Author: waldron.90

About Me

Julia Waldron is a first year student in the College of Arts and Sciences at The Ohio State University. She is currently majoring in dance, but changed to Human Development and Family Studies, where she will then pursue a minor in Dance, next semester. Julia’s background includes a loving family with two younger brothers, Alex and Ryan who live in Bay Village, Ohio. The love and compassion that Julia is constantly surrounded by from her family, has shaped her into the women she is today. Julia’s most important values include caring for her loved ones and ensuring that they can count on her whenever they are in need. In the future, Julia hopes to find a career path that will allow her to connect her passion for dance, with her desire to work with children. Currently, Julia is thinking about a career as a Child Life Specialist, in addition to a dance teacher for children with disabilities.

Year in Review

[ “Year in Review”  is where you should reflect on the past year and show how you have evolved as a person and as a student.  You may want to focus on your growth in a particular area (as a leader, scholar, researcher, etc.) or you may want to talk about your overall experience over the past year.  For more guidance on using your ePortfolio, including questions and prompts that will help you get started, please visit the Honors & Scholars ePortfolio course in Carmen. To get answers to specific questions, please email eportfolio@osu.edu. Delete these instructions and add your own post.]

G.O.A.L.S.

The term “global awareness” has a lot of different meanings to me, including being aware of the world and whats happening in it, remembering that each person is unique and different in their own way and that everyone in the world deserves respect no matter who they are. In my coming years at Ohio State, one of my goals is to study abroad, so that I may develop a global perspective in general, as well as specifically in the field of Human Development and Family Science. I would love to study abroad and be able to work with children there, and study human development and the family lifestyles that they have at the specifica place I go, to see the differences between there and the United States. In addition, as part of fulfilling the “global awarness” term, a student should develop appreciation for each individual’s unique differences. I specifcally have a goal to develop that acknowledgment, by working with children who have a disability.

The term “service engagement” means participating in numerous service oppurtunities  with a good heart and an open mind. Currently, I am involved with A Kid Again, in which I help assist their events with set up, clean up, and the actual event . This service oppurtunity brings me so much joy because I am able to work with the children who have terminal illnesses and watch them forget about their illness and have fun. I love being able to create this fun that the children are experiencing, and help them along the way if they ever need assistance. Being involved in service has always been apart of who I am because of my mother’s involvement in a foundation known as Prayers From Maria, that raises money for childhood cancer research. As I continue as a student at Ohio State, my goal is to continue getting involved with new service oppurtunities, in addition to my involvement in A Kid Again.

 

Leadership Development 

Summary of Mentorship Experience

My first-year mentee was Emma Fry, and she is from Medina, Ohio. Her current major is Integrated Language Arts/ English Education. She started with this major and at the end of her first semester she changed to Human Development and Family Science. But after being in this major for a couple weeks, she realized she wanted to change back, so she did. Emma’s birthday is May 15, and she loves dogs, yoga and coffee. Her parents went to Ohio State, and she has an older brother who was a junior this year at OSU as well. At the beginning of the year, when I asked her what her favorite thing so far, she said it was walking to class. And the biggest challenge is missing home.

Some things that my mentee and I had in common included we are both from the Cleveland area, and we both love dogs. In addition, we both are apart of the Pen Pal program at Ohio State. Differences that we have include her being in a sorority, and I am not. She also has an older brother who goes to OSU, whereas I am the oldest in my family and therefore the first child to go to college. 

My mentee grew a lot from the first semster to the second, and it was so fun and exciting to watch her growth. She became a more confident and independent person in her academics, as well as her social life. After hearing everything that she got involved in, I believe that Emma had a great freshman experience and was able to make incredible memories that she will treasure forever. Also, I feel that Emma confirmed what she wants to do in regards to her career after changing her major. She was able to experience different types of classes, and she realized what she liked, which is so good. 

As a mentor and leader throughout the year, I feel that I have grown greatly. Beginning this process I was nervous that I would not be able to be a great mentor for my mentee. But after meeting Emma and getting to know her, I felt much more comfortable. I learned a lot from being a second-year mentor, including how to advise someone when they feel unsure about their career path/major. Also I learned how to just be there as a resource for someone, since I went through a similar experience the year before. The mentoring experience has helped me with my leadership development, because I learned and enhanced my leadership skills. I have had leadership positions before, in high school, and I was known to have a very positive attitude, and people felt comfortable coming to me for anything they were concerned about. And I feel that this mentoring experience has helped me enhance these leadership qualities. 

