Along with a group of IA scholars, I participated in OSU’s campus-wide MLK Day of Service event. Before we went out to serve the Hale Black Cultural Center, the campus baptist church, and various choirs and dance groups honored the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. by recollecting his accomplishments and intentions, as well as asserting that meaningful service transcends the immediate activity and facilitates deeper connections within a larger community, which should be the goal of all students and residents of a large community like OSU and a rapidly growing city like Columbus. After the presentation, our group loaded onto a bus and was shuttled to ALL THAT, an after school program for underserved kids in the Columbus area that provides food, tudors, financial guidance, and supplemental academic instruction for children who might otherwise not receive such resources. When we arrived at ALL THAT, we worked to do a deep clean of the basement area. We cleaned surfaces, swept and mopped floors, and organized diffuse materials and resources as well as arranged materials for student and mentor access. These typical cleaning activities, while seemingly mundane, helped to create a much more presentable work and congregation space for the students and mentors utilizing it. The activities we completed comprise the basis of structural change, which is developing intimate and meaningful connections within a community, and because of this event, I was able to re-evaluate my priorities as a college student. As I am surrounded by so much material in economics or international studies classes that possesses large implications and interprets events of extremely large scale, grounding these macro-level phenomena in community-specific action has helped to reinvigorate my commitment to constructing and maintaining sustainable communities.

I attended the “Let’s Taco ‘Bout Growth and Failure” put on by IA chair Kerstin Norris and 2nd Year Engagement Chair Aauyshi Chandra in the Sky Lounge of Smith-Steeb. At the event, both organizers detailed their experiences with time management and the perennial struggle involved with comparison in any aspect of college life. They outlined the benefits of being open to new experiences and opportunities, but they cautioned over commitment without a plan as that was a primary source of stress among most people in the room. Additionally, we played a Kahoot! that described common scenarios as well as wellness priorities, where after each question ended we would engage in a conversation about each of our personal experiences and how we approach wellness amidst a busy life. Although this event doesn’t directly relate to International Affairs or other coursework, it helped me to contextualize my mental and physical struggles throughout the week that play into how well I prepare for classes and what grades I earn. It took me out of my self-centered head space and helped me to realize that every individual around me is struggling to balance their life and that I should always keep that in mind when I have the opportunity to help them or even just wave when I pass them in the hallway.