Several of the BioSci Scholars got together to play board games at KingMakers in Columbus. Due to a Spanish oral exam, I got there a little later than everyone else, but still had the opportunity to play Jenga and Scattergories with other Scholars. For the first time, I got to have fun conversations with other people in the group (I spent most of my semester secluding myself in my dorm- which was a mistake in hindsight).
Year in Review
My semester started off driving 16 hours by myself over the course of 3 days to reach Columbus. During this drive, I encountered 3 detours, an unexpected toll road, lots of rain, and tomatoes being thrown onto my car by an angry highway driver. Then, I started my new life with 3 complete strangers in a dorm which was supposed to be for a hall director, lovingly referred to as MegaDorm. Oh, and my mountain bike was stolen off a rack within 24 hours of arriving on campus.
To say I had a rocky start would be an understatement. However, I’ve encountered adversity in nearly every aspect of my life. This semester meant a new life for me in a new city with a new name and no toxicity from my former life. In high school, I was one of those kids who never had to study. Boy, did college hit me like a train. I earned my first C on an exam, and that kicked me back into gear. I had become lax with going to class, but that grade got me up and out the door at 8am every day in order to get my grade back up. I have learned time management skills, further developed my interests, and truly discovered my career path: infectious disease specialist.
I haven’t quite found my niche yet, but that’s alright. This semester has been grueling with classes and a part-time job. Hopefully I can become more involved in Buckeye culture next semester and find where I truly belong, and make more time for myself so that I can be happier. That’s why I came to Ohio State after all- to start a new life so that I can be happy.
Visit to the Star House
BioSci Scholars at Star House
On September 14th, a group of BioSci scholars went to the Star House, a homeless youth shelter, to volunteer. There, we sorted winter items by category into men’s and women’s bins and labeled them accordingly. We also helped them to bring up clothing to the laundry room and hung them up for the kids to select from. Even though I didn’t grow up with much, and I left home at 16, I was still very fortunate in that I always had a place to sleep, clean my clothing, and almost everything I needed, without worry. Columbus is a completely different place than where I am from. It is absolutely incredible that the Star House is helping these kids without forcing them go to back into a potentially abusive home.
Welcome to My Biological Sciences Scholars e-Portfolio
Hello! My name is Ryleigh Underhill, and I am a freshman at The Ohio State University. I hail from Edmond, Oklahoma and lived there for 18 before moving to Columbus for college. I have a very non-traditional family background, but I consider the events which occurred to be rather fortunate than unfortunate.
G.O.A.L.S.
Global Awareness * Appreciation for Diversity
Original Inquiry * Involvement in Research
Academic Enrichment * Pursue Excellence with Rigor
Leadership Development * Develop Skills in All Aspects of Leadership Through Talents and Interests
Service Engagement * Commitment to Service Relating to Major or Area of Interest
Over the course of college, I hope to exhibit all five aspects of G.O.A.L.S., but there are two very dear to my heart that I spent most of my high school participating in outside of academics.
Throughout high school, I was secretary and project chair for Key Club, a member of Edmond Mobile Meals Youth Leadership team, part of Youth Leadership Edmond, single-handedly developed a non-profit to benefit foster kids with panic and anxiety disorders, acted as a section leader for the marching band’s color guard, and worked as a Staff Trainer for Chick-fil-A.
Now that I am in Columbus, I hope to become involved with volunteering for hospitals and other organizations which involve the healing of bodies, minds, and souls. Even now, I work as a Team Lead for Chick-fil-A, which is essentially an assistant shift manager, and hope to help develop young people into confident leaders as well.
Career
Artifacts
Science first piqued my interest when I was 7 years old, and just a wee Brownie Girl Scout. My troop had decided to attend a session at the Omniplex (later renamed to The Science Museum of Oklahoma) where we had the opportunity to spend the night in the museum! Over the course of the night, it was basically a science fair expo with experiments happening all across the building already filled with more permanent examples of the beautifully complicated world around us. Several months later, I attended a forensic science camp, also with Girl Scouts, at the University of Central Oklahoma. There, we learned about blood spatter, fingerprinting, ballistics, forensic biology, and all other aspects involved in crime scene investigation. It was then, at 8 years old, that I wanted to be a homicide detective.
However, as I entered high school, I had the opportunity to attend seminars and meet with professionals outside of the classroom. In the spring of 2017, I attended a conference by Sam Rhine on CRISPR and cancer. This incredible 4 hour seminar pushed me towards research and medical innovation, to which I discovered the incredibly complex world of viruses. Currently, I hope to become a virologist after earning my microbiology degree and attending medical school. Though, after meeting with Nicole Raab, industry might be my next great adventure- or biochemical warfare.
