Spring 2005: an academic drama
For my first installment of the "reminiscence 2008" series on this blog, I wanted to write about a particular quarter in my academic/personal life that really shaped the ultimate path I followed throughout college.
It all started in Spring of 2005 (my freshman year). I was enrolled in the first class that was to be the beginning of my "major" coursework for a Spanish degree. I was also simultaneously tutoring through Big Brothers Big Sisters at a Southwestern Columbus City school with hopes to improve my Spanish by conversing with young Latino children who needed language help. (Sidenote: I became involved with BBBS by participating in Morrison Tower's Spanish Living Learning Program, a great way to network with other dorm residents who are into the same things you are.) However, what I achieved from my experience in Big Bros Big Sisters was more than a tutorial in the Spanish language, but a motivation to pursue a second degree at OSU: Social Work.
Upon realizing that my "children are the future" philosophy would take hold as the dominating ideology in my life, driving all of my goals for the next 3 years, I needed to make some shifts in the classes I was taking (i.e. moving that Spanish major to a minor and meeting with an advisor through the college of Social Work). However! The gods of academia were set on creating chaos, because the earlier mentioned class that I was enrolled in was turning out to be one of the best I had ever taken. Spanish 250, with one: Alma Kuhlemann (a graduate student in the dept of Spanish and Portuguese) became a motivation to walk to campus every Monday and Wednesday. She was encouraging, vivacious, and genuinely invested in her students. In