Artifacts

This year, I’ve had the opportunity to be involved in a very rewarding volunteer program. With the pandemic still raging across the country, Ohio State has been doing everything possible to limit the spread around campus. One of the strategies to help make sure students around campus are following the health guidelines was to make a group of student volunteers who walk around campus, distribute masks and other items, and ensure everyone is wearing masks properly. I got involved with this group of ambassadors in the beginning of fall semester and I have loved the experience.

I have always loved volunteering, especially in a hands-on way. I really like this program because I see the need for it around campus and I want to do everything I can to ensure we are able to stay on campus in a safe way. I also enjoy being able to walk around with the other volunteers and form social connections (something that is very limited in this time).

Confronting peers who aren’t wearing masks was difficult at first, but over time I think it helped me develop into a stronger, more assertive person. I can communicate effectively and nicely while still making sure everyone is being safe. Despite some negative interactions, overall, the response by students has been quite positive and it really seems like we’re making a positive impact on campus. I’m excited to be an ambassador this semester as well and the program is expanding to include even more outreach and community which will enhance the experience even more for me.

G.O.A.L.S.

Ohio State is a great place to find enrichment in all the areas of G.O.A.L.S., but I want to focus on my experiences with the Service Engagement section of the acronym.

Beginning in high school, doing service and volunteering became a huge facet of my life. Some of the most memorable volunteering experiences I had were at my local humane society, Red Cross blood drives, and in my community through my church.

I knew when I was applying for college that I wanted to continue to have those opportunities to give back, which is why I applied for the Mount Leadership Society Scholars Program, a service and leadership oriented organization at Ohio State. Through Mount, I have had some tremendous and impactful opportunities to serve the community of Ohio State and Columbus as a whole. The second year of Mount is all about service as well, and we have a project called the Year of Service. With this project, all second year Mount students find service sites to volunteer at, with the goal of completing at least 75 hours by March. For my service project, I have started to volunteer with the Together as Buckeyes Wellness Ambassadors. This group is run by the Student Wellness Center, and was created to help combat the spread of Covid-19 throughout campus. We walk around campus with masks and other helpful sanitary supplies to give to students that need them. We also offer encouragement and prizes to people we see doing a good job of adhering to the safety guidelines on campus. I find this volunteering extremely meaningful and impactful, not only because it gives me a chance to interact with my fellow Buckeyes, but also because we are living through a once-in-a-lifetime crisis, and I like to think that even the small things like this make an impact.

My goal for this year is to be committed to my current service project, but also to find time to volunteer with my sorority’s philanthropy, which focuses on domestic violence awareness. Through Alpha Chi Omega, we are able to volunteer at a domestic violence shelter in Columbus, and I am looking forward to begin serving there this year after being initiated last spring.

Overall, I find the greatest meaning in my life through serving and helping others, which is why Service Engagement is very important to me. I hope through my years here at Ohio State that I will continue to find new opportunities to give back and help others as well as the community.

Artifacts

One of the most influential an educational experiences I went through the summer of my senior year was going to China with a very small group of students, my school’s principal, and the superintendent of the school district. The main mission of the 10 day trip was to visit Chinese schools in order to set up a sister school to our high school.

We visited four cities during our stay: Shanghai, Hangzhou, Fuzhou, and Beijing. During the trip, we were able to tour schools while also sight-seeing and getting to experience Chinese culture through food, music, and activities. I learned a lot about how the structure and curriculum of Chinese schools is different than the U.S., and got to witness both specific academic achievements as well as artistic and musical performances that were extremely impressive.

Additionally, being immersed within a culture in which none of us knew the language was a great learning experience. We had to put complete trust in our guides to transport us, feed us, and translate for us. Being an outsider, both in looks and in language, was a very eye-opening experience for me, and really made me aware of what other types of people may feel when they enter a place in which they are the minority, for any number of reasons.

Lastly, seeing the beautiful scenery and cultural landmarks of China made me very appreciative of the long and noble history of the country and gave me more insight and knowledge that I have been able to pass on to others when I share experiences from the trip.

Video of School Performance

Artifacts

Last year, I went through a very grueling academic process that helped shape me as a student and a person. I wrote a 45 page research paper on whether or not the placebo effect should be used as a form of treatment in clinical practice. The paper took the entire year to write, and was broken down into multiple sections that required extensive time, research and revision. One section of the paper even required five to six personal or phone interviews with experts in the topic.

Writing this paper was a huge undertaking, but I couldn’t be more glad that I did it. Making the commitment to find, annotate, and synthesize information from over 20 different articles and studies on the placebo effect took a lot of time and effort. Communicating with experts in the bioethical field and conducting professional interviews with them required extensive interpersonal skills. Revising and rewriting multiple sections to get the paper to a place where I was satisfied took some perseverance. But I couldn’t have learned more from the process. I can confidently say that I am a better, more concise writer than I was before. It led me to become even more passionate about medicine, bioethics, and psychology, which shapes my academic interests and class choices here at Ohio State.

