Reflection 1: Student Panel

       A hurricane of emotions has been raging inside me long before my arrival at Ohio State.  At the center of this storm, excitement and uncertainty, confidence and doubt, and a fear of the unknown all surge with an energy that I am constantly aware of.  However, after listening to the student panel talk about their experiences, I can breathe a little easier knowing that others have also felt like they were being tossed about by the wandering winds, and I believe that the advice from this panel is helping me to become grounded, steady, as I begin searching for a major.

       I have felt lost ever since high school ended.  Once I finished up classes, I decided to drop two hobbies that had consumed most of my time outside of school: the violin and tennis.  I had spent years perfecting my instrument and my sport, wielding a bow and a racquet.  And then, indifference subtly crept into my heart, and I realized that these two passions weren’t actually my passions after all.  So I quit.  I didn’t know what to do with myself.  The two things that had been the center of my life.  Gone.  Vanished.  This is what worries me most.  The task of trying to rebuild my life, trying to find myself—again.  Each time I’ve chosen wrong, I’ve only discovered the truth after years have passed, deflating my spirit repeatedly.  The possibility of choosing wrong again and being unaware of it terrifies me.

       And yet, I find this new sense of freedom to be exhilarating at the same time.  What excites me most is the opportunity to begin again, to start fresh, to wander down paths I never even knew existed before.  The idea of taking different classes and trying different things makes me smile.  I like to think of myself as an explorer searching for his treasure (Coelho, 1988).  In that sense, the possibilities are endless, the limits are infinite.  The freedom to explore gets me excited and gives me hope that I might finally find my treasure.

       Furthermore, I am confident that the tools I have been given in the past will carry over well into college.  I am a very organized person who likes to stay on top of things; I hate it when I fall behind, and I loathe being in a position where I don’t know what’s going on.  This strong internal clock is definitely helping me now as I transition into the fast-paced world of college.  But above all, what’s helped me succeed the most is my work ethic.  I’m a person who cares about the little things: I squirm when I miss a simple homework assignment.  This attention to detail has actually helped me to understand myself better and how I study best, to realize that my brain needs time and repetition to mull things over, to absorb information.  As a result, I know what works for me, and I am confident that I have the will to grind out any challenge, no matter how daunting it may seem.

       I still have questions about my life outside the classroom, though.  I am focused on my classes and the work I have to do for them, so I don’t believe I’ll have much time for clubs—at least, not during my first semester.  However, I am interested in spending some time exploring service opportunities.  I figure that it’ll keep me busy on the few days where I find myself with little to do.  I’ve already participated in Community Commitment, and I’m keeping my mind open towards future service opportunities.

       The student panel tapped into all of these conflicting emotions, made me even more conscious of the storm swirling within me.  Their advice for how to proceed in this chaotic time of our lives was helpful, and it slightly calmed my heart.  But the one piece of advice that struck a chord with me came up when a girl in the audience asked one of the students how one should go about choosing a major.  The student replied, “Well, first off, it really depends on what kind of person you are.  Are you in it for the money?  Do you want to do something you love?”  This made me think.  Do I want money?  Or do I want to be happy?  I realized that college is more than just choosing a major for yourself.  It’s about choosing the kind of life that you want for yourself.  I left that lecture knowing that chasing after money would never make me happy; that I wanted to enjoy whatever it was that I was doing.  I think that’s a pretty good start to build off of.

       There is still a storm that grumbles inside me, although it has quieted down a little bit.  I still feel confused as I wander down this unfamiliar path.  But, after listening to the student panel, I have the courage to go deeper and deeper into the unknown. Because, along with the uncertainty comes the possibilities of finding something that could change my life for the better.  I don’t know what lies ahead of me, but after hearing other people talk about finding their treasure, I know that I must explore the unknown if I am to find my own.

Reflection 2: Health and Rehabilitation Sciences

       I wasn’t sure what to expect coming into this lecture.  My interest wasn’t particularly high, and after doing some reflecting, I don’t think my views have changed—although I did find the HRS programs to be very impressive.

