- Global Awareness:
- My second year at Ohio State University, as for many other students, was significantly impacted from the global pandemic of COVID-19. I decided to take the STEP program, which would have allowed me to study abroad, but my plans cancelled due to the pandemic and I decided to use STEP in a different way. This pandemic is showing us the importance of different countries and people being united in fighting obstacles and crisis, like the global pandemic. To live in the United States, we should consider ourselves lucky as U.S is one of the few countries that has started mass vaccination against COVID-19. Going forward, more plans and strategies need to be implemented to avoid next pandemics, and this can only happen if we stand united and work with each-other on a global level.
- Original Inquiry:
- As previously mentioned, research was significantly impacted from the COVID-19 pandemic. During my first year, I performed research in Dr. Christoph Lepper Lab, where I got to learn more about how research is conducted and also had the chance to help in the lab. This experience was cut short during my first year, but I plan to continue working in the same lab for my third year at Ohio State. My role would be to perform research on the mechanisms that maintain satellite cells’ pool size and are responsible for muscle fiber regeneration. I cannot wait to get back in lab and perform research with my PI. Furthermore, I decided to use my STEP project towards research during the summer of my third year, where I can explore more about the mechanisms mentioned above.
- Academic Enrichment:
- The honors program offers many classes that challenge students, but the result at the end is precious. Starting with classes I took towards the end of my first year such as Sociology 1101H, I got to experience a different perspective of how the world developed to this day, but also the role that people play in their communities. I also got the chance to experience honors science classes as well, where the traditional method is transformed in a way where students think differently about many topics, and are guided to take their own approach in solving problems, which helped expand our horizons. Finally, my goal is to attend medical school and become a physician, thus I am taking different classes to guide me towards my goal such as College of Medicine 2000.21 and 2022. In addition, I decided to pursue pharmaceutical sciences minor which not only informs students about the healthcare system in the U.S and its problems, but also is very current with the global pandemic and vaccine development happening around the world.
- Leadership Development:
- Leadership is key component that I need to further develop in order to be successful in academics but also later in my career. So far, I have served as the Networking Director for the AED (Pre-Health) club at OSU, where I had the opportunity to connect students with healthcare professionals but also other activities happening around campus. I was also part of the Mirrors Honor Society, which gave me the opportunity to volunteer at The James Hospital, but also perform many other activities to help our community. Furthermore, being part of a research lab, helped me develop valuable skills such as teamwork, staying organized etc., which will be very important towards my future career. I plan on participating again in other activities and leadership positions during my third year, as the second one was performed from home and online.
- Service Engagement:
- During my second-year at OSU, service engagement was very difficult, and I did not get the chance to participate and help my community. However, being a volunteer at The James Hospital, I got the chance to virtually participate in meetings with the staff there. I plan on volunteering more in my third year at OSU as hopefully U.S is transitioning back to a sense of normality with the mass vaccination that is happening right now. Furthermore, I plan on volunteering in other places as well, and also hope to perform shadowing which would help me explore more about my future career.