Now, the thought of writing a three to four page paper for a class is not daunting at all. I know if I put my time and effort toward something and persevere, it can be successful and rewarding.

 

Here is a link to my research paper artifact:

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1R5LsWLvh7gwdoHHpdDzfrS97TMuDhSqoYxCQBAN67Ds

About Me

Hello! My name is Lesli Wilch and I am a second year at The Ohio Sate University! I am from Hudson, Ohio, and I graduated from Hudson High School in 2019. In high school, I was involved in activities like Student Government, band, choir, National Honor Society, and volleyball. My favorite volunteer experiences came from helping to run the blood drives at my school and helping at the local humane society.

My major is currently psychology and I plan to go to graduate school for psychology. I have had a passion for helping people from a young age, and I have really enjoyed all of the psychology courses I have taken so far. My goal is to succeed academically while being involved and having fun with friends! My interests include singing, reading, hiking, volunteering, and playing volleyball with friends. I love being involved in leadership and am so happy to be a part of the Mount Leadership Society here at Ohio State. I also love meeting new people and trying new things!

Year in Review

The past year has been both rewarding and difficult in a few different ways.

The Covid-19 pandemic has affected almost every aspect of my life. It limited activities, social interactions, scholarly success, and career/volunteer activities. Navigating this has been  difficult, but there are still a few positive things that have come from it.

Though we haven’t been able to do as much in-person activities, I am still active in my sorority, Alpha Chi Omega, and was actually elected to serve in an executive position. This has helped me grow as a leader while connecting me to my friends even more. Socially, I have been lucky to live with 6 of my best friends and I love being able to stay safe but still be able to hang out with others. Online school was a difficult transition for me, but I have managed to be successful and have gotten a 4.0 GPA that past two semesters. I also switched my major from zoology to psychology and I couldn’t be more happy with the change and the classes I am taking. I feel like I am definitely going down the right career path for me and I have learned a lot through the process. I have a great job working in customer service which has really strengthened my communication and problem solving skills. Lastly, though many volunteer opportunities are limited, I have been fortunate to be able to work with the Student Wellness Center on campus as a Covid Health Ambassador. I get to walk around campus and make sure everyone is wearing masks properly and following Covid guidelines. It feels good to be doing some hands on service again, especially during such a crucial time. Overall, this year has been difficult, but there has been a silver lining that has helped me get through it.

If nothing else, this pandemic has given me strength to persevere through the toughest times, while appreciating the good things I have.

G.O.A.L.S.

[ “G.O.A.L.S.” is a place where students write about how their planned, current, and future activities may fit into the Honors & Scholars G.O.A.L.S.: Global Awareness, Original Inquiry, Academic Enrichment, Leadership Development, and Service Engagement. 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.

  • Global Awareness: Students cultivate and develop their appreciation for diversity and each individual’s unique differences. For example, consider course work, study abroad, involvement in cultural organizations or activities, etc.
  • Original Inquiry: Honors & Scholars students understand the research process by engaging in experiences ranging from in-class scholarly endeavors to creative inquiry projects to independent experiences with top researchers across campus and in the global community. For example, consider research, creative productions or performances, advanced course work, etc.
  • Academic Enrichment: Honors & Scholars students pursue academic excellence through rigorous curricular experiences beyond the university norm both in and out of the classroom.
  • Leadership Development: Honors & Scholars students develop leadership skills that can be demonstrated in the classroom, in the community, in their co-curricular activities, and in their future roles in society.
  • Service Engagement: Honors & Scholars students commit to service to the community.]

Career

I have gained a lot of skills and experiences with my past jobs, however, there are a few key qualities I think will translate well into my future career field.

In both my job as a restaurant hostess and customer service representative, communication was paramount to success. I needed to have a friendly and approachable demeanor, while also being able to help the customer as much as possible. It is extremely important to always make the customer comfortable and express warmth and understanding, especially when the customer is upset. Communication is a skill that is applicable in almost any career field, but I think it is especially important for someone who wants a career in counseling, therapy, and medicine. People expect the person helping them to make them feel at ease and be very comfortable communicating.

Another skill I found very helpful was problem-solving. In my customer service job, I frequently had to troubleshoot and come up with solutions to complex issues very quickly. This was a daunting task at first, but after a while it became very easy to come up with the solutions and communicate them in a way the customer could follow and understand. I think the ability to problem solve and communicate instructions is crucial because being able to teach someone else how to solve a problem is much more useful than just doing it for them over and over again. Problem solving is a form of critical thinking that will be very useful in my future career as well because especially in the field of psychology, nothing is cut and dry, there are always complexities to problems that need to be evaluated critically.

Overall, I have developed many skills through past jobs, activities, and volunteer projects that will be applicable to my future career. I think my resume expresses many of the traits I find most important to my future and overall, I have really enjoyed the experiences I have gained.

Here is a link to my current resume: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1qmr9Vu2CKq4QLWFgI1AFAH_MFEvDAgF7El4MiUljH6s/edit?usp=sharing