Although it is the beginning of my second semester of sophomore year here at OSU, I feel as though there is already a lot to review from this past semester. As I recall the experiences from my first semester of sophomore year, I will use the G.O.A.L.S. that I have written previously and update them for this current year.

Global Awareness:

As a second year, I am opening up myself to new experiences in order to cultivate my global awareness. I currently have an internship with the U.S. State Department through their Virtual Student Federal Service internship program that pairs me with Russian high school classrooms to Skype with on a weekly basis. I teach the Russian students about American culture and also help expand their language skills. I have learned a lot about the Russian people and their culture and I really enjoy getting to speak to the students weekly. In order to continue expanding my global awareness, I have applied to spend the summer studying abroad in Moscow. I hope to not only improve my language skills but also get to have a first-hand experience with the people. I look forward to trying new foods, visiting new sites, and interacting with the Russian people.

Original Inquiry:

I have started thinking about the possibility of doing research in the coming years. I went to an event within the political science department to learn more on how to get involved in research in the future. At the meeting, I met with a member of a club here at OSU that publishes undergraduate research and I was able to start attending those meetings. The club, Journal of Politics and International Affairs, will help me see what kinds of research are being done by undergraduates in my field all across the world and may spur some ideas of my own on how to complete research while here at OSU.

Academic Enrichment:

As previously stated, I hope to one day work for the United States government, in the Foreign Service, for the State Department, or other bureaucratic agencies in the government. As an International Studies major, I hope to be able to challenge myself here so that I am prepared for graduate school after my undergraduate years here. I chose my major because I want to learn more about diplomacy and international relations in order to achieve my goals of one day working outside of the U.S. for the U.S. government. I also chose my minor as a way to prepare for this. I chose to major in Russian because of the current state of relations between the U.S. and Russia. Throughout the Cold War, Russian was a highly pursued language by government workers, to address the issues that the had on hand. After 9/11, Arabic became a highly needed language for the Foreign Service and government sector careers. I chose Russian because it is still listed as a critical need language and it will be a valuable asset in the years to come, especially if relations between our nations continue as they do today.

Throughout my different political science and international studies classes the past year, I have seen more job potential then I originally thought. I always believed the U.S. State Department was the only job I could see myself in, and while I still aspire to one day reach my goal of working for the State Department, there are many possibilities I am finding out about. In my UN System class, I learned about many NGOs and IOs that are independent of the government but still interact with not only the U.S. government but also other foreign governments on a daily basis. These could be possible job opportunities I previously had no knowledge of. As well as with those, Russian language will expand my horizons as well in the job search. Companies and international business may need a Russian speaker to help conduct business abroad and I would love to get to live in Russia and work with the people on a daily basis. I also have seen the avenue of teaching, open before me. Throughout my internship, I have developed a love for working with students and helping them learn a language. I could possibly teach students English abroad and help them to gain language skills to increase the quality of their futures.

Leadership Development:

This year I am involved a lot more on campus than I was last year. I am a member of the Journal of Politics and International Affairs, which is a club that produces a journal of undergraduate research bi-annually. I am learning about research and other students as I review undergraduate work throughout the year. In addition, I am looking to join the Russian Club at OSU. I would love to be apart of the club and get involved with the Russian language community on campus. I am still involved with CRU, one of the religious organizations on campus, and attend weekly bible studies with my peers throughout my building. As well as on campus activities, I have my internship with the State Department weekly, as I take time to make presentations and prepare materials for the students in Russia. All of these activities are helping me learn time management skills and the importance of starting projects in advance. I always meet deadlines as I have had to learn how to make use of my split time between classes and out of the classroom activities. This will help me one day balance a busy career and future.

Service Engagement:

My internship can be considered part of my service engagement as I teach students on a weekly basis. I love knowing that I am helping them achieve their goals of learning English and perfecting their skills. As well s with my internship, I recently enrolled in a conversation group that places English students and international students on campus together to help them learn more about America and help them to work on their conversational skills. I hope to make an impact on the lives of these international students as it is already hard for them having to come to another country to attend school. I want to make them feel welcomed and help them merge well with the community we have here on campus at OSU.