I helped my mentee in the areas of mentoring by letting her know that I am always here if she needs anything, and giving her advice on certain things that I experienced as well. In addition, being there as someone who she can talk to and express her ideas, was nice for the both of us. In regards to socialization, I told her about various clubs and activities that I am involved in, so that she can get involved and meet new people around campus. In addition, I helped her with her orientation in regards to her attitudes/views on certain things. If she was nervous or scared for something, I would remind her that she is capable and confident. I was always there to make sure that her outlook was positive and that she felt comfortable. 

I consider there to be several benefits to a mentoring program. Being able to be paired with an individual who is older than you, and went through a year that you are about to begin, is very helpful. For the mentee, it gives them someone to go to if they feel they have no one else, or if they have any questions/concerns. And for the mentor, it gives them the opportunity to share their knowledge and advice, due to the fact that they went through the exact same thing a year before. And lastly, being able to create a relationship as such is good for both people. Although ACES Mentorship program is only one year, I know that Emma feels comfortable coming to me if she ever needs anything. And I know that I can always check in on her and make sure she is doing well. Overall, this mentorship program gives you one more person and one more connection, at such a big university.

Career

[“Career” is where you can collect information about your experiences and skills that will apply to your future career.  Like your resume, this is information that will evolve over time and should be continually updated.  For more guidance on using your ePortfolio, including questions and prompts that will help you get started, please visit the Honors & Scholars ePortfolio course in Carmen. To get answers to specific questions, please email eportfolio@osu.edu. Delete these instructions and add your own post.]

Artifacts

One artifact that I consider to be representative of my both my academic interests and achievements is the analytical research paper that I wrote for my English 1110 class this semester, called “Pretty or Powerful? No, Both.” With the course theme being sports, we had to create a topic for our research paper that related to sports in some type of way. The topic that I chose was representation of women in sports, and specifcally sports media. I discussed the ways in which the media and the people treat and view women who play sports. This paper ended up being really important to me because it made me realize how differently women are treated then men, and how much less respect women receive for the power they execute. I learned so much through the research I did for this paper, including the studies that people have done showing the evident increase of men’s sports coverage on the media in comparison to women’s, as well as the believed idea that the characteristics pretty, and powerful are incompatible. Through the completion of this paper, I have become more passionate about the gender inequality still seen in sports, and hope to be able to do more research on this topic in future assignments.

Another artifcat that I consider to be representative of my interests and achievements is the ACES Film Project that I recently completed in the ACES seminar. My group and I decided to watch the film, “Sounding the Alarm: The Autism Epidemic,” which was very interesting and eye-opening. This film and project was very important to me because it made me realize the struggles that people face when trying to get their children the correct treatment they need for their autism. Through watching this fim, I learned about the current crisis that is happening, where families have to move states in order to get their children the treatment they need due to insurance not covering it. This made me very upset to hear, and watching the families struggle and get very upset over this sitution was hard to watch, especially when parents said they feel like failures because they are uable to provie their children with what they need. The passion I have gained through this project has prompted me to become involved in working voluntarily with people that have autism, so that I am able to help in any way possible.

Mentor/Mentee First Semester Interview Assignment 

Name: Emma Fry, Major: Human Development and Family Science, Five Questions: How did you decide on the major you have chosen?, How do you plan to get involved on campus/how are you already involved on campus, Why did you choose ACES?, What is your dream job and why?, What has surprised you about Ohio State since arriving on campus?