       I couldn’t find any major that really grabbed my attention.  However, there was one that at least caught my eye for a moment: Athletic Training.  I thought it would be neat to be able to work with athletes and be involved in some of the major sporting events.  Specifically working at the football games got me a little excited.  I’ve been to a few, and I thought it would be an interesting experience to work up close with the players—that would definitely provide a unique perspective.

       Although I don’t really have a strong interest in this area of study, I did find that some of my characteristics could fit well with a few of the HRS majors.  Athletic Training seemed really intriguing, but I know I could never fit that position well.  I don’t have an interest in knit-picking over others’ injuries; it’s just a fun thought, being on the field of Ohio Stadium before a raucous crowd.  However, I am a bit of a ‘health nut’ and  pay attention to what I eat.  Therefore, I felt that the Medical Dietetics major might be suited to this kind of attitude that I have towards food.  Unfortunately, my eating habits are simply a habit, not a passion.  Respiratory Therapy was another major that struck a chord with me. A couple years ago, I went through rehab after undergoing heart surgery, so I actually got to see first-hand what a Respiratory Therapist does.  I remembered my experience, and I thought that it would be pretty ironic if I became a RT myself.  I’m an organized person, so helping someone to stay on track and manage their goals wouldn’t be a problem for me.  Finally, Health Sciences was an enticing major for different reasons.  First, it directly admits Honors and Scholars students into the program, which definitely made me sit up a little more.  Also, this major provides for a little more flexibility.  Many of the science classes require one to sit for extended periods of time and study.  Thankfully, I have a good work ethic, and I know that I would be able to do this.  This definitely made me think about possibly considering an HRS major.

       Even though I’ve heard many good things about the HRS program, I didn’t really come to learn about the majors: I just wanted to get another reflection paper out of the way.  Another reason I came was that I still want to keep an open mind.  I know I might sound blunt, but I have to be honest: I’ve never been interested in the Health Sciences.  Nevertheless, I thought I’d give it one last try.

       However, it wasn’t as bad as I expected.  What was most interesting to me was the success that one experiences when entering one of these majors.  I saw that many majors led to jobs that offered more than $60,000, some even offering more than $100,000 per year.  I couldn’t imagine making this much right out of college.  Furthermore, one of the students speaking at the panel mentioned that many of the graduates from these programs are currently in leadership positions.  This speaks to the excellence of the programs in the HRS majors, and I can’t believe how well HRS students are prepared to immediately enter the workforce.

       Speaking of excellence, I thought the presenters did a good job in covering an extensive amount of information.  I don’t really have too many questions.  The only thing I’m wondering about is the flexibility of the Health Sciences major.  Does flexibility mean that they’ll allow you to choose from a wide array of science classes?  Does this extend to include other courses that deal with different topics, such as English, Mythology, etc?  Other than that, I feel like they covered everything thoroughly.

       Even though I was impressed by the Health and Rehabilitation Sciences, I don’t think my interest in the area has grown.  I simply cannot get excited about the kinds of tasks that are required for the occupations that HRS majors prepare students for.  I’m not a social person, and I don’t have a passion for caring for people.  I realize that, although some of the majors sound interesting, none of them can offer a job that would make me happy.  It’s honorable work, work that society needs right now.  But I know I could never enjoy my life if I had to do this kind of work every day for the rest of my life.

Reflection 3: Business

       After leaving from the Business lecture this morning, I don’t think I can say that any specific major left a lingering impression on my mind.  The one major that I might remotely consider would be International Business.  I have a cousin who participated in this kind of major for a couple years, and he got to study abroad in China for several months.  The idea of traveling to different countries and being exposed to different cultures definitely sounds interesting to me.  Thus, for the time being, International Business is really the only major from the Business School that I would possibly consider if I were to head towards a background in Business.  Other than that, no other majors stand out to me.

