Hannah and I met for dinner at Scott Traditions, and we had a great time chatting! Hannah Vondohre is a first year student with a Special Education major. She is from Cincinnati, Ohio and she is the oldest of three siblings. So, how did she decide on the major she has chosen? Since she was younger, she has developed this older sibling, role model character. She has always loved people and especially little children. When it comes to her career aspirations, it was a personal experience that prompted her to consider her current major. She has two friends with younger siblings with special needs, and they all had a very inclusive relationship beyond their disabilities. When Hannah went to high school, however, she was dismayed by the fact that her high school’s special needs program lacked the inclusion for the special needs community she was used to. She is a strong believer that each individual, although different, should be treated with the same respect no matter their disabilities. She enjoys all her classes, yet she described her math class to be most challenging. She is enrolled in math for elementary teachers and asserts that it’s difficult because we take our elementary math skills for granted.
When it comes to involvement, I asked Hannah what kind of involvement she is interested in on campus? Already, Hannah has loved her time at the Ohio State University. Only being at school for over a month, Hannah is involved with Best Buddies and Students Supporting People with Down Syndrome. With the non-profit organization Best Buddies, Hannah will have the opportunity to enhance the lives of individuals with intellectual or developmental disabilities. She will participate in an one-on-one friendship, and is excited to meet her buddy pair this weekend! In addition to Best Buddies, Hannah joined Supporting People with Down Syndrome. She is excited to not only fulfill her ACES service requirement with their service activities at the Union, but also raise awareness and educate students on behalf of individuals with down syndrome. Overall, Hannah is extremely motivated to join organizations that cater to her major and help her develop an idea of what she might like to do with her career, and I believe she has taken a great step toward this goal by joining two clubs. I’m really excited for Hannah, and I’m eager to see how her involvement grows throughout the semester, school year, and the rest of her time at Ohio State.
I asked Hannah what she is most looking forward to in the ACES program. In general, Hannah was extremely happy to be accepted into Ohio State’s Scholars program in addition to the fact that ACES specifically is a great fit for her major. As the year progresses, Hannah hopes to get involved on and off campus, volunteer, and she is most excited to get acquainted with different causes and nonprofits. Not from Columbus, Hannah and I both agreed that ACES is a great way to get acquainted not only with great organizations, but also the city of Columbus.
As a college freshman, I was honestly really impressed with how driven, positive, and passionate Hannah is as a person and with her studies. During our interview I asked Hannah what she plans to do with her major after graduation, I learned that Hannah aspires to become a special education teacher or intervention specialist. When I was a freshman, I was pretty undecided about my major; however, Hannah is very tenacious in her major decision. Overall, Hannah dreams to work with people and especially a younger audience with her role model background. I’m certainly interested to see Hannah’s growth academically, and I think this career industry is a great choice for her.
Lastly, Hannah and I discussed freshman year, the transition from high school to college, and life at the Ohio State University. Hannah and I, although she is from Cincinnati and I’m from Cleveland, both attended small high schools with graduating classes of less than one hundred people. We both considered Ohio State to be one of our top and reach colleges when applying. Both excited to challenge ourselves at a large school environment, I was curious to learn what has surprised Hannah about Ohio State since arriving on campus. Certainly, Hannah knew that as much as she could prepare herself for it, the huge campus and student body size would overwhelm her. She underestimated small things like walks to classes, walks to dorms on the other side of campus, or travels there and back from workout classes. We both agreed how different it is to transition from going to being dependent on your parents to being completely independent. Although it can be difficult and uncomfortable at times, there are many things you have to learn to do on your own like remembering to do laundry each week, planning out your day with travel time, or going to a professor’s office hours.
I really enjoyed interviewing Hannah and I feel like I know her personal, academic, and career-intended life more deeply. I’m really pumped to form a closer relationship with her through this program. As her mentor, I’m making it my responsible to check on her periodically about her classes, how she is, and the college transition. And my hope at the end of this is that Hannah can come to me whenever to chat about life, stress, or our new friendship.