2013-2014:
This was my senior year of high school and arguably the year that made me interested in becoming an IA Scholar. During high school I was part of the International Baccalaureate Diploma Program. It is similar to AP, in that the classes were all college level, but is more focused on an internationally minded education with a heavy emphasis on critical thinking skills. My Senior year was an uphill battle trying to ensure I got the IB Diploma, but I did! It was a proud moment for me in my high school experience and I knew I wanted to continue being internationally minded in college. Lucky for me, there was an internationally minded scholars program at OSU.
2014-2015:
This school year was my freshman year of college. My experience with the IA program helped me to realize the bias I had coming into college. Often times, people do not realize how much their home communities affect them until leaving those communities. I feel like college, and IA, helped me to become more culturally sensitive and aware during my freshman year, and gave me the critical thinking skills that carry with me now in my major! Not to mention it helped me to set up a network of friends with which I am still friends today!
2015-Now:
This year has been transformational in me finding out what kind of student I want to be, what kind of career I want to have, and the involvement that I want to have on campus. This year I used my experiences with IA to help me become more culturally conscientious as I became more involved within my Political Science major. This has also helped me to be better prepared for my internship that I’ll have in Canada this summer (I will be working with Canadian Parliament). I hope to continue my involvement with IA and developing these skills, which I will primarily do through working with International Affairs Leadership Council in this coming year!