       I feel that some of my traits would help me be successful in this major.  I’m an organized person, so when it comes to helping a business plan short- and long-term goals in improving their production or business as a whole, I’d definitely be able to plan accordingly and stay on top of the tasks at hand.  Furthermore, I am a persistent person.  Someone mentioned from the panel that Business students enjoy the satisfaction of solving a problem.  I definitely empathize with this statement having wrestled with math problems in the past, turning them over and over until I found a solution—it’s a great feeling, solving a problem that you couldn’t solve before.  I feel that my persistence would pay off in a major such as this.  Continuing with this idea, my quantitative math skills are solid since I was exposed to AP math classes during High School, so I could apply my past experiences to the problems I’d face in Business.

      I chose to attend this lecture because I heard that a majority of students who still can’t decide what they want to do after two years head over to Fisher College and explore the Business major.  I’m not crazy about Business, but I decided that it couldn’t hurt to at least check it out.  Furthermore, Business is a broad major, so I wanted to learn more about the wide array of options that Business School would have to offer me.

       What I found to be most interesting was the amount of involvement that can be found among Business students.  I learned that a majority of Business students join clubs and organizations—this being easier since there are a variety of Business organizations to join.  I also thought it interesting how important internship experiences are to Business majors.  This was stressed in the powerpoint, and all the students on the panel seemed to be getting—or planned on getting—some kind of real-world experience before they graduated.  Business students are definitely “go-getters” to a degree that greatly surprised me.

      I heard from multiple people on the panel that Business opens lots of doors—perhaps more doors than any other major at Ohio State.  I’d like to learn more about the various kinds of jobs and careers that Business majors take after they leave college.  I want to know more about what I could do with a Business degree, what kinds of doors this degree would open for me.  I’d also like to know more about the various internship opportunities available.  What kinds of companies do people intern with?  Can people obtain internships in different countries?  I’d like to learn more about the internship experience.

       Overall, I feel that I have a much more positive view on Business after this lecture.  I’ve always imagined it as a dumping ground for kids who don’t know what to do with their lives, a major that people “settle on” when they can’t find passion in anything else.  However, I found the Business College to be a place full of passionate kids who have a variety of opportunities available to them after college.  Obtaining a degree in Business gives a person many options for the future.  I definitely respect all these aspects of  the Business College.  Still, I don’t think that my interest has increased in joining the Business College.  Right now, I’m more inclined to explore other options, but I’ll keep this information in the back of my mind: the promising future that a Business student has is hard to ignore.

Reflection 4: Architecture and Engineering

       Listening to more details about the Architecture school raised my interest slightly in the landscape architecture and architecture majors.  Although the engineering majors did discuss some pretty cool opportunities career-wise, the majors were too science- and math-oriented—the science component especially killed most of my interest in the engineering field.  However, I do feel that there is a small chance I could be successful as an architecture/landscape architecture major.

       One student from the student panel explained that “architecture’s more problem-solving than anything else.”  This was very surprising to me, and it caught my attention.  I believe I’ve mentioned this before in previous reflections, but I can be persistent when it comes to solving problems.  In the past, I’ve been willing to mull over math problems—sometimes for hours—until I’ve been satisfied with a solution.  When I’ve come across problems in my daily life, I’ve learned to be patient when seeking a solution.  I feel that these characteristics would assist me in further developing the problem-solving skills that the architecture major requires.  Also, another student from the panel emphasized that “[they] are not artists by training.”  This made me feel a little more comfortable with the idea of considering architecture: I am not the most artistic person myself, so this was reassuring.  Not having to be really artistic and having to exhibit problem-solving skills make me believe there is a small chance I could become an architecture/landscape architecture major.

       I chose to attend this lecture because, as I’ve mentioned before, I’m keeping all my options open.  I’ve never really had a keen interest in architecture or engineering.  Still, I didn’t know much about the architecture program, so I was interested in what the student panel would have to say about it; as for engineering, my dad went through the engineering program at Ohio State, so I thought, “Maybe it runs in the family?”  It was enough to convince me to come to this lecture.

       What really caught me off-guard was the amount of “real-world” work that students in the engineering and architecture schools get to perform.  Students from the architecture panel talked about having studios in the surrounding communities, being able to present ideas to various companies, experiencing internships, and working with various organizations on projects in the Columbus area.  I remember one student talk about how she has a studio in the Grandview Heights area and just recently worked on a project there. The engineering school also impressed me with the hands-on work they do: I was blown away with a video discussing how a group of students got to create a bionic leg for an amputated dog, and how engineering students built a well that provides clean drinking water for a village in Ghana.  Students in both programs get to work on projects that effect the people and the communities around them, allowing them to make a significant impact that I didn’t think an undergraduate college student could make.

