Student Leadership Advocates

This spring, I was offered admission to a student organization on campus called Student Leadership Advocates. The purpose of Student Leadership Advocates, or SLA, is to foster leadership among its members in a cohort-style program, and then to go out into the campus community and share these skills during facilitations requested by various student organizations. I am very excited to be joining the cohort, and cannot wait to see what this organization leads me to!

For more information about Student Leadership Advocates, you can visit: http://www.sla.osu.edu

Public Health

I have recently been offered admission to Ohio State’s College of Public Health for the Bachelor’s of Science in Environmental Public Health degree program. I am so excited about this change in my life, I have found a true passion in Public Health and feel that this is my calling! My long-term goal is to go to graduate school to pursue a Master’s of Public Health degree, and to specialize in epidemiology. Epidemiology is my true passion. In the future, I hope to work in an outbreak unit of a governmental institution. This offer of admission has opened the door for me to pursue my calling, and I could not feel more optimistic about the future!

Update on my Spring Semester

My spring semester has been going well, and I have been working hard. I have joined a student organization, become more organized as a person, and have changed my major! I am pleased to announce that I have been offered admission from Ohio State’s College of Public Health for their Bachelors program for Environmental Public Health! I am very excited to have received this opportunity! As my spring semester winds down, I have realized all the hard work I have done and how it will all pay off. I am already excited for next semester! I have not left campus yet but am already excited to come back in the fall and continue my studies.

 

Semester in Review

This semester, I have grown a lot both as a student and as a person. Acclimating myself to college was a hard task in and of itself, while being a full time student and working a part-time job. However, this semester I learned a lot of valuable things about myself.

One of the most important things I have learned how to do this semester is to study effectively. I learned that it is not about how much you study, but rather how you approach studying and the methods you use. These methods and habits have led me to be very successful this far in my college academic career.

I also learned that I have a true passion for science. My most enjoyable class that I am enrolled in this semester is general chemistry, and that is very rare! I appreciate the leaps and bounds made in scientific discoveries the past few centuries or so, and am fascinated just how fast these advances keep being made. I am confident that pursuing a career in a science related field is something that I was made to do.

I look forward to continuing my academic career at Ohio State next semester, and to continuing to work hard to earn the success I know I am capable of. If this semester is any indication, I have so much more to learn.

G.O.A.L.S.

Global Awareness: 

This semester, I took a Spanish advanced grammar class. This class helped broaden my view on different cultures around me through a group project on different dialects of the Spanish language. In this project, we interviewed people of several different Hispanic backgrounds to compare the characteristics of the dialect they speak.

Original Inquiry:

Independent thinking is very encouraged here at Ohio State. In every class I am enrolled in, professors challenge each student to think for themselves. This provides an environment conducive to effective learning. This semester, I have done some of my most effective studying and learning, and I believe it to be because of these methods.

 

Academic Enrichment:

The classes that I have taken this semester have helped provide a foundation for further knowledge in the college of Arts & Sciences. My chemistry and calculus for biology classes provided a base knowledge so that I may continue on to Chemistry 1220 next semester, and apply biological background to calculations in Biology 1113.

Leadership Development:

During my first semester on campus, I have not attained a leadership position yet. However, I am involved in Spanish club, BioSci Scholars events, and I work at a University Library. Next semester I would like to get involved in more clubs and organizations, and hopefully find an opportunity for leadership!

 

Service Engagement:

This semester, I have participated in Zero Waste volunteering, an organization that sets up recycling bins before home Ohio State football games in an effort to reduce waste. As someone who cares about the human footprint on the environment, this cause is important to me, and I would like to become involved with more environmental service organizations.

Uruguayan Spanish

This semester, in my Spanish Advanced Grammar class, we were split into groups to research different dialects of the Spanish language. My group was given the country Uruguay, located in the southeastern region of South America. During this project, we researched characteristics of the dialect, cultural practices, and even got the opportunity to interview two Uruguayan men. The interview consisted of a questionnaire where the interviewees were given a sentence in Spanish and had to respond as to whether or not they would say the phrase.

This project helped broaden my view on Hispanic culture. There are many different dialects and facets of Hispanic culture, and beginning to familiarize myself with them will be very valuable as I pursue my Spanish minor.

Fall Fun at the Corn Maze!

A couple of weekends ago, a group of Scholars from the University traveled to a corn maze for some fall fun! Here at the maze, we enjoyed traversing through the maze, riding cow cars, going on a hay ride, and receiving our own little pumpkins! This event helped me get to know my fellow scholars and helped me create some memories that I am sure I will remember when looking back at my first year of college.

Why I chose OSU/ Freshman Year Goals

I chose Ohio State because of the wide range of opportunities that are available for students. From research opportunities, to study abroad trips, to student employment and resources, the list goes on and on. I wanted to go to a school where the opportunities were as wide as my dreams and goals could take me. I hope that my time here at OSU will expose me to more and more great experiences than I have already seen, and I plan on taking full advantage of as many as I can.

Achieving my goals while I am at college is singlehandedly up to me. It is up to my time management skills, my work ethic, and my desire to achieve more than I ever thought possible. There are so many resources on campus here to help a student succeed and grow. Resources like free drop-in tutoring, office hours, and the Younkin Success Center help manifest effective habits towards getting the most out of one’s education. There are even more resources dedicated to mental health, physical health, and overall wellness to make sure each student is at the top of their game, prepared to face anything that comes their way.

I plan on continuing to be studious in my college career, striving for academic excellence in everything that I do. This semester, as I am still adapting from the transition to college, I still hope to excel in my classes and form the building blocks to the rest of my education.

Moving forward, I know there are strategies I must utilize to ensure my success. First, and possibly the easiest, is studying. This will help me make sure that I am learning as much as I can in my classes, and will help me retain the knowledge. Taking care of myself will make me the best version of myself I can be so I can go on and do everything I am passionate about, and achieve my dreams.

Columbus Zoo Trip

My roommate, Eva, and I are pictured here with Manny the Manatee. 

 

This past weekend, the Biological Sciences Scholars and Health Sciences Scholars went on a trip to the Columbus Zoo. We spent the day at the Zoo, and had the opportunity to go on a behind-the-scenes tour of one of the exhibits. I went on a tour of the Discovery Reef exhibit there, part of their aquarium. The tour explored everything from feeding the fish, to quarantine tanks for sick fish, to the multi-thousand gallon Discovery Reef tank. The tour guide explained aquarium maintenance, fish behavior, and ongoing research that the zoo is conducting in the aquarium. He also shared breeding strategies the aquarium was utilizing. This was very interesting to see science implemented in such a real-world setting! This experience gave me insight on just how much science has helped us understand the world we live in, and that those processes are still very much in practice. This gives me a drive to pursue a career in science because science is always changing and there is always something new to learn!