Looking back on my sophomore year, I had a lot of exciting opportunities happen for me. I started off fall semester by accepting employment with the Learning Commons as a learning assistant for general chemistry, which I have absolutely loved. In addition, I also became a volunteer learning assistant for first level biology. Through these experiences, I have been able to form a lot of new relationships with coworkers, students, and staff, all while getting to teach material that I understand and enjoy. This has also helped strengthen my leadership, communication, and problem-solving skills so that I can continue to grow and develop professionally.
During fall, I wanted to get more involved with my community too, so I joined the Bearcat Food Recovery Network to actively learn about food waste and participate in efforts to alleviate hunger in the Cincinnati area. Getting to understand the serious threats of food waste and how a large number of individuals are still food insecure has been eye-opening for me in understanding my passions for protecting the environment and providing for underserved populations.
My spring semester had even more in store for me, and it all began with my acceptance into the University Honors Program. I continued as an LA for both science courses but took on the role of an LA/Content Creator with the Learning commons, which gave me the opportunity to make my own weekly chemistry content that would be used for review sessions in learning communities. On top of these new responsibilities, I figured out how to balance my coursework with my two other jobs and was thrilled to see that my determination and hard work paid off at the end of the semester. I admit there were plenty of challenging times throughout, but I feel that I have thoroughly learned how to hold myself accountable, persevere, and manage my time, which will definitely benefit me in the future.
Towards the end of the semester, I decided to apply to be a UHP ambassador so that I could inspire other transfer students and minority students to join and discover their own passions. I am pleased to say that I did get this position and I
look forward to more leadership roles during my time at UC. Furthermore, I will be staying with the Learning Commons for another semester but will be the LACRL Coordinator for BIOL1081. With this role, I have increased responsibility and will be established as a supervisor for biology content review leaders. These two experiences will continue to contribute to my professional identity and skills growth. Finally, I have had my heart set on finding a research opportunity to get involved with, and during the last week of the semester, I interviewed for a summer position with the Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center. I was ecstatic to find out that I did get an offer and will be part of their Asthma research lab. This will give me hands-on experience that is behind the scenes in the medical field, allowing me to expand my curiosity and desire to pursue medicine.
With all of these new opportunities on the horizon, some of my academic goals for the next year are to maintain my current GPA and join another student organization, preferably one that deals with environment. As for my professional goals, I want to work on providing effective feedback in my supervision role, developing inclusive leadership, and improving my teamwork skills.
