My Year in Review

My first year at the Ohio State University was amazing! It’s unfortunate that we had to finish out the year at our homes, but this is just another journey that we all need to work through and stay positive about.

My first year was filled with so much new information, both from my classes and from my life. Overall, my classes taught me that I really do need to study, something that I didn’t do in high school. The material is harder, and the classes are only one semester, which means that there is more of a need to work outside of class. Studying is a skill that is so important in so many ways. It teaches me how to be disciplined and organized, skills that will help me greatly after I graduate. Of course, it has also helped me understand the information I learn in class.

Outside of the classroom, I learned how to be more open to new things. A small thing that I have learned, for example, is to not be a picky eater, and to try as many new foods as I can to enjoy myself more. I also learned what is important to me. My education has always been my priority, but I’ve also learned to take breaks and take advantage of the fun opportunities around campus.

At the beginning of the year, I expected my life to be much different. I wanted to only work and go to school; I didn’t expect to meet as many wonderful people as I have. As time went on, I realized that it is okay to have fun, and I spent much more time with my friends than I thought I would have. I got a much different job than I expected. My social skills matured and I made deeper relationships than I did in high school.

One memory that I will never forget is when my suitemates, my best friend and I went to the Columbus zoo for Wildlights at the zoo. It was so fun, and it allowed my best friend to connect with my new friends. We didn’t get to spend a lot of time there, but we made sure to take a lot of pictures to cherish in the future.

Staying up late studying together, watching movies, and getting dressed up to go out are also memories that I will always cherish.

Next year, I am very excited to get more involved in my clubs and ENR. I will be the secretary of the meteorology club next year, and I plan to use my position to expand the reach of the club. I hope to go to more events for ENR, and I want to spend more time with all of my new friends. I am looking forward to my classes and learning more about meteorology. I am starting my minor next year, so I am also looking forward to starting something new. As I will be a sophomore, I will be participating in STEP, and I am already starting to think about what I want to focus on for that. Overall, I have so many things to look forward to next year, and I hope that next year will be as wonderful as this past year!

My Enneagram Test

I recently took an Enneagram Test to find out my personal leadership style. The results I got back told me that I was a peacemaker. According to the results, peacemakers, or type nines, are accepting, trustworthy, and stable. At their best, they are are at one with themselves, and are able to form good relationships. Other healthy levels of development include being optimistic, supportive, and being able to bring together groups of people. On average, peacemakers often agree to a lot of things, including things they don’t necessarily want to do. They tune out the real world. At their worst, these people can become depersonalized and dissociate from real life.

I believe that my result is fairly accurate. I am a very optimistic person and I do try to not start any arguments. I try to be very supportive for everyone I know, even if I do not necessarily agree with their actions or beliefs. However, I do have a bad habit of not being able to say no, especially if the person asking me is someone I care about.

This habit of mine reminds me of my interview with an alumni. She told me that by saying “no” sometimes, your “yes”s are more valuable. I am still working on practicing this great advice, however I have gotten much better with it. Communication is also something that is very important to me, and I am working on this as well.

At Ohio State, I can work on becoming a better version of myself using the things I’ve learned from my results. I can work on my time management by saying “no” to some things, and I can work on communicating with my professors and other students more. I have also applied for some major roles in my clubs in hope of practicing these things more.

My Future Occupation??

As an atmospheric science major, my goal is to work for the National Weather Service as a meteorologist. However, this is extremely difficult to do without experience. While there are internships and volunteer-ships available for college students and older, there is another way to gain this much needed experience. Getting jobs at local news stations as their meteorologist is this other option. This is a good way to start out with a smaller audience and develop more communication and forecasting skills, things that the National Weather Service value greatly.

I found an opening in Michigan for Fox 2, a news station located in Detroit. Here is the link to the posting. Unfortunately for someone straight out of college, this station requires at least three years of forecasting experience as well as a bachelor’s degree in meteorology or atmospheric science. The applicant must be familiar with the technology used in the station and have good communication skills. The station would prefer if the applicant has some knowledge of forecasting severe weather and winter weather, both of which are common in Michigan.

In order to fulfill these demands, I must, of course, first get my degree and gain some experience. This can be possible through internships and volunteer opportunities available to me in college, including a student volunteer program at the NWS office in Cleveland,  which I plan to apply to this summer. Also, I must familiarize myself with the technology associated with meteorology, including codes like Python. Lastly, I must continue to develop my communication skills. I have started doing this by becoming more involved in discussions in my classes and clubs, including the Scarlet and Gray Forecasting Club. As I am a quieter person by nature, I must work harder to ensure that I meet these requirements set by many local news stations, private companies, and the National Weather service. I have a plan to achieve my goals, and will continue to work hard to ensure that I meet them.

My Columbus To Do List (Part 2)!

I decided to do another place off of the ice cream list, because I just love ice cream! After a long day of shopping, my friends and I went to Whit’s Custard to relax with some ice cream.

