STEP

STEP Shortcuts: Preparing for a Great Second-Year

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Somehow we’re already in the third week of spring semester. These next two months of the semester are rather busy and can be a bit daunting. From figuring out housing, planning classes, choosing majors, it all comes at you fast. Along with housing, one thing you may have heard of, but may not know much about, is the STEP program. This program may just be the thing you need to give your second year at bit of an edge.

What is STEP?

STEP stands for Second-Year Transformational Experience Program. This program is all about focusing on your success and development. During autumn semester, you will meet with a faculty mentor and cohort of other sophomore students weekly where you’ll engage in discussions and activities about your strengths, values, as well as academic and career goals. In the following spring semester, you will develop a written proposal and budget about how you will use the STEP fellowship to support your goals. Fulfillment of the requirements of the STEP program means you’re eligible to receive a fellowship of up to $2,000 to use toward a STEP signature project.

What can I do with my fellowship?

Now here is where you receive your freedom with STEP! There are 6 areas of focus that you can choose for your fellowship:

  • Internships
  • Creative and Artistic Endeavors
  • Leadership
  • Service-Learning and Community Service
  • Education Abroad
  • Undergraduate Research

From my cohort of 18 students, we had a wide variety of focus for our STEP projects. Some used the STEP fellowship to pay for housing, groceries, and a new suit while they completed internships in Washington D.C., Atlanta, and Ontario, Canada. Others used the fellowship to help fund their research, a study abroad trip to Italy, or even to create and produce a short film. You can make this experience your own.

I didn’t know what project I wanted to do until February. There’s no rush to figure it out – your mentor is there to help you.

Off we go!

What did I do with the STEP fellowship? I packed my bags and flew off to Thailand. I chose to do a service-learning project with two of my close friends. With the assistance of my mentor, we were partnered with Global Vision International, a volunteer abroad program committed to conservation and community development. All three of us were signed up to be Global Health volunteers. It was a trip completely outside of my comfort zone, but one that has become a highlight of my sophomore year and helped me find my interest in public health. I actually added public health as a minor after this experience and I am hoping to continue this work in graduate school.

Within the 24 hours of finishing my second-year of college, I had landed in Bangkok, Thailand. My friends and I spent four days exploring the city, going to ornate temples, eating exquisite Pad Thai, drinking loads of mango juice, getting lost in the busy markets, and, of course, rocking elephant pants, before heading to Ban Naam Khem, Thailand to begin volunteering.

There were five other volunteers from Ohio State there as well, but we met volunteers from all over the world–Denmark, Wales, England, Norway, Australia, Hungary, and more. My days of volunteering involved early mornings teaching English at the local elementary school, followed by afternoons interacting with students at the local social center or teaching CPR to the local taxi, bus, and boat drivers. We got to interact with the community and learn some elementary Thai. My time in Thailand helped me gain a lot of independence, see a beautiful country, meet wonderful people, and I hope to be able to work abroad again, but this time for a lot longer.

So now you want to join?

To participate you have to live 1) on-campus, 2) in Greek-affiliated housing, OR 3) at home with a parent or close relative, for both autumn and spring semesters. Current first-year students will automatically be signed up for STEP when they participate in housing re-selection for the 2020-2021 academic year.

STEP gave me the chance to have an experience I otherwise wouldn’t have been able to do. What will you do?

So What’s The Deal With Housing Reselection?

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At this point, you have hopefully received an email with your housing re-selection information. Here are 5 things you should know to set yourself up for success in your second year!

1. Housing contracts are due by 11:59 p.m. on March 3, 2017. Make sure yours is in on time!

 

2. Housing is being done by a lottery system this year! This means once the portal closes on March 3rd, you will be assigned a random number to determine the order you will select your room. No need to stress about this–everyone has an equal chance to select their room!

 

3. Roommates: Whether you absolutely loved your roommate(s) this year or not, with the housing re-selection process comes the time to figure out who you want to live with next year.

  • I have my perfect roommate! What do I do? In the housing re-selection portal you can request one roommate. The roommate request must be mutual–which means they will accept and approve the roommate request.
  • I want to live with 7 of my friends! What do I do? If you want to live with a group, during the re-selection process you will form a “group” and select one person to be the group leader who will assign you into rooms once your lottery number is reached.
  • I have no idea who I want to live with! That’s ok! The best piece of advice I was given regarding roommates was that, “you don’t have to be best friends with your roommate, you just have to be roommates.” Sometimes best friends won’t actually make the best roommates (sometimes they do though!). Also, if you decide you don’t want to have a roommate next year you will also be able to request a single room in the housing re-selection portal.