       After hearing students talk about their internship experiences, I’m interested to learn more about this process.  How did they get their internships?  Did they have to apply for them, or were they ‘hooked up’ with one through a connection?  I’m interested to hear more advice on how to get an internship.  Other than that, I feel that the presentations and the student panel did a good job in covering most aspects of the schools.

       I am very impressed by both schools—especially the architecture school.  The variety of opportunities for hands-on experience solving “real-world” problems was very surprising and has increased my respect for both schools.  However, I think it’s safe to say that my interest in engineering has not grown; I don’t think I can see myself as an engineering major, mainly because I am not science-oriented.  As for the architecture school, my interest in that is low as well.  Designing things has never been a passion of mine, so I feel that it’d have to take a major change of heart for me to start loving architecture.  The lecture definitely changed my perspective on architecture, and I see it in a more positive light, but, as of now, I can’t see myself as an architecture major.  However, I’m not completely ruling it out yet.

Reflection 5: Pharmacy

       Since the College of Public Health didn’t show up this morning, my options definitely shrunk, but if I had to choose a major, I’d probably say that Pharmaceutical Sciences peaked my interest the most.

       I feel that I could fit into this major, because, above all the reasons for picking a major, I want to be able to help people and touch their lives in some way—Pharmacy would allow me to do this in a direct manner.  The advisor talked about how Pharmacists can work in clinics, hospitals, and the government, taking care of patients and making sure that medications and other products are safe for use.  I feel that having such a direct impact on people’s lives would make this a rewarding major for myself.  Furthermore, I saw that the only math requirements for this major are 1151 Math.  I am taking this class right now, and I find it to be very manageable; therefore, I feel that my math skills would be strong enough to allow me to keep pace in this major.

       I chose to attend this lecture because, as I’ve said before, I am committed to considering all options and keeping an open mind.  Plus, I have an uncle who started out as a Pharmacy major before changing his mind, so this helped increase my interest in the Pharmacy department; I was curious to learn more about the full scope of what Pharmacists do.

       What I found most interesting was the fact that Pharmacists actually do a lot of work in hospitals, taking rounds with doctors and nurses, making sure patients get the right medication.  I’ve always thought of Pharmacists as the people you find at CVS working in clinics, so the fact that they also have various opportunities to work in a hospital environment came as a pleasant surprise to me.

       I still wish that the advisor would’ve gone over the internship opportunities for Pharmacy in more detail.  Where do students usually spend their time for internships?  Have they worked for any companies such as CVS?  Also, the advisor briefly touched upon student organizations in the Pharmacy department, but I would’ve liked to hear more details about how students get involved in these clubs.  What do they do in these clubs?  Does the Pharmacy club set you up for internship/job opportunities?  Other than internships and clubs, I feel that the advisor covered everything pretty well.

       Overall, although the presentation made a positive impression on me, I don’t think my interest in this field of work has increased at all.  The Pharmaceutical Sciences major just deals with too much—you guessed it—science.  I would not enjoy taking Biology and Chemistry classes as prerequisites, and I know that science doesn’t turn me on in general.  Although I appreciate what Pharmacists do and see it as admirable work, I don’t think—based on the classes I’d have to take—I could fall in love with what I’d be doing and enjoy being a Pharmacist.  I guess I’m gonna have to do some more exploring.

Informational Interview: Q and A with a College Senior

Q: “When and why did you choose your major?”

A: “So…I picked my major—I’m probably one of the few people who can say this—I picked my major when I applied to college and it’s still the same major, so when I was a senior in high school, so I’m a biomedical engineering major and I picked that because—well I’m also premed— I’m hoping to go to medical school so biomedical engineering seemed like a good way to get started in that process and BME also has a lot of really cool research projects and research topics and…it spans a lot of different fields and interests so I thought it would really keep all the doors open as to what I could do.”

