After Two Years, a Reflection on the G.O.A.L.S.
What have you done so far to develop your Global Awareness? How do you plan to continue to work toward this goal?
The bulk of my “Global Awareness” has come from my classwork. Although I’ve just dropped my Comparative Studies major to a minor, I’ve still been exposed to key concepts and topics that have had a great impact on my understanding of the world and the connections that make up the era of globalization. In my CS 2104H class, we studied the relationship between humans and technology and how that has shifted over the years. This study of technology actually led us to focus on Japan, where we looked at the production of advanced AI that is going on there. However, my CS 3903 class has definitely led to the biggest change in my thinking so far. In this World Literature class, we’ve been reading books that deal with issues in the Middle East and Africa —geographical areas that a class has never asked me to pay close attention to until now. As a result, I have become more aware of the distribution of books and the resources needed to publish and disseminate them. The voices that we’ve read in this class are voices that I’m not used to hearing, so I’m very glad that I had the opportunity to explore different viewpoints that rarely (if ever) come to the forefront of American society. Also, I’ve been taking Russian as my foreign language requirement, and it has probably been one of the best things that’s happened to me in college. I’ve enjoyed struggling with and learning the language of Russian, as well as developing a broader knowledge about Russian society. Russian cursive is one of the most beautiful things I’ve ever seen; I have so much fun writing it. I hope to continue to broaden my horizons by finishing up my Comparative Studies minor, foreign language requirement, and my “Diversity in English Studies” requirement. I’ll keep my eyes and ears open for any more opportunities that I may stumble upon in the future to cultivate my broader understanding of the world.
What experiences have you had so far that have helped you to understand the research or creative process? How do you plan to continue to work toward this goal?
The research experiences I’ve had so far have also come through my classes. I know Comparative Studies really stresses the research aspect of academia, and their classes have been structured accordingly. My final papers for my CS 3607 and 3903 classes have required me to do extensive research on the topics I’ve written about, producing papers that have been a funky and enriching mix of film analysis fortified by various types of literature, ranging from online posts to academic articles. My second-year 2367 writing class also required me to write extensive research papers supplemented with data, so that was a great way to get accustomed to the process of conducting research. I suspect my future English classes will continue to require me to write papers that will need some additional research as well, so I look forward to strengthening my research skills in this major. In terms of “creative productions,” I believe my 4569 English class that I’ll be taking later on will offer opportunities to play around with media production. There’s an English 5191 class that involves producing media content for the department that I’m also considering later down the road. But again, this is another area that I’m still uncertain about, so the possibilities remain open. I’ll continue to be on the lookout for other opportunities that may arise.
How does your Honors Contract demonstrate a commitment to the goal of Academic Enrichment? How does your planned curriculum relate to your future aspirations?
In terms of class difficulty and challenging myself academically, the majority of my classes from here on out will be in the 3000- to 4000-level range. I am required to take three 4000-level honors seminars for English, so I know I’ll be challenged in the semesters to come. Looking back on the classes I have taken, many of my social studies courses are either honors classes or at or above the 3000-level range, so I feel like I’ve definitely made the most out of my academic experience thus far. As mentioned before, I’ve recently reduced my Comparative Studies major to a minor so I can pursue a minor in Professional Writing. I also plan on switching my specialization in English from Literature to Writing, Rhetoric, and Literacy. Over the course of my academic career, writing’s always come easier to me than most subjects. I’m a very prolific thinker, so it makes sense that I can be a very prolific writer at times. For me, thoughts and writing have always been connected to and reinforced each other. I’ve begun to realize that I’m not too crazy about going to grad school (unless things change), and I’m not interested in entering academia as a profession. Thus, I’m more open to shifting my focus towards the professional, business side of writing, as well as exploring the digital media aspects of English. I don’t have a specific career in mind right now, but I’m definitely looking towards further exploring the area of professional writing and seeing what I can do with that after college. I know the Professional Writing minor offers an internship experience, so I’m excited to get some direct exposure to the world of professional writing.
With which activities are you involved? How does your involvement contribute to your development as a leader? How does your involvement relate to your personal and/or career goals?
Over the summer, I worked as a cashier for Giant Eagle, and I considered this to be a very important experience in helping me to develop as an adult. I learned the basics of being “on the clock,” the requirements of showing up to work on time and not leaving until I had cleaned up my work area. I also was exposed to interacting with customers in a fast-paced environment, and I came across a lot of situations that were uncomfortable—angry customers, ‘hangry’ customers, products that dissatisfied customers, malfunctioning technology, etc. As a result, I really learned to develop my patience with people, with my work environment when things went wrong, and with myself. Thus, I feel like this will carry over well into situations where I have to collaborate with people on projects, since I’ve had to learn to work with people and not against them, even in situations that do not encourage that kind of thinking. I also had to train a couple of trainees seeking to become cashiers, so I think this is a good experience to build off of in terms of learning how to mentor someone in a work environment. All of these basic skills that I learned will help me in the working world: I’ll definitely be collaborating and interacting with a lot of people, so cashiering has definitely prepared me for this task of working with people, learning to be patient with others and myself as we work toward a common goal. I believe this is a solid foundation to start with as I prepare to focus more specifically on careers in literature and professional writing.
List the service-oriented activities with which you have been involved (both ongoing and short-term commitments). How do you plan to continue to engage with the community?
I participated in the Ohio State “Pay It Forward: A Day of Service” event in the fall of 2016. I was assigned to a group that picked up trash in the neighborhoods along High Street. It was definitely a great experience for exploring the little things that we can do for our community, such as putting trash where it belongs to keep the environment clean and healthy. As a result, I’ve become a little more sensitive when it comes to dividing trash from recycling, trying to do my part to keep the community clean and to contribute to the effort of reusing resources. I’ll definitely be on the lookout for similar opportunities on campus. This summer, I also hope to obtain a volunteer position at Worthington Libraries, so I believe this will provide me with a great opportunity to serve the community in a different setting. I’ve always enjoyed the atmosphere in libraries, so I’m excited for the possibility of being able to work in one for a bit. I also hope to attend future Pay It Forward events that involve similar opportunities for community service that I experienced in my first event. This is another area in the G.O.A.L.S. where I’ll be on the lookout for more opportunities in the future, so the possibilities remain open.