Month: August 2015

About Me

 BACKGROUND

I was born at Riverside Hospital in Columbus Ohio, and I have spent most of my life here. I currently reside in Lewis Center, which is near Columbus, and it is in close proximity to the Polaris Fashion Mall.

I have always been enrolled into private, religious schools, and now at OSU, I am finally at a public institution of learning. While I did not mind the religious nature of the school, sometimes I was concerned that the need to be religious pressured an agenda that did not always align with academic pursuits. At OSU, I now have the freedom to participate in any club or special interest independently, and nothing will interfere intentionally or otherwise.

As an adult, I am free to make my own choices, which involve waking up by myself, finding time to eat my own meals, and still maintaining both academic and physical rigor. This is such a step forward from the rest of my life, and sometimes I feel as though the pressure will get to me. When I have free time to reflect on my day and my lifestyle, often I am shocked at how well I have been adjusting. Both of my schools prior to college have been tiny schools, with an entire class not surpassing 200 members.

 

MOTIVATION

I have always been fascinated by travel. I have visited Europe and Central America, and I can honestly say that those experiences are some of my life defining moments. During my visit to Panama, I was met with the truly poor part of the country, not the tourist attractions built by American vacation visionaries. The true poverty that exists over in third world countries such as Panama are so different than poverty that we experience in the United States. When one is poor in a third world country, there are no resources for them like soup kitchens or homeless shelters like in the United States. Theft out of necessity becomes life or death in those situations, and this really affected my view of the world.

That is why I am very vocal against oppression in the system. If you know me, you would be familiar with the fact that I am an outspoken supporter of foreign aid to particularly poor nations.

 

STRENGTHS

My top five strengths are as follows:

1. Strategic

2. Competition

3. Achiever

4. Discipline

5. Futuristic

 These are going to be very important in my life, now that I have identified my top strengths, I can begin to truly focus on developing these skills to their maximum potential. I have always been comfortable with my strategic and competitive natures, but now I also realize how discipline has played a large role in my life. I am going to start taking more steps to ensure that I am making accommodations to my scheduling and choices to ensure that I am developing my skills properly. Previously, I had always focused on being a well rounded person with few weaknesses, but now I have begun to understand the need for specialization and focus on my strengths. In the future, I will be better prepared for a role in a high stakes situation by increasing my competency in each of my main skills. Strategy will help me to sort out the clutter, and find the best way to accomplish my goals as well as the second and third best ways. Competition will allow me to strive to be best, without being malicious. By comparing myself to the best, I can always have a goal to work for. Achiever and discipline goes hand in hand with competition, allowing me to continuously work the hardest I can to accomplish my goals. My ability to be futuristic will allow me to set my sights for my goals high, and allows me to have a set plan of where I want to go.

 

Everything that we do can have a purpose, and we need to follow through, helping as many people as we can.

Year in Review

2015-2016

logo

 

Throughout the year, I learned many things about living independently and learning on my own. It was a major change in lifestyle, living on campus at Ohio State.

I lived at home for all of my life prior to coming to OSU, and I have always depended on my parents for most of my needs and wants. Once I came to Ohio State, I have begun to learn to support myself, in doing necessary tasks and to take the initiative in forwarding my progress towards my career.

 

In the STEM scholars program, I have grown as a person, following the tenets of G.O.A.L.S. Global Awareness, Original Inquiry, Academic Enrichment, Leadership Development, Service Engagement.

I have tried to follow these tenets, which I feel would make me a more well rounded person.

According to the Honors and Scholars website,

 

Global Awareness

Honors & Scholars students will examine what it means to be global citizens by enrolling in coursework with an international focus; studying, researching, or interning abroad; or participating in internationally focused activities such as service, work, or student organizations.  Students will cultivate and develop their appreciation for diversity and each individual’s unique differences.

Original Inquiry

Honors & Scholars students will 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.

Academic Enrichment

Honors & Scholars students will pursue academic excellence through rigorous curricular experiences beyond the university norm both in and out of the classroom.  Students will be able to contextualize their formal education with respect to career and life options.

