Month: May 2020

Second Year in Review

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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

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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

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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.