Posts

Second Year in Review

by at

Although my second year had some unexpected challenges, I want to take some time to look back and review my growth during this time. I had multiple goals for myself at the beginning of the school year, and although most of them are still in progress or postponed due to the current global pandemic, I have grown a lot and made great progress during this year.

In the OSU chapter of Blueprints for Pangaea, our completely new executive board had the daunting tasks of fundraising and bringing our group out of debt, securing a storage unit, and collaborating with other organizations in order to plan shipments of unused medical supplies. Although every task is not currently complete, I am extremely proud of the work and progress we made. We had multiple successful fundraising opportunities and not only brought our group out of debt, but we also made enough money to be able to pay for a few months of our new storage unit. Also, just before the coronavirus pandemic prevented us from returning to campus, we were finishing the paperwork involved with collaborating with Nationwide Children’s for supplies and sending them to local free clinics or abroad with the organization CAMO. I am looking forward to next year to be able to finalize our work and have our first shipment of medical supplies to those in need.

I chose to be part of the STEP program here at OSU this year in order to help fund a study abroad opportunity, and I was very excited to be able to plan my project and choose an education abroad program. I applied in January for a program to England I had been looking forward to since my first year. However, it did not receive enough applicants and was canceled. I was bummed, but I used this as an opportunity to find a better program and chose one to Argentina where I could practice Spanish and complete my history GE. Unfortunately, after being accepted to the program it was canceled due to the pandemic. Although I am disappointed, I am remaining positive and know that I will have the opportunity to study abroad in my remaining time here at OSU.

One of my main goals at the beginning of the school year was to find a research lab to join in order to gain experience in the world of science and determine if this is the career for me. I applied to a neuroscience lab in the first few weeks, but I was not selected as there were many applicants. I was upset and discouraged, but I later found out about an opening in the Tu lab on campus and was excited. I applied and became a Student Research Assistant. After a long process of background checks and online training, I only actually got a few weeks of training in the lab before it was closed temporarily due to the pandemic. However, I am extremely grateful for this opportunity and I am looking forward to when it reopens and I can continue learning.

This year was difficult and involved many setbacks. However, I learned how to keep pushing forward and I am proud of the progress I have made and will continue to make toward my goals.

Review of Spanish 3403

by at

Spanish 3403 was the class that I think impacted me the most in my first two years on campus. It was an intermediate composition course, and was the first time that I was required to write full length essays in Spanish. At the beginning of the course, I seriously doubted my Spanish skills and I worried that I would not be able to keep up with the course. It was very difficult, with multiple timed essays where I had to form my thoughts in Spanish very quickly. However, I am glad that this course pushed me and allowed me to grow and become more successful in the Spanish language. It was the first course where I really realized how much I had learned in Spanish. It allowed me to become aware that I was no longer a beginner speaker, I had become an intermediate Spanish speaker. It was a great course that pushed me to write in ways I never had before in Spanish, and I am grateful for how much it allowed me to grow. I look forward to the remaining courses in my Spanish minor that will push me and help bring me closer to Spanish fluency.

Vision Statement and Statement of Action

by at

As I reflect on the past two years on campus, I also want to look forward to my remaining time on campus and beyond. When I think about life after college, I envision myself in graduate school pursuing medical research. I plan to use my remaining time on campus to push me toward that goal, by maintaining my progress toward my neuroscience major and Spanish minor. In addition, I will remain an active member of the executive board of the OSU chapter of Blueprints for Pangaea, and continue to help our chapter grow and accomplish its goals. One of my goals during my first two years was to study abroad, but unfortunately two programs I applied for did not receive enough applicants, and one I was accepted to was canceled due to the global pandemic. I hope to have the opportunity to participate in an education abroad program during my remaining time on campus. I also plan to spend my remaining time on campus working into Dr. Tu’s research lab, to develop my skills and potentially work on my own project. I am thankful for the opportunities I have had in the past two years, and I look forward to growing during my remaining time on campus.