 

4. STEP: The Second-Year Transformational Experience Program (STEP) was definitely one of the highlights of my second year. Personally, my favorite parts about STEP were getting to know a really awesome professor on an individual basis, getting to know the other 2nd years in my cohort (and hear about all the amazing things they were doing), and completing my Signature Project (through which I actually got to go to Costa Rica!). Had I not participated in STEP, I wouldn’t have that great connection with my STEP faculty mentor nor would I have had the opportunity to travel to Costa Rica (which definitely was a life-changing experience for me!). When you fill out your second year housing re-selection contract, there will be a checkbox for you to opt out of STEP. More questions? Check out the STEP website or talk to your Peer Leader!

 

 

5. Food! Did you know that as a second year you will have an additional option for a dining plan? Check out the dining website or the chart below to decide which meal plan is right for you for your second year! If your current meal plan is working for you, you can just go ahead and select it again for your second year (makes life easy, right?). Lucky for you, if you change your mind, you can change your meal plan until the 2nd Friday of next semester.

Component

 Unlimited Scarlet 14 Gray 10

Declining Balance
Weekly Traditional Visit Unlimited 14 10 Not Included
Traditional Visit Exchange Not Included Included Included Not Included
Dining Dollars $100 $200 $200 $1,310
BuckID Cash Option to add $150 $150 Option to add
Available to all residential students? Yes Yes Yes Only available to second years or higher

To Lead is To Serve

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This year, I am part of the STEP program — the Second Year Transformational Experience Program. Sounds fancy, right?

Basically, this program is available to students living on-campus in their second year. You can “apply” by simply checking a box saying you’d like to be a part of the program when you apply for housing. I’m not pressuring you… BUT DO IT!!!

In STEP, you meet with a small group and faculty member weekly to discuss plans and ideas to ultimately receive $2,000 at the end of the year to use toward whatever suits your interests — whether it be to study abroad, take internships, do research — literally anything you can imagine.

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However, what I really want to share is the insight I have gained from my faculty advisor. When I first found out my group’s faculty member was an electrical engineering professor, you could say I wasn’t too thrilled. I am studying psychology and communication with a minor in public health (so basically I don’t know what I want to do with my life, but I do know it’s definitely not electrical engineering), and needless to say, I thought I wouldn’t get much out of his advice. But something that he emphasizes week after week has been stuck in my head lately: to lead is to serve.

This got me thinking. I definitely like to serve; I’m in a service fraternity, am part of the UNICEF club and felt like I was doing a pretty good job of “serving.” But what I’ve come to realize this year is that simply participating, showing up, and being aware is not enough. If we want to make a true impact in this world, we have to go beyond just putting in our hours of service and feeling like a good person because of it. Instead, we have to be engaged, thoughtful, inquisitive, and give a voice to those who cannot be heard.

This could mean creating a new service club focusing on an issue that you are passionate about, this could be recruiting others into your organization by sharing your enthusiasm, or this simply could be teaching others what you have learned in a particular service project and how you think you could make it better the next time.

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When I think more about the idea of to lead is to serve, I think of qualities in a leader that I find to be the most inspiring.

These are:

  1. Passion– I think it’s safe to say that there are no good leaders who lack passion. It takes a special person to be able to inspire an entire crowd with their own passion, and it always gives me the chills.
  2. Authenticity– Basically I see this as “being real.” It’s a person who shares their true self and understands they are human. This type of person is approachable and warm and doesn’t hide parts of themselves depending on the situation.
  3. Participator– I find a leader to be so much more valuable when they are able to practice what they preach. These leaders are involved in the grass roots and exemplify how to make an impact even at this level.
  4. Daring– A real leader is willing to take risks. A real leader is also willing to invest in their people and have faith in their abilities. When an inspiring leader has you take on a big project, you naturally step up to the challenge knowing that your abilities have been trusted.

An important thing to understand is that you do not have to hold a title to be a leader. A leader is someone who actively engages in the world around them, positively impacting the people they cross paths with regardless of whether they hold a special title or not. I encourage you all to reflect on yourselves and what type of impact and legacy you are leaving behind, because that’s all that really matters when it comes down to it, right? You can do it!

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