Q: “Did you ever question your decision?  If you could, would you change your major now?”

A: “Yeah, so I did start in this major.  Like I said, I’ve been a biomedical engineering major since I applied to college.  But there’ve definitely been times when I’ve questioned that…Classes get really hard, I’ve had some tough calculus classes and some tough engineering classes and a lot of things that I didn’t really realize as a high school student would be that tough.  And…you know in high school you’re just getting through classes really easily so…when it got really hard it made me question my decision of doing engineering and it made me wonder if that’s where my strengths really were…Part of me as a senior does wonder if I should’ve switched as a sophomore…or as a freshman or when I had that chance.  So I’ve definitely had those questions but something has pulled me back to BME every time, I think really the research and the opportunities I’ve had outside of the classroom just because…of what I’m able to pick up inside the classroom is very applicable…outside of it.  So I would say that’s what’s pulled me back every time but…I think everyone questions their major when it gets tough.  But I certainly had a lot more tough moments, yeah.

“If I could change it now as a senior, probably not.  Just because I’m so far into it…—so, part of what was really important to me was to graduate in four years…and I got to a point where I knew that if I changed my major I wouldn’t be able to graduate in four years…and that’s when I knew I had to just stick with this.  So I think that was definitely a priority.  If I had changed it, I think I would’ve gone neuroscience…A lot of my friends did that, really enjoyed it.  But I really liked the idea that BME kind of set me apart.”

Q: “What was your favorite major course, and why?”

A: “So BME…it’s a small major, so a lot of our classes are within other departments, so we’ll have classes in mechanical engineering or we’ll have in material science and we don’t have as many classes in BME itself.  Up ‘til now I think my favorite BME class has been cell and tissue engineering, that was a really cool one…just because I had a really really great professor and I think that professors can make a huge difference.  But that class was a lot of reading and analyzing scientific papers…and it wasn’t the math and the physics I struggled with, so I really liked that it played more to my strengths of reading and interpretation and analysis and…it made that class a lot easier for me.  I also really love my capstone class which is part of the reason I’m really glad I stuck through BME.  I think that something that’s actually really…it might be worth looking into in terms of making a decision, because it shows you how…Capstone is basically applying what we’ve learned over the last three years to the real world.  And so, now that I’m able to see how I’m applying it outside of just research and how it’s…impacting the medical field, impacting people’s lives I think that…by the end of it…it will be my favorite class.”

Q: “What was your favorite course outside your major, and why?”

A: “I took a…class called ‘Mindful Resilience.’  It was a 3-credit hour course, just for fun because my friends were taking it.  But basically it was about reflecting on…mindfulness as an individual really how you remain mindful throughout your life…Just creating an awareness of ourselves and the environment around us and our interactions with other people; and then taking that to…leadership of organizations.  So looking at how organizations lead mindfully and lead in a positive manner…so it was a leadership course, it was also an integrated medicine course because ‘the mindfulness,’ but it was just a really really cool class because it taught me a lot about myself…forced me to reflect a lot, and I think taught me a lot…about my own strengths and how I’m gonna be able to impact the medical field.”

Q: “What extracurricular opportunities did your major offer you?”

A: “So BME is definitely very research-focused.  So a lot of other engineering majors, it’s super-easy to get a…an internship in industry…I think BME’s more research- and development-focused.  So…it’s a lot easier for BME’s to get jobs in labs.  So a lot of labs that weren’t necessarily engineering focused were really willing to take on biomedical engineers just because we had an engineering background, we had a math background, we had a biology and anatomy background.  So with all of those…I got some really cool research positions.  I’m writing my thesis with the ophthalmology department…And…one of my engineering professors helped me get that, and she’s my advisor for it.  And then I got to work on an artificial cornea last summer…and that was really really cool.”

