November 5, 2018

Freshman Year

One of the main components of being a part of Honors and Scholars at The Ohio State University is planning your G.O.A.L.S. This acronym stands for Global Awareness, Original Inquiry, Academic Enrichment, Leadership Development, and Service Engagement. On this page, I plan to discuss my plans for my G.O.A.L.S as I journey through my undergraduate degree.

Global Awareness: Personally Global Awareness is something that I feel strongly about. I grew up in a small town that had little to no diversity. My high school was very small and I was surrounded by people who all had the same background as I did. In college, I plan to study abroad multiple times, so that I can experience the world outside of the one I know. I want to be immersed in different cultures and get a glimpse into different ethnic backgrounds. My first act in fulfilling this goal is going on a study abroad trip over Christmas break. I am participating in the London Honors study abroad trip. This class has allowed me to learn more about the history and culture of both London and England as a whole. I plan to continue working toward this goal by looking into different study abroad programs throughout college. I would like to use STEP funding for a trip at the end of my sophomore year.

Original Inquiry: I think that Original Inquiry is going to be a section that I slightly struggle with. I would like to make some form of contribution to research while at this university, but I don’t know how that would look at the moment. I plan to look into research projects within the Department of English during either my junior or senior year. I would like to graduate with honor research distinction, but I haven’t decided what I would like to research yet. Another thing that I would like to work on during my undergraduate years is creative writing. During high school, I was not encouraged to write creatively because of the common core standards. I would like to expand my knowledge of creative writing and hopefully create my own story (or stories) during my years at Ohio State.

Academic Enrichment: I applied to the Honors Program at Ohio State because I wanted to be challenged in college. I knew that the Honors program would give me an advanced curriculum that would allow me to take classes I haven’t had the chance to explore yet. Throughout my undergraduate, I plan to continue to push myself towards classes that will challenge my skills set. I think that this goal is very important because college is supposed to expand your knowledge and challenge you to learn new skills. I chose to become an English major because I want to expand my knowledge of literature within other countries and I want to learn how to write creatively. I think that the curriculum I am planning for my next four years will not only challenge me within my major, but it will also expand my knowledge of other subjects. I don’t think that it is productive to take “easy A” classes for you GE courses. Our GE courses are meant to push our boundaries and help students to learn subjects outside of their major. My four-year plan includes ways to expand my knowledge both within my major and within my GE courses.

Leadership Development: I think that being a leader is easier said than done. When people think of leaders they usually only think of the outspoken students who are always first to answer questions or the ones who always talking during group projects. I think college is a way to discover how students can be leaders in many different ways. While being outspoken is a good quality to have in some cases, leaders can be found in many different positions. During my undergraduate, the main area that I would like to be a leader in is the choir program. I am very passionate about singing and I would like to become a leader within the department so that I can help others be the best singers they can be as well. I also enjoy helping the directors in any way that I can, so I think that is another way I can show leadership within the group. Another area I would like to be a leader in is the English Department. I hope to someday be a leader within the English Undergraduate Organization or at least help in any way that I can with planning or running activities within the organization.

Service Engagement: Service is another area that I tend to struggle with because I never make time in my schedule to go and serve. I usually put all of the other goals ahead of service and forget that it is another part of this program. While in high school I would volunteer at my church camp for one week every summer as a camp counselor. This was the most I served, but it was the most rewarding thing I have done. While in college I hope to find new ways that I can serve both the college campus and surrounding communities. I have already joined the Campus Crusade movement on campus and I would like to look into ways I can serve others within that movement. This could also be a way for me to serve others outside of Ohio State by going on a mission trip, which would also help me to fufill my goals of Global Awareness. Service is an area that I am still searching for and learning about while on campus. I hope that as I continue through my undergraduate years I am able to find ways that I can use my skills to best serve others both on and off campus.