Katie is enjoying her second semester at the Ohio State University. Because Katie was undecided about her major during her first semester, I asked her what her current major is and if she enjoys it. Katie is a public affairs major with a Spanish minor. She is pursuing different routes and career possibilities, but she is most interested in non-profit work. Rather than working for educational government policy making, Katie would enjoy doing something like public relations. She really wants to help people and do something that doesn’t have much controversy or political debates. Katie has developed some great study habits. For example, she relies heavily on her Google calendar, which helps her stay organized. By breaking her work into steps or spreading work out if there is an overwhelming amount, Katie finds it the easiest to get her work done. In addition, Katie enjoys studying on the sixth floor of Thompson by the library book stacks because she focuses well in that area. If she’s not at Thompson, Katie will also study in the lounge of the floor in Smith-Steeb. Katie does homework from 11-4pm on Mondays or studies at night.

Katie has been a part of some awesome student organizations so far at Ohio State. Last semester, Katie was involved with CHAARG, a female organization that exercises together on and off campus. CHAARG includes working out with a small group of females and attending workouts at gyms and other workout facilities in the Columbus area. However, Katie is not involved with CHAARG anymore because of the fee members had to pay. Also, it was difficult for her to attend the off-campus workouts because they didn’t align well with her class schedule and free time. This semester, Katie joined Boo Radley Society, which promotes random acts of kindness to others. I think this a great organization for Katie and her kind, bubbly personality. In Boo Radley, each member is assigned to a “commily” that combines both family and community aspects. Katie mentioned that on the GroupMe app each commily has a pun-themed group name that incorporates the Boo Radley name. Each commily has to create two events, and each member has to participate in seven events that focus on promoting kindness to students on campus. Lastly, Katie is still involved with Smiles with Style. This organization partners with the Ronald McDonald organization and puts on fun events for the kids such as dress up, spa day, or any other form of self care and play!

In general, Katie said she liked her first semester in ACES. Specifically, she enjoys the flexibility of the commitment. With ACES, you have participation requirements; meanwhile, the commitment enables members to still have the opportunity and time to join other organizations. Katie and I agreed that ACES encourages members to join other organizations to fulfill the service hour requirement, which is a really cool aspect of the program. This low time commitment compared to other scholars programs allowed her to join CHAARG, Smiles with Style, and Boo Radley Society. With the ACES living-learning community, Katie stated she was not only able to meet friends in ACES, but she was also able to branch out and make more friends, those that are not in ACES. Something that surprised Katie about the ACES program was that there was not as much of an education aspect as she anticipated. But, Katie added that she actually enjoyed that because it has made her aware of other topics other than her initial passion of education. Also, Katie said that her survey class was more quiet than she would have liked and would have liked if people were more social. When I asked Katie if she was interested in joining the Leadership Council, she said that she would love to get more involved with the social media portion of ACES and will be applying for a spot on the LC!

As a public affairs major, Katie has become more confident in her career goals. Her main goal is to help people and she would love to participate in a Teach for America program in the future. I mentioned that I am a part of STEP, and Katie said that she would be interested in a possible internship if it aligns with her major or something in non-profit work or public relations.

Katie stated that the Michigan game was her favorite memory from first semester. Like myself, Katie enjoys spending time with her family. So when she had to leave Thanksgiving break early to come back to campus for the game, she was actually a little sad because she wanted to stay with her family and two dogs for a little longer. However, once Katie woke up on gameday, she knew she had made the right decision and was so eager to cheer on the buckeyes! For the remainder of the semester, Katie wants to boost her GPA and increase her ACES involvement as I do too. Lastly, Katie is currently training for a half marathon! I’m really thankful that Katie is one of my mentees because she always exudes a very positive energy and makes me happy. She is continuing to grow as a person and is enjoying her time at Ohio State!

Hannah is continuing to grow during her time at Ohio State. We sat down at the new Starbucks in Target on High Street to discuss her transition from first semester to second semester and overall her freshman year experiences. Hannah, a special education major, enjoys her classes and major. During her second semester, she is enrolled in her general education classes, but she finds her math class for education majors most difficult. About three times a week, Hannah visits a school in the Columbus area through her First Education Experience Program (FEEP). Hannah learns first-hand about the special education field by spending time in local K-5th grade school setting. She describes herself as a teaching aid for the assessment/breakout room and student buddy to those students with autism or down syndrome. She spends her time helping students reach goals for their individual education program. At the end of this semester, she will have completed 110 hours with FEEP. When it comes to study habits, Hannah enjoys studying on the 10th and 11th floor of the Thompson Library or the common room tables near the windows of her dorm, Smith-Steeb. Like myself, Hannah is easily distracted by her friends or the comfort of her bed. She finds it difficult to study with her roommate, Rachel, or other friends because they like to socialize a lot. Although Hannah has to apply for her major in the upcoming fall, she is confident about her academic decisions.

Outside of the classroom, Hannah is very passionate about the student organizations she’s involved with. Other than ACES, Hannah has been with Best Buddies since last semester. An organization that creates relationships with those with special needs, Best Buddies allowed Hannah to meet her buddy Kim, a 26 year old with down syndrome. Hannah attends the bimonthly meetings and Holiday parties/events. Hannah and Kim text frequently and have formed a great friendship. Last month, Hannah rushed Alpha Xi Delta (AXiD) sorority and is excited to meet her big on Wednesday. She describes AXiD as being a very diverse and inclusive group of girls. It’s very fitting that AXiD volunteers with the philanthropy organization Autism Speaks, something Hannah is passionate about. Hannah enjoys chapter meetings, the chef’s meals, and will live in the sorority house next year with one of her friends from Cincinnati. Although it was a lot of first to balance, Hannah has been able to control each time commitment and credits her laptop calendar for her way of staying on top of things. Hannah stated that she will continue to be involved in these organizations in the future.

As far as ACES, Hannah liked her first semester and was surprised that there was a diverse group of majors besides education. She loves the learning community aspect. Living in the connector wing of Smith-Steeb floor five, she enjoys having the opportunity to live with both ACES and non-ACES members. I agree with Hannah that ACES is the perfect amount of commitment because it allows to be involved with something while also giving the freedom to get involved in other organizations. She said the service hour requirement was manageable because her and Maddy volunteered through the Office of Social Change Schoenbaum music explorers every Friday for about 30 minutes.

Hannah’s freshman year experiences have strengthened her career plans. She hopes to pursue a special education career with a young children focus because she has always had a “soft spot” of admiration and compassion. Hannah mentioned that through FEEP, she has learned strategies to use with special needs individualizes as well as the importance to “adopt their thinking.” As a junior, Hannah will likely participate in a student teaching program.

Hannah’s favorite memories of freshman year have been meeting new friends, which loves dearly, as well as joining her amazing sorority. Hannah plans to maintain the same GPA or reach for a higher one. I’m really proud of Hannah’s growth and I sense her comfortability with her major, organizations, and OSU in general. I’m excited to see the great things Hannah will do in the future with her passion, drive, and incredible personality.