Vision Statement: After graduation, I hope to attend medical school or a related graduate program.

Action Statement: I would like to observe more areas and specialties within the medical field, continue volunteering in the Newborn Intensive Care Unit at Grant Medical Center, and take on more leadership in both the Neuroscience program and in extracurricular clubs.

Two years of studying Neuroscience at The Ohio State University have come and gone before I even knew it! After taking the core classes required of my major, I have decided upon a Molecular-Cellular specialization within Neuroscience. I was able to take a Psychopharmacology course that I thoroughly enjoyed and look forward to filling my last two years at Ohio State with more specialized courses. Also, I added a minor in Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality studies that will allow me to include my passion of women’s rights with the sciences throughout the rest of my undergraduate career.

From the beginning of my time at The Ohio State University, I have looked for opportunities to get involved. Currently, I serve as an ambassador in the scholars division of the Neuroscience program, volunteer in the NICU at Grant Medical Center, and help in an Injury Biomechanics research lab. I shadowed in the surgical pathology lab at the James this past semester and was able to learn all about the specialty and the various career paths within it. I am interested in continuing to look at different medical-related careers to give me a more solid idea of what I would like to pursue after I graduate.  My hope is to eventually attend medical school!

Helping the babies in the NICU and becoming more informed about women’s rights through my WGSS classes brought me to an field research internship position this summer at the Diaper Bank of Southern Arizona. They are a nonprofit devoted to providing those in need with diapers and period products. They are partnered with over 40 agencies in the area, including many health-clinics. My job will be to meet with the agencies and those receiving the products to create a research project on the impact receiving these health necessities has. I am very excited for the internship and spending a summer in the Arizona heat!

Although there has been a lot of good, my past two years definitely have not been easy. I’ve struggled through some extremely tough classes and have had freak-out moments questioning just about everything in my future, but my family, boyfriend, and friends have been there for me through it all. The challenges I’ve faced have become learning experiences that I can take with me as I maneuver my way through the rest of my college experience.

Ohio State has provided me with an amazing support network, great friends, and awesome experiences! I can’t wait for the fall!

Go Bucks!