Joining Universal Health Aid: Columbus

This semester, my goal was to get involved with a student organization that addresses issues in the community that I am passionate about and would allow me to make a difference in Columbus. I joined Universal Health Aid: Columbus which is a organization focused on addressing health inequalities here in Columbus by providing free health screenings and preventative health care to those most in need. Everyone in UHAC is extremely passionate about improving the lives of people in the community by educating them on important health issues, connecting them to available resources, working alongside nonprofits such as Safepoint, and hosting community events like our free annual health screening in the Hilltop community. I am a member of the logistics committee which is heavily involved with planning the health screening and reaching out to nonprofits and businesses for their help during this event. I am excited to be involved this event which we are hoping to hold this spring in a way that follows COVID-19 protocols, but is still able to provide the necessary health resources to the Hilltop community. Our weekly meetings were an amazing opportunity to educate myself on important issues, both local and national, through group discussion and guest speakers. Even through zoom I was also able to get to know the members of UHAC and learn so much more about what others are doing to make a difference and the issues they are passionate about. I have included a snapshot from one of our general body meetings to show just how many students like me I was able to get to know and connect with through my passion for helping the local community. I thought this photo of the members during one of our Zoom meetings would serve as an appropriate artifact and reminder of the friendships I made even during a global pandemic. This organization was exactly what I was looking for and gave me the chance to volunteer my time and energy to improve the public health situation within Columbus during my time as an undergraduate. I am excited to get even more involved in UHAC in the upcoming semesters and plan on being an active member for as long as I can.

Service Experience: Buckeyethon 2/7/20

In February of this spring semester, I participated as a part of the bioscience scholars team in fundraising for Buckeyethon. Buckeyethon is a 24 hour dance marathon with the purpose of fundraising to fight childhood cancer. The funds are for children at Nationwide Children’s Hospital located here in Columbus. I was able to ask friends and family to help and donate to the cause and received their support. Once I had fundraised a certain amount, I was able to attend this event on Friday night. I had chosen the overnight shift from 7 pm to 7 am the following morning. It was one of the most fun experiences I have ever had staying up all night in support of a cause near and dear to my heart. Children and families from the hospital came and shared their stories. I was so moved by each and every one of them and loved seeing how excited and happy they were to be with us. To see them and their families and know the money we had raised would directly impact their lives and care was the best feeling in the world. Every student who participated in Buckeyethon was touched by cancer in some way through family and friends. It was so rewarding to be alongside my fellow students fighting childhood cancer and doing our part to better the lives of not only the children with us at the event, but future children to come. This year Buckeyethon raised $1,606,087.99 for the kids. I could not be happier that I was able to help the Ohio State and Columbus community in moving one step closer to ending childhood cancer. I was able to make an impact through this event in ways I never could have imagined.

Scholars event: Wesley Glen Bingo Night

On August 29th, my roommates and I volunteered with our Biological Science scholars group at Wesley Glen nursing home. We played bingo and entertained the residents during their night of fun. It was a wonderful experience that showed me that even just by giving some of my time for one evening, I can brighten someone else’s day. So often just being kind to those around you is something that gets taken for granted during our busy lives. During this opportunity, I was given the chance to make others happy by engaging in conversation and taking an interest in their lives. Life is too short not to reach out to others and listen to one another. I am very fortunate to have had this experience. It serves as a reminder to me to spread joy wherever I go.

Artifacts

 

During my senior year of high school, I was given an extraordinary leadership opportunity. I was selected by my peers to be a captain of the cross country team of 68 girls. It felt like an incredible responsibility, but I knew I was up for the challenge. Throughout the past six years I have been an avid runner, participating in both cross country and track. In 2017 I was able to set a new personal record in the 1600 meter race as well as receive an award for the most improved athlete. Running is so much of a mental and physical challenge. It took hours of work and perseverance as well as many miles of running to achieve this goal that I had set for myself. Cross country and track are unlike other sports where you play as a team and win together. Your achievements are based on the success of the individuals. It is more about personal strength and goal setting. For the most part, even though you are competing against other teams, the competition is really against yourself. During my early years as a runner, I had many highs and many lows and learned so much from each one of them. I grew passionate about the sport and began to love running. I was honored to be the captain of my team and help other girls reach their goals and create a team environment that fostered personal growth through our sport. I was able to use what I had learned from previous struggles to help others overcome theirs. I was also lucky to be working alongside four other senior captains. The five of us often had to put our personal opinions aside and make compromises for the good of the team as a whole. Being a captain and running long distance has taught me invaluable skills that I will carry with me for the rest of my life. Being a leader is about caring for those around you and trying to better their lives by sharing your own experiences that others can learn from. It is also about teamwork and cooperation. To be a good role model, I had to realize that I was working for a goal greater than myself that would impact the lives of all the other girls on the team. Running in general has taught me that there are seasons to life. There will always be moments to celebrate and moments where I wish I could get a do-over, but in all these moments, I have learned and realized that hard work and courage can help you achieve any goal.