This is my Honors and Scholars ePortfolio. Here I will compile my experiences, both academic and career related, I have had in the STEM EE Scholars program. In this portfolio you will see how I put my leadership skills and my kind and caring nature to use by participating in various volunteering opportunities. This portfolio will also demonstrate all the skills I have honed and learned to help me in my engineering career to come.
Month: August 2015
Artifacts
[Artifacts are the items you consider to be representative of your academic interests and achievements. For each entry, include both an artifact and a detailed annotation. An annotation is a reflective description of the artifact that attempts to communicate its significance. For more information, go to: http://honors-scholars.osu.edu/e-portfolio. Delete these instructions and add your own post.]
About Me
Hi. I’m Matt Workman and I’m a freshman here at The Ohio State University and plan on majoring in chemical engineering. Ever since I was little, I’ve always been interested in science. I constantly wondered why things did what they did or how they worked. For example, every spring break, my family would visit Washington D.C. and go the Smithsonian museums. One of my favorite sections was the gems exhibit in the Natural History museum. I wondered how they were formed, what gave them such varied colors and textures and what their purpose was in the world.
I took my first chemistry class in high school, and I was instantly enamored with it. I was interested in how and why the chemicals reacted with each other and continually wanted to learn more about chemistry. When it came around to my junior year in high school and I needed to start applying to college, I knew I wanted to major in something that had to do with chemistry, so I started doing research on what jobs I could do where I could pursue my interest in chemistry. I came across chemical engineering fairly early on in my research, and was drawn to the idea of utilizing chemistry to solve problems and improve society.
While applying to The Ohio State University, I became aware of the scholars programs. I wanted to become part of the STEM scholars because of the opportunities they offer that I believe will further my education as an engineer. I was also interested in the career exploration that STEM EE offers. I’m still not sure what kind of job I want to do with my chemical engineering degree, so I hope that the STEM EE program can help me discover some career paths.
Another aspect that drew me towards the STEM EE program is their K-12 outreach because I have always loved working with kids. While in middle school, I participated in a summer camp called L.E.A.D., which consisted of volunteering at different events. My favorite place to volunteer was at a local summer camp for elementary school kids called Wyandot Camp. It was so fun to play with and help the kids, and they always looked forward to having L.E.A.D. volunteers. I also volunteered at the Columbus Zoo over the summer for the last five years. There, I helped out at the Animal Encounters Village, where I got to hold different animals for kids to come touch and then educate them about that animal. I hope to continue doing things like this through the outreach program in STEM EE.