As part of my second year in Advocates for Communities and Education Scholars, I am a mentor to a first year in the group. The goal of a mentor is to provide support and guidance while they navigate their way through their first year of college. My mentee, Paige Kovacs, is studying Speech and Hearing Sciences, and I interviewed her, asking her a couple questions about academics, involvement, ACES, and her future career goals.
Paige and I started out our conversation talking about academics. As mentioned before, Paige is studying Speech and Hearing Sciences. I asked her what made her choose that major. Paige has a six-year-old cousin, Miles, who was diagnosed with Autism. He is the only person in her family that has disability, so everyone in their family had to learn about Autism and adjust to the needs of Miles. Miles was non-verbal for many years. Speech therapy is a huge part of her Miles’ life, and as a six-year-old, he is now able to count to ten and say a couple words. This inspired Paige to choose her major. This led to me asking her about her future careers goals. I asked her what she plans on doing after she graduates from The Ohio State University. Paige plans on going to graduate school after receiving her undergraduate degree. She does not know what school she will attend for grad school, but she will either be attending for Speech Pathology or Audiology. Paige wants to participate in research about Autism at some point in her career and would love to work with children in a hospital setting.
Outside of academics, Paige is involved in clubs and is very social. I asked Paige about the clubs that she is a member of on campus. Paige is a part of The National Student Speech Language Hearing Association. She is also involved in a group called DEMS, which brings students with democratic views together. In high school, Paige was the president of her Spanish club, so she is currently looking for a Spanish club to join on campus. She is still getting used to campus and is looking into more clubs to join! Because Paige is so involved, I asked her how she plans to balance both academics and involvement. Academics is her main focus at Ohio State, and she works very hard during the weekdays in order to allow herself time to socialize and have fun on the weekends. I then asked Paige if anything has surprised her during her time at Ohio State. She was surprised with how fast she adjusted to campus life. Paige never imagined herself at a large school, like Ohio State, but she really loves it and adjusted very well.
Lastly, I asked Paige a couple questions about her thoughts towards Advocates for Communities and Education scholars. First, I asked her what made her choose the program. Paige explained how she has always loved working with children, and she loves building bonds between members of the community through service. I asked her what she looks forward to in ACES for this coming year. Paige is excited for more social events and service opportunities. Because she is new to the Columbus community, Paige is nervous about fulfilling all of her service requirements. A tight bond has been formed with other first year ACES members, and she is really excited to grow even closer to the people she has meant through the program.
I really enjoyed sitting down and talking to Paige! I am thrilled to be her mentor this year and get to know her even more!