Whit’s is a cute little place on High Street, with a variety of flavors. They are more practical than Jeni’s, which was good for me, as I have trouble deciding which flavor to get when there are so many wild ones! I got a s’mores whitser, which is very similar to a Blizzard from Dairy Queen. Salvia and Allison got whitsers as well, while Aaron and Ashley got regular scoops of ice cream and Marco got an ice cream cookie sandwich. The ice cream was very melty and sweet, but the prices were fairly high. The inside of the shop was very cute, and they had a couple small benches for us to sit on. Overall, it was a very good experience to have with all of my friends, and I would go back! I recommend Whit’s to anyone, as it is a very classic little shop on a road with many other shops. Whit’s has a good variety of flavors as well, which is good for anyone willing to experiment with flavor but doesn’t want to to go really wild.

 

Next, we went to the Wildlights festival at the Columbus Zoo. This was a dorm wide event, and it was incredible. All of the trees were covered with gorgeous lights, and they even had different kinds of statues and other things covered in lights. For example, by the aquarium there were light up seahorses and starfish. There was holiday music playing, and the atmosphere was so happy and cheerful. We got a hot chocolate voucher, and they put the hot chocolate in reusable tumblers for us to keep.

On the pond, there were light up Christmas trees sitting on platforms. These trees and the trees around the pond were part of a little show the zoo put on from time to time. There would be a song playing, and the trees would change color to the song. At the front of the zoo, and was also this beautiful light up tree, and this also changed colors with the music.

Overall, Wildlights at the zoo was an incredible experience, and I really want to go back. We only got a couple hours to walk around, so I definitely want to go back to explore the zoo more!

My Columbus To-Do List!

There is a ton of things to do in Columbus, and thankfully there are just as many lists online to help you decide what to do! I found a list full of places that sell ice cream and other fun desserts around the area, and I’m super excited to try them out! It is always more comforting to know some of the fun shops around the place you’re living, and I haven’t been able to explore as much as I want to, so hopefully this list gives me a reason to get out more and enjoy what Columbus has to offer!

The two places I’m most excited about are Jeni’s Ice Cream and Kittie’s Cakes. I have heard from students who live in the area and upperclassmen that Jeni’s is incredible. I always love finding a new ice cream shop too. It’s never too cold for ice cream! Kittie’s Cakes seems to have a lot of options, although the To-Do list does say that they sell out quickly. I love trying new cakes and pastries, so I would love to go there as well!

I actually got to go to Jeni’s Ice Cream the other day with my friends, and it definitely was an experience! We decided to walk there instead of taking a bus, and it was a very long walk. When we got there, it had a line out of the door. Jeni’s had a lot of unique flavors of ice cream, and it was hard to find something that I thought I would like because of this. I ended up getting a scoop of green mint chip, and my friends got peanut butter with chocolate chips and honey vanilla bean. The ice cream was pretty good, but the prices were a little high for just one scoop. It was a good experience and a fun way to explore the Short North a little more. I would absolutely recommend Jeni’s to anyone who is looking for very adventurous flavors!

Alumni Interview

I had the chance to meet up with a student at OSU who had been a part of the Environmental and Natural Resources Scholars program and ask her about her experience.

Her name is Liz Fuller, and she is a senior studying physics. She plans to work in a government lab using applied physics to work on her own projects. She had a lot to say about how her life has been here and she gave me a tons of advice as well.

Liz loved ENR, and said it was a great experience to do some activities she wouldn’t have done otherwise. It let her open up more and meet some amazing people. Her best friend was in ENR as well! She told me that the Scholars program helped her in her transition to college a lot.

Liz also gave me some great advice. She told me that saying “no” once in a while makes your “yes”s more powerful. This blew me away; I had never realized this and had been trying to agree to do anything to help make my college life better. However, it’s true. I don’t have to do anything and everything that comes my way, and I should be more thoughtful about what I do and what I agree to. It’s okay to say “no.”

Because she is a senior, she has had to think a lot about what she wants to do after she graduates. Even as a freshman, this is constantly on my mind as well. However, she told me that it’s okay to not know exactly what I want to do, and that there are so many people on campus who can help me make my decision. This is extremely comforting to hear from someone who is graduating in the spring.

More personally, we talked about our interest in coding, and how helpful it is to our society today. She told me that if I wanted to try it out, that it’s okay to take a class or two to see how I really feel about it.

Liz is such a thoughtful individual, and it’s clear to see even in only the hour that we talked. She gave me great advice that I plan to use and think about more as I progress through my time here at OSU. Overall, my interview with her was extremely beneficial for me, and I am very glad I had the opportunity to talk with her!

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 guidance on using your ePortfolio, including questions and prompts that will help you get started, please visit the Honors & Scholars ePortfolio course in Carmen. To get answers to specific questions, please email eportfolio@osu.edu. 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 guidance on using your ePortfolio, including questions and prompts that will help you get started, please visit the Honors & Scholars ePortfolio course in Carmen. To get answers to specific questions, please email eportfolio@osu.edu. 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 guidance on using your ePortfolio, including questions and prompts that will help you get started, please visit the Honors & Scholars ePortfolio course in Carmen. To get answers to specific questions, please email eportfolio@osu.edu. Delete these instructions and add your own post.]