Spanish Photo Contest

by at

This semester, this photo was chosen as one of the winners of a photo contest in my Spanish course. The winners’ photos are featured on the covers of the textbooks for the course next semester. I took this photo while I was visiting Tulum, Mexico a couple summers ago. This beach is right next to the Mayan ruins. This trip was a great opportunity for me to learn about the history of a Spanish speaking country, and experience the culture first-hand. This photo reminded me of my goal to travel abroad once again. I hope to study abroad soon to become a global citizen and experience other cultures, specifically in Spanish speaking countries to further pursue my study of Spanish.

First Year in Review

by at

As my first year is coming to an end, I want to take some time to reflect on my experiences. In the second semester, I felt much more confident with myself because I was returning to OSU instead of attending for the first time. However, I was a little too confident and thought that I could do everything myself. I rarely asked for help whether it was in class or finding new opportunities and I tried to figure everything out on my own. I also thought that I had everything figured out about my future. I planned on graduating in three years and attending grad school, but I realized that I wasn’t sure if that was exactly what I wanted. I am also really interested in medicine and am currently thinking about combing my two interests of research and medicine and attending MD-PhD school. I learned that it is important to have independence and be determined, but you should still allow yourself to learn from others and have an open mind.

An Opportunity for Growth

by at

This year I was a part of a student organization called Blueprints For Pangaea. Our goal is to collect unused medical supplies that would normally get thrown away, and send them overseas to countries in need. However this year did not really go as planned. We did not have many members that attended meetings and we needed to fundraise to afford a storage unit for supplies. I set up a fundraiser at a local Chipotle and a few other fundraisers were set up as well. Sadly, none were very successful, and we did not earn enough do accomplish any goals for the year. However, I don’t think of this as a failure. I think it is an opportunity for growth. Next year, I am taking on a bigger role in the group as Director of Sustainability and I see this as chance for us to regrow and learn from our mistakes. This is still a new organization at OSU and it may take a few ups and downs to get it to become successful. I am looking forward to taking on the challenge of getting it up and running again.

Volunteer at the Wexner Medical Center

by at

I had the opportunity to volunteer at the Wexner Medical Center throughout my first year of college, and I really enjoyed it. I was an ambassador one day a week, and my job was to escort patients and visitors to different areas of the medical center. I found this position rewarding because it gave me experience in a hospital setting. I also enjoyed the customer service aspect as I talked with patients and visitors while helping them get to where they needed to be in the medical center. Everyone was very friendly and grateful for the help, and I enjoyed that I could make someone’s day a little easier during an often stressful time. I hope to use these skills that I have gained in the future as a doctor.

Semester in Review

by at

As my first semester in college is coming to an end, I am taking a moment to reflect on my personal growth. Coming into college, I was nervous and unsure of how to navigate college life. At this point in the semester, I am much more confident and I feel much more prepared for my future. I have learned how to utilize many campus resources, and have made plans for my college and graduate school goals. In addition, I have become much more independent. Without my family constantly there to help me, I have gained more independence and have become more self-motivated. I also believe that I have grown in my willingness to evolve ideas. College was not exactly what I expected, and I had to evolve my goals and make different decisions to make them more realistic. I believe it is important to take a step back, reflect on my experiences, and evaluate my growth before moving forward.

Scholars Zoo Tour

by at

Last weekend, I visited the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium with the Biological Sciences Scholars Program. I had the opportunity to tour the health center and the manatee exhibit.

In the health center, I got to see where surgeries and examinations of the animals take place. It was fascinating to see pictures of how they adapt the rooms to handle the many types of animals that come in. My favorite part of the health center was that in addition to their position, each veterinarian is pursuing a research project to help animals in the wild all over the world. It opened my eyes to other types of research opportunities that exist as careers.

In the manatee exhibit, we got to see the exhibit from a zoo keeper’s point of view. In the back, we learned what types and how much food all the manatees and other animals in the exhibit eat. In addition, we learned that the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium rescues manatees with the intent to send them back into nature. They take extra care to make sure that the manatees grow and learn how to find food as they would in the wild. My favorite manatee was Stubby because although she can never be released, she takes care of the baby manatees that are rescued as if they were her own.

Welcome to my Honors & Scholars e-Portfolio

by at

Hello, my name is Sydney Willey. Welcome to my Honors & Scholars ePortfolio. Here I will document my experiences during college and my goals for the future. It is an opportunity to showcase my growth throughout higher education.