Year in Review Spring 18

The Dunn Sport and Wellness Scholars has provided for my personal, professional, and social development this year. All of the guest speakers have really stressed social media presence, not only to be extremely wary of one’s digital footprint, but also the positive and professionally-related things one posts can set you apart from others when applying for jobs. A lot of my friends now are thanks to scholars, and because of the business track group, I will have resources when I enter the Fisher College of Business’s Industry Immersion program next year. Hopefully, I will also get a chance to be a mentor. Scholars also gave me an adult mentor, Abigail Ormsby, which is very important to me because I am very far away from both my immediate and extended families in New England and along the East Coast. Additionally, I was able to draw connections between wellness and my life goals of being eco-friendly, such as both cutting the carbon footprint of my diet AND eating healthier.

DSWS is an excellent model exemplifying “What you put into it, you get out of it.” I had so many other things going on this year compared to last year, and thus was not able to put as much effort into the program as last year, and I could really tell the difference as far as things I’ve gained from the program. This semester, I really did try my best to participate in activities, and the stuff I was able to do, like the wellness retreat, blanket making, and Hocking Hills trip, was highly rewarding, and I wish that I had done more. This entire year in general has shown me that I am doing too many things and need to condense my involvements in general. I had to quit Archery this semester, which makes me sad, but deep down I know I made the right choice.

I entered DSWS as a freshman with no connections and no friends in Ohio (although I did have my cousin who is 2 years older than me). Now, I have a growing LinkedIn profile, several groups of friends, personal financial independence and stability, and a confidence and self-assuredness that I’d never had before. I think a huge part of that was choosing to stay in Columbus last summer and live on my own and build connections in Ohio, rather than retreat to the comfort of home and sit around for the summer and nannying.

AU 17  Year in Review post:

Question 5

When I entered the Dunn Scholars program, I knew only one person in the entire state of Ohio. So pretty much, I started my life from scratch. The reason I chose this scholars program was that over the course of my senior year in high school, I realized the true impact and importance of proper fitness and nutrition, and thought that this scholars program would keep me motivated to remain healthy. Although not directly related to my Environmental Economics major, the Dunn Scholars have become my family, and my initial objective, to stay healthy, has been a very important part of my time in college.

My other extracurriculars and jobs, which are part of the Dunn Scholars menu, have had a vast impact on my professional development. Just last week, thanks to my past job experiences and school extracurriculars, I finally got a stable job in my field, that is not a 10-week internship, but a year-round part time job that will help advance my career and give me a chance to make a difference in this world. The fact that I got this opportunity so early is because I was able to be so proactive this and last year, really expanding my professional network and going beyond just academics.

I could not imagine how my first three semesters would have panned out without my loving community of scholars and the guidance that came from the Dunn Scholars advisors, Brendan and Abigail, especially being so far away from my own family and parents. I am in a very good place right now personally, professionally, and academically and I owe a lot of this to the Dunn Scholars program.

[ “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 information, go to: http://honors-scholars.osu.edu/e-portfolio. Delete these instructions and add your own post.]