G.O.A.L.S. (Year 2)

Each year brings growth, change, and the need to adapt. This year I am focusing on others in order to learn about myself and reflect internally.
During the second year as a member of my scholars program, Mount Leadership Society, students are focused on repetitive service in the Columbus community. This year I have chosen to work with a wonderful service cause here in the community, Manna Café. Manna Café is an outreach of the Broad Street United Methodist Church (UMC) that serves dinner to those in need every Wednesday evening. They have been doing so for the past 15 years. Although I have always loved service and volunteering, this experience has been different. It has given me the opportunity to grow with the community that I am serving and to create relationships both with the guests and other volunteers.
I believe that this experience truly captures all aspects of the G.O.A.L.S. Through my service I have been able to engaged and active, to learn about my community and others through my own experience and inquiry, to pursue unique leadership roles, to become more aware of this community and its needs, and to enrich academic principals based on communication and critical thinking.
This experience continues to provide me with many opportunities for reflection. I have increased my patience and become more comfortable in diverse situations. It has allowed me to grow in my ability to be open to change and to become more flexible.
In the future I hope to use the skills and understanding that I have learned through this experience to be a catalyst for positive progress in the many roles I will occupy: a student, an entry-level employee, a wife, a mother, a manager, a teacher, a civic leader, a board member, a patron, an executive, a CEO, and a global citizen. My goal is to be effective in these roles and to benefit the communities these roles serve.

Year in Review

[ “Year in Review”  is where you should reflect on the past year and show how you have evolved as a person and as a student.  You may want to focus on your growth in a particular area (as a leader, scholar, researcher, etc.) or you may want to talk about your overall experience over the past year.  For more information, go to: http://honors-scholars.osu.edu/e-portfolio. Delete these instructions and add your own post.]

G.O.A.L.S.

Two of my most salient characteristics are being highly engaged and able engage those around me in life. My energy emanates from an innate drive to achieve my personal best and to have a positive impact. That drive has always been there. That drive is the basis of my academic and career goals.

I have never taken the easy road in academics, leadership, sports, or even community service. I seek excellence and am never satisfied with “good enough.” I am concerned with my grades and always strive for one hundred percent. More importantly, I am concerned with mastering concepts and information at a level deeper than mere memorization. I do not accept an idea or concept without questioning and understanding why it is the way it is and what purpose it serves. Moreover, I enjoy contemplating how new concepts and ideas relate to seemingly dissimilar subjects.

This fall I took a class titled “Literature and Religion”. This class allowed me to better understand various world religions through reading books on people’s experiences and discussing the books in an open classroom environment. I learned from my professor that finding similarities is the easy task whereas seeing the differences and viewing them as potentially valid is the more difficult one. During the semester I engaged in dialogue in the classroom as well as out of the classroom about the interesting people, cultures, and religions about which I was able to read. I found that not only was I able to learn about others, but I was able to learn more about myself, my culture, and my religion. I intend to continue to participate and dialogue and hopefully,in the future, initiatives such as studying abroad or simply traveling abroad and submerging myself in other cultures.

I have always been interested in learning through experimentation and research. When I am required to write a paper whether it be a research paper or a simple essay, I have always enjoyed bringing in outside points of view through eclectic reading. This fall I was able to learn about process goals through reading basketball coach, John Wooden’s book and about ideal arousal state (IAS) through Dr. Jason Selk’s book, “Executive Toughness: The Mental-training Program to Increase Your Leadership”. I was not required to read these books, but did so and was able to enrich my essay and my knowledge of leadership skills as well. During the past few summers I have attended Ohio State’s Stone Laboratory to take science courses. During these courses, I participated in field research, lab analysis, and attended talks given by top researchers that described the findings of their research and allowed audience inquiry.

Leader is a role that I have always played. My leadership style has always been one that has engendered a positive response in my peers. I lead by inspiring and enabling others to take on new challenges. I encourage; I teach; and I do my part, which in turn exemplifies the rewards of striving for personal and group goals. I have learned that I do not have to be in a position of power or be more intelligent or more accomplished than everyone else in the room in order to drive change. At The Ohio State University I have so far been able to lead through engaging in Mount Leadership Society service projects such as outreaches to special needs middle school classes and the Mid-Ohio Food Bank, attending a Mount conference on leadership, and taking the lead role in group projects in the class room.

My interests vary widely from aquatic biology, criminology, law, and humanitarianism to culinary arts. Realistically, I cannot have a career in all of these fields, but I would like to learn about all of them. I strive to prove myself competent and knowledgeable in many areas. I believe doing so will contribute to my growth into a well-rounded person and a well-prepared leader. I am ready and motivated to continue to work hard in my college career and to become a truly educated member of society.

Career

[“Career” is where you can collect information about your experiences and skills that will apply to your future career.  Like your resume, this is information that will evolve over time and should be continually updated.   For more information, go to: http://honors-scholars.osu.edu/e-portfolio. Delete these instructions and add your own post.]

Artifacts

My artifact is my notebooks, papers, and tests that I have saved since my freshman year in high school. My notebooks represent everything that I have achieved as well as encourage me to achieve more. Looking at my work shows where I have come from and what has pushed me to want to seek a career in business. I enjoy maximizing results and helping others. I often loaned my old notebooks to others and helped them in classes that I had already taken. In business I want to help people to better themselves and enrich their lives. I want to do so through setting and reaching goals and maximizing my personal talents.

notebook-stack

About Me

I am an enthusiastic, encouraging person concerned with bettering myself, furthering my knowledge, sharing knowledge, and helping those around me. I am observant and detail oriented. I am good at both taking the lead and playing a supporting role in volunteer, academic, and professional settings.

I am focused and driven as evidenced by keeping a 3.98 GPA in high school, and participating and excelling in areas such as Science Fair and Social Studies Fair, entering college with 30 credits, and being a part of the Scholars Program. I am concerned with helping others develop their social skills, leadership ability, and personal talents as demonstrated by my mentoring relationship with approximately 6 underclassmen at my high school.

At Ohio State I am focused on becoming well educated. I am determined to maintain a 3.5 or higher GPA with my eyes set on a 4.0 GPA and graduating with honors. I want to become involved in programs that further my learning experience and the experience of others as well as allow me to discover my specific career calling.

I seek the further development of my professional and interpersonal skills and to build my résumé. I am open to furthering my education by obtaining a graduate degree in business through the Fisher College of Business. My three-year goal is securing a career position through the professional connections established in internships and at career fairs and other events hosted by the university.