Smith-Steeb Involvement Fair

On October 25th, I attended the mini involvement fair outside of Smith-Steeb residence hall. This fulfilled my International Affairs academic requirement. Despite the wind and frighteningly chilly temperatures, several student organizations/groups from around campus gathered outside Smith-Steeb Hall to showcase their organizations. There was so much variety there, I learned about the anthropology department here at OSU and what kind of classes they offer as well as leadership skills taught to me by leadership oriented organizations. These were valuable to me in particular because I was interested in Anthropology as well as leadership opportunities on-campus.

Specifically I learned a lot about ANTHROPOLOGY 2202 which I have been considering taking. Learning about this class both helped me personally and academically. Personally, it is a relief to find a science course with a lab that interests me. Academically, I am now considering the value of anthropology as a second minor which I had previously never even thought about.
Amoung the many groups there, two others stood out in particular. The Alexander Hamilton Society and Project Nicaragua. I have heard the former club’s name mentioned several other times in my classes around campus such as my scholars class and my first year survey class, so The Alexander Hamilton Society caught my attention. I learned about upcoming events and debates going on and was excited to hear about so many cool opportunities where I could listen to scholars invited from other colleges discuss pertinent issues. The latter club, I had never heard of. This club was Project Nicaragua. They focus on outreach, education, research, and expanding quality healthcare in Nicaragua. I was really interested by this because I had been looking for a nonprofit student volunteer organization. I also found this very appealing because if I were to go on one of their trips to Nicaragua I would get excellent exposure in both Spanish and Social work, my two intended majors.

I saw this as a great opportunity. My initial interests in the club were immediately intensified when I learned that the trip to Nicaragua would, in theory, be a real world application of my course work and what I’ve been learning. Applying Spanish outside of the classroom has always been a passion of mine as well as helping other people. Furthermore, such an endeavor would reflect extremely well on my professional resume when applying for graduate school. I was thrilled to have the opportunity to learn about this club and am very interested.

After I attended this event, in retrospect, I wish I would have ask more questions at the Project Nicaragua table. If given another chance, I would have asked what the estimate cost of the trip would be. I also would’ve liked to know when the trip is. Despite not having the answers to these questions right now, I do have their meeting times and contact information which I will be sure to use.
In conclusion, the event was a success. I’m glad I made the trip out into the cold and the free pizza was a plus. I was also glad to support Sam Harris because I know she worked very hard on putting the event together.