Leadership Development

Honors & Scholars students will 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.  Students will be assisted by the Center with connecting to those leadership opportunities that best meet their interests and talents.

Service Engagement

Honors & Scholars students will commit to service to the community.  Students will be exposed to the many social issues prevalent in society by partaking in a variety of service opportunities offered through the Center and other departments on campus.  Students will connect their service experiences to their specific major or area of interest whenever possible.​​

Following these tenets, I have grown as a person, spiritually and personally. Participating in activities that celebrate our differences and the uniqueness of different cultures is vital to coexist with others and to gain mutual respect and trust. I hope that by volunteering with student organizations and focusing on leveling the playing field for underprivileged people, I can make a difference in the world. To me, that is one of the most important things, making sure that everyone has the same opportunity for greatness and no one is left behind because of their background or the environment that they were raised in.

I have always been dedicated to the pursuit of enrichment in and out of the classroom. In the classroom, I always try to attempt any extra credit that is offered to the class to enrich my educational experience. In addition, I attempt to work out additional related materials that are not assigned in class to gain a better understanding of the fundamental concepts. Before taking classes at Ohio State, I had entirely self taught myself programming. I saw the benefit in learning how to code, and I took the initiative to begin the informal learning process.

G.O.A.L.S.

Global Awareness:

“Students cultivate and develop their appreciation for diversity and each individual’s unique differences.”

As a biracial minority, I feel that global awareness is an important aspect of my future, in my career and in my personal beliefs. Being aware of the plights of the downtrodden and underprivileged is an important responsibility that everyone should take seriously. I feel that as a minority in a more resource extensive environment, it is my obligation to act as an advocate for those without as many resources as me.

One of the most life changing experiences that I have ever had was when I visited Panama, the birthplace of my father. My family and I arrived and we explored the areas of the country that give a true indication of the systemic poverty and quality of life that most of the world experiences. It really opened my eyes to the inequality of our society, and it inspired me to spread awareness of the situation with people in power. Through the Honors and Scholars program, I feel that I can make a difference in the world, through the spread of culture and awareness.

Participating in activities that celebrate our differences and the uniqueness of different cultures is vital to coexist with others and to gain mutual respect and trust. I hope that by volunteering with student organizations and focusing on leveling the playing field for underprivileged people, I can make a difference in the world. To me, that is one of the most important things, making sure that everyone has the same opportunity for greatness and no one is left behind because of their background or the environment that they were raised in.

Over the next semester, I plan on becoming more involved with organizations on campus to further minorities and underprivileged people. I hope to eventually take a service trip to help benefit those in a less fortunate scenario than myself, or possibly set up a group to spread awareness about the unfortunate plight of these people in an effort to spark change.

 

Original Inquiry:

“Students understand the research process by engaging in experiences ranging from in-class scholarly endeavors to creative inquiry projects.”

I have always been dedicated to the pursuit of enrichment in and out of the classroom. In the classroom, I always try to attempt any extra credit that is offered to the class to enrich my educational experience. In addition, I attempt to work out additional related materials that are not assigned in class to gain a better understanding of the fundamental concepts. Before taking classes at Ohio State, I had entirely self taught myself programming. I saw the benefit in learning how to code, and I took the initiative to begin the informal learning process.

This will help me in my desired field of study, as a lot of what computer software engineers do is to continuously keep up with emergent technologies in the electronic and software industry. My natural tendency to learn more, coupled with the habits formed in the STEM scholars program should help me to continuously grow intellectually.

During the next semester, I plan on learning new technology on a regular basis, first learning the basics, eventually learning how to create at least one interesting application with the technology. Over the summer, I hope to have more time to devote to my own free form of learning.

Landing Page

Contained in this ePortfolio you will discover the plethora of skills and talents that I possess. First and foremost, I am very familiar with technology, and it is reflected in my work. I am a burgeoning Unity game developer, and I have been actively involved with Project Euler. Project Euler is a series of challenging mathematical/computer programming problems that will require more than just mathematical insights to solve, but also an intimate knowledge of computer processing methods.

I have included several of my programming works on this portfolio to showcase my skills. In the future, I hope to become a Software engineer, hopefully in the field of virtual reality or R&D.