Through this interview with my mentee, I learned a lot about her and her goals/aspirations in life. In regards to academics, I asked her how she decided on the major she chose. She answered that she has always wanted to be a school counselor, specifically in a high school setting, and that after going back and forth between different majors she decided HDFS, Human Development and Family Science. She chose this major because it gives knowledge and insight to how a human develops. Additionally, I asked her about her current state of involvement on campus and she informed me that she is in ACEs, Cru, Pen Pals, as well as being the team captain for ACEs Buckeyethon team. From this information, I learned that my mentee loves service and getting involved with things she cares about, such as helping others. Moreover, I asked my mentee why she chose ACES and she said it was because at the time she was an education major and she wanted to do something along the lines of service and community, and this was the a great opportunity for her to do so.  In regard to her career, I asked her what her dream job was and why ad she answered with the occupation, high school school counselor, and she said it was because she likes talking to people, solving problems, organizing schedules, and enjoys talking and communicating with the high school age. The last question that I asked my mentee was what has surprised her about Ohio State since she arrived on campus. She said that what surprised her the most was how different making friends was at college compared to making friends previously in high school. Its a lot harder and she talked about the difficulty of always wanting to stick with your roommate or people in your dorm because that is the easiest since they are always there. However, as a freshman at a new place, it is important to continue to branch out and meet other people in various groups.

After asking my mentee these various questions, I learned a lot about her that I did not know before. And through this new knowledge I am able to better mentor her as she continues her college experience, specifically her freshman year. Now knowing that she has changed her major to HDFS, I am able to better help her with questions she has, since I am the same major and have a year of experience with the major and classes. Her involvement is very similar to my involvement at Ohio State, therefore I can give her insights and knowledge on the clubs we share in common. In addition, her reasoning to why she chose ACEs was very similar to mine, in which we both wanted to be involved with an organization that focused on education and service for the community. So since we both wanted to be apart of this program for the same reason, we are able to connect and discuss education, service, and the other values that ACEs holds, on a deeper level. Although our dream jobs are not the same, her reasoning to wanting to be a school counselor is similar to why I want to be an Occupational Therapist; that we both love working with people and solving problems. So through this knowledge and similarities in what we hope to do as a career, I am able to mentor her through the beginning of her journey as she works towards gaining her degree. Lastly, learning that the biggest thing that surprised her was how different and harder it is to make friends in college than as it was previously in life, I am able to help her branch out and get her involved in other organizations/clubs where she is able to learn new faces and names.

Explore Columbus Assignment

My mentee and I completed the first semester interview and the explore Columbus assignment together, due to both our busy schedules and our inability to meet twice. We had numerous ideas to where we were going to go to complete these assignments, including Condado for dinner, the Candle Lab to make candles, and Jeni’s for ice cream. However, since both me and my mentee love coffee, we decided that we wanted to find a cute coffee shop off campus. After looking at various coffee shops and their views, we decided on the Fox in the Snow cafe. This cafe had numerous positive reviews and was in a good location, where we were able to travel to with not too much traffic and issues. After deciding on this cafe, I was most looking forward to the coffee and pastries they would have because of the amazing reviews and pictures I saw previously. Another mentor in ACEs, named Rachael, has a car on campus so we came together and did our explore Columbus together with our mentees. So we got to Fox in the Snow by car and it was a very easy drive, and we were able to find it very quickly due to it’s secluded building with distinctive decorations. Once we got there we were astonished by the pastries that they had and how many options there were for beverages. After looking over the menu and asking the employees what they recommend/what is most popular, we each decided on what we were going to get. I decided on an iced almond milk latte, and my mentee decided on an iced coffee. The other mentor, Rachael, decided on hot chocolate and her mentee got a cappuccino with a slice of carrot cake. After we received our coffee and pastry, we sat down at a table and began talking. As a group of four, we all talked together and bounced ideas off of each other in order to get a complete understanding of each interview question and its answer. The other mentor and I would ask our mentees the interview questions and after each mentee answered the question, we would discuss their answer as a group and each give our answers to the questions as if we were asked them. Fox in the Snow was a very good environment to do this activity because it was quiet enough for us all to be able to understand each other and have a good conversation, but lively enough to allow for a fun and exciting environment. My favorite thing about this experience with my mentee was the amazing coffee that we had, as well as having the opportunity to get to know each other better, in a setting outside of academics. The only confusing thing about this experience was trying to get out of the parking lot of Fox in the Snow due to one way and traffic, but we worked together to figure out the best way to get back to campus. 

