For my capstone project I chose to be a Teaching Assistant for the first year ACES seminar class. The role counted as 24 service hours in the first semester, meeting twice a week to talk about the upcoming lesson and helping in class, as well as grading assignments outside of class. I chose to do this because I wanted to be more connected with the ACES program; due to my busy schedule with work and doing a double major I had a lot of scheduling issues trying to make it to other ACES events, so I felt like this would be a good way to foster community. I really enjoyed my time as a TA helping teach the first years about the program but also the skills they needed to thrive at OSU.
Next year I will be a Resident Advisor, and in the application process I realized a lot of the skills and actions needed to be an RA are very similar to what I did during my time in this class; they both put a high focus on educating students on the tools and resources they need to succeed, and they do so by fostering a sense of community. We spent a few sections of the class discussing mental health and what resources there are on campus to deal with it, and also ways that they individually can balance their own wellbeing along with their schoolwork; whether that be through meditating, journaling, talking to friends, or any other method to help destress. This topic is really important, and I think it applies just as much outside of school as it does in it. As humans I think there will always be a time in our lives where we need support, and knowing where to get it is critical to being able to catch it early on and overcome any issue. Along with that, it’s good to be aware of resources even if they don’t directly apply to you, you never know when you’ll meet someone who does need help. By raising awareness and acceptance of these types of resources we are helping to support