On Friday, April 5, 2019, I met with other International Affairs scholars to discuss our program with prospective high school seniors and their parents. Meeting with these students for GoBuckeye Day, I was reminded of being in a very similar mental state last year at this time. Coming into Ohio State, I honestly did not know a lot about the International Affairs Scholars program. I liked the concept of the scholar’s programs in general and thought IA sounded interesting. As the school year started, I was minimally involved in IA as I simply attended events with my friends mostly just to fulfill my requirements. It wasn’t until I started to look deeper into the events and actually attend events that I thought seemed interesting that I realized how much I enjoyed IA as a program. In reflection, I also realized that the community of IA scholars included all of my best friends at Ohio State. Looking back, I realized that this program had impacted my first semester much more than I had initially thought. Going into second semester, I began to attend more IA events, not just simply one per month to fulfill my reflection requirement. I realized that I really enjoyed IA and the opportunity it offered, even to those who were not International Studies majors. I decided to apply to be a member of the Leadership Council. For my sophomore year of IA, I will be the Academic Chair. I’m really excited to further my involvement in the International Affairs Scholars program.
It was very interesting hearing the questions the prospective students had for us and how they compared to what I was wondering last year when I was in their position. They asked a lot of questions about the one credit hour seminar class that we took as a part of our scholar’s requirements. When I think back on this class, it seems like forever ago. I am much closer with the other students who were in my class now than I was when we were actually in class together. While the class met every week for an entire semester, I think the other events I have attended for IA have had a bigger impact on me than the class as a whole. To me, IA is so beneficial because of the community and network it creates, not just between students and faculty but between fellow students. The community of IA is formed through monthly meetings, events and seminar class, but the most important catalyst of this community is the fact that we all live together. Living with other students you have something in common with is very influential, especially as a freshman coming in and knowing no one. IA has had an immense impact on my freshman year here at Ohio State for this reason. Most of my best friends, I know because of IA.