I would one hundred percent go back to Fox in the Snow cafe because of the coffee and pastries they had, as well as the cute and welcoming environment. I would also recommend it to a friend in a heart beat because of the good quality beverages and pastries, in addition to all the employees treating their customers in a very kind and welcoming manner. Through this assignment, I learned a lot about Columbus and what it is like to learn about a new city. I am from Cleveland and so although it is very similar to the city of Columbus, it is not as large and hectic in certain areas. So driving around this large city is difficult, especially if you are not familiar with it, due to its various one-ways, turnabouts, and overall confusings streets. If I had to give advice to someone endeavoring to complete the same experience, I would say plan the date and place to when you are completing this assignment, as early as possible in the semester. Because between my mentee and I, we both have super busy schedules, so finding a time where we both are free for a long enough time to go off campus and complete this assignment, was difficult. Overall, this explore Columbus assignment was very exciting and allowed my mentee and I to have a time outside school to talk and get to know each other better. Now, with all the knowledge that I gained about her, I am able to better mentor her as she begins her second semester of college.

Mentor/Mentee Second Semester Interview Assignment

Due to everything going on in the world today with the pandemic, we sadly had to transfer to online schooling from our homes. As a result, we were unable to complete the second semester interview with our mentee, as well as the Explore Columbus. My mentee and I completed the interview over the phone, and although we were unable to meet in person, I learned a lot more about her. My mentee’s name is Emma Fry and she recently changed her major to Integrated Language Arts/English Education. I asked her a question from each category; academics, involvement, ACES, careers, and miscellaneous, and was able to better understand how she is currently doing in the midst of all that is going on. 

For the academic portion, I asked her, “Are you enjoying your major? Why or Why Not?” She said that she was enjoying her major, but it her semester was a little crazy because she changed back to her original major. She started in Integrated Language Arts/English Education, and then switched to Human Development and Family Science last semester, and now switched back this semester. She talked about how she really enjoyed the education classes as a whole, but she just realized that she was very passionate about reading and writing. Some of her favorite classes from this semster that she really enjoyed were, Educational psychology, Literature for Adolescence, and FEEP. She explained how these classes were very interesting and engaging. 

For involvement, I asked her, “How have you gotten involved on campus?” She joined Greek life and is now currently a member of Delta Delta Delta. She is also still involved with the Pen Pals program and Cru religious organization.We were able to talk more about Pen Pals and connect with that because I am also involved with that program. She explained how joining a PHA organization has helped her to branch out and meet new people. In addition, she is finding out more ways to get involved on campus through community service and volunteer work. I explained to her that I felt the same way when I joined a sorority. Even though I ended up dropping it, I felt that I was able to meet so many more people and learn about different opportunities. 

In regards to ACES, I asked her, “How was your first semester in ACES? What has surprised you about the program?” She said that her first semester with ACES was good and that the program surprised her because she did not think she would meet as many people as she did. I told her that my current friend group is more than half ACES people who I met Freshman Year in the dorm. She also said that she was surprised by how many opportunities ACES gave her for volunteer work and community service. And lastly, she explained how she enjoyed the fun events as well that ACES brought, such as the pumpkin painting event. 

For the careers portion, I asked her, “Have your career plans changed since your first semester? Why or why not?” She said that her career path has not changed much. She explained how she may want to teach high school English for a few years before going to grad school for school counseling, but overall her goal to be a school counselor is the same. She said that her career path has changed slightly because she is now considering school psychology along with school counseling. She was unaware of this profession until a FEEP seminar this year and therefore she is looking ore into it. But overall, the FEEP program confirmed for her that she does want to purse a career in school counseling. 

And lastly, for the miscellaneous portion, I asked her, “What is your favorite memory from last semester?” She said that she thinks her favorite memory from last semester would have to be meeting and getting to know her roommate. She explained how she turned out to be one of her best friends. I loved hearing this because I had the exact same situation. Emma said that it was interesting to see the progression from meeting her and not knowing who she was living with, to being best friends and super comfortable withe each other by the end of the year. I remember I was so nervous going into freshman year because I had not met my roommate yet. But after a short period of time, we became so close and by the end of the year made more memories than I thought possible. 

Overall, I learned a lot about my mentee and am so excited to see where she goes with the rest of her college experience. This year is basically over, but I let Emma know that she can always come to me with any questions or concerns. I will be sure to check in on her and see how she is doing, and am so grateful I had the chance to be a mentor for her.