Informational Interview: Synthesis Questions

The name of the senior I interviewed is Preethi Chidambaram, and I actually went to high school with her.  We were in the same orchestra class, and I am friends with her younger sister, so I’ve come to know her through these connections.  I chose to interview Preethi because we both know each other, and I felt that this familiarity would lead to a more relaxed and open discussion: she would be comfortable sharing more information with me since she already knows me; on the other hand, I wouldn’t have to worry about establishing a connection with or winning the trust of the interviewee, avoiding any awkwardness at the beginning of the interview.  Although her major doesn’t quite align with my interests, I haven’t distinguished any specific majors that I’m leaning towards, so I thought it couldn’t hurt to interview a senior in order to learn more about the process of picking a major in general.

In retrospect, I think that this interview confirmed my belief that engineering is not for me: the calculus classes and research Preethi described are elements of an engineering major that I am not really interested in.  Personally, I know that my math skills aren’t particularly strong, as I’m beginning to find out in my Calculus 1151 class.  As a result, I am now much more confident in my decision to lean away from engineering and other heavily math-centered majors, favoring other majors that are located in the Arts and Sciences College.  Thus, after having this conversation, I feel like I have a better sense of direction of where I’ll be headed in the next couple of years.

On a different note, what surprised me the most was how open Preethi was about her doubts throughout her college career.  She stated that she “questioned [her] decision of doing engineering” when she encountered difficult classes—which sounded like it happened frequently for her.  Her assertion that “everyone questions their major when it gets tough” further displayed her belief that doubt is always present throughout college.  Listening to her talk, she sounded so confident and excited about what she was doing, it was hard for me to believe that she responded this openly to my question about doubt—she made it sound like an everyday thing that everyone has to grapple with.  This came as a pleasant surprise to me and made me feel better about my undecidedness.

Concerning thoughts that I already had coming into the interview, Preethi affirmed in my mind that research plays a critical part in deciding which major is the right fit for someone, especially since she stressed just how important her love for research was in helping her to stay in the BME major.  I am now sure that—in order to declare a major—it is essential that I figure out if undergraduate research is something that I want to pursue, since it appears to play a significant role in some majors.  Furthermore, the interviewee talked about how some elements of the BME major “played more to [her] strengths,” and it was obvious that she wanted to be in that major.  In effect, I am now absolutely convinced that I need to choose a major that involves something I would enjoy doing.  I can no longer imagine a future where I pick a major in order to obtain a high-paying job: this conversation has shown me that life can be a lot more fun if one does what makes them happy, not what simply makes them materialistically rich.

Since I’m not looking at a specific major of interest yet, I feel that there are a couple common elements that I need to explore so that I can eventually declare a major.  First, I want to learn whether research is a critical part of a major or not.  Right now, I’m not really excited about doing research as an undergrad, so I can talk to academic advisors in each major about this in order to determine if a major is research-oriented or not; perhaps, I can narrow my search down this way.  Also, I need to learn about careers and life after the major, what kinds of opportunities a major would lead to.  I can talk to academic advisors, but I can also ask professors about this as well—what they’re doing outside the classroom, what they’re research deals with.  Furthermore, I’m interested in doing at least one internship over the course of my undergraduate career to learn more about life after college and whether the work I learn in a major is something that not only “plays more to my strengths,” but is something that I could enjoy doing for a living.

As for tools and resources that proved to be very helpful during my first semester, I’d probably say that the Holland Code test really helped me define my interests and translate them into what majors would best fit those interests.  In no way do I worship this test, but I am willing to use it as a reference: it referred me to majors which deal with passions that I’ve had in the past—most notably the Music and Art majors.  This gave me reason to believe that the test was somewhat accurate.  As a result, it was extremely helpful in narrowing down where I should direct my attention, and it played a part in helping me distinguish the Arts and Sciences College as a potential area where I can find something that I will enjoy doing.

Also, my academic advisor was very helpful in guiding me through this first semester, especially in helping me to schedule my second-semester classes.  I was a little overwhelmed since I’ve never had this much power in the scheduling process; but she helped me organize my thoughts, distinguish what credits I already had and what I still needed to take, and helped me create a schedule that balanced GE credits with my potential interests in majors.  As a result, the scheduling process went very smoothly for me.  This meeting was required, but I am definitely voluntarily meeting with an EXP advisor before the end of the second semester to continue to define where I’m at and where I need to go.