, and is such a positive, awesome person to be around.
College can be stressful, so I asked Katie how she will balance her time especially now that she is in ACES and three student organizations. Katie said she breathes her Google Calendar to prioritize things to do and to see the layout of each day. In addition, Katie showed me her planner, which she writes her due-dates in, and fun fact it’s written in cursive. Lastly, I love to hear about an individual’s freshman year experience, so I asked Katie what has surprised her about campus? Both Katie and I were above average and in the top of our classes, and we were motivated to attend an university that challenged us. However once being here, Katie noticed that everyone was as smart or smarter than her, and she feels as though that it can be difficult to stand out as the leader or the smarter person in the room while being surrounded by such intelligent groups of people. But, Katie and I are both glad we are here because we are motivated to getting out of our comfort zone, meet new people, and have a great four years at the Ohio State University!
I was really happy to meet with Katie, one of my two awesome mentees. I’m excited to see how she determines her course of action for deciding her major decision, how she grows as a person, and how she becomes more comfortable within her first semester. As her mentor I’m committed to checking in with her as a mentor, advice guide, and friend.