The STEM EE Scholars Program has helped me develop both as an individual and as a scholar. The program promotes this growth with many different aspects. One aspect of the program that aided in my growth as a person was the academic enrichment part of the program, which not only in the classroom am I challenged, but also through our STEM EE required events. As a STEM EE Scholar, I am required to go to eight scholarly events, such as lectures, do it yourself projects, and speeches. Just this semester I was fortunate enough to attend a lecture on Ebola and the Zika virus with my peers to enhance my knowledge. At the end of the lecture we were told that we were now 99% more educated on viral diseases than the rest of the population, which shows the kind of knowledge you can gain in STEM EE. These academic skills and things I’ve learned out of the program prove that I can join another group of individuals and pick up just as much information. Another aspect of STEM EE that is very important in my heart is the service we as a program engage in. For the program, I volunteer at a K-8 charter school in downtown Columbus. Working with the children and seeing how tutoring them makes a difference is my favorite part of being a STEM EE scholar. These leadership skills I gained through tutoring children are transferable to my future career since one day I will have to train other employees, and through engaging with others and teaching others I will be better at this.
Another co-curricular activity that has positively impacted me is my sorority, Alpha Omicron Pi. I could go on for days about how great this organization is, and all of the things it has done for me. One transferable skill I’ve learned through my sisters is self-confidence. Every little thing that I thought was wrong with me or not good enough, my sisters at Alpha Omicron Pi have taught me to embrace about myself instead of hiding it. Self-confidence is so necessary in a work environment because it shows how invested you are in an idea, a project, or a proposal, and how important whatever you are doing is to you. Another skill I have learned through my sorority is time management. We have a lot going on as an organization, with our chapter business meetings, our social events, our council meetings, and our meetings with other Greek organizations, we have many obligations. I have learned to manage my time for other things besides my sorority, such as homework, classes, and other friends, which is a very transferable skill in the workplace as well. As a professional, you have to be able to manage everything going on at work with your everyday life. I see my commitment to my sorority as sort of a preview of how work will be, I have my time for my sorority and then my time for school; in the future I will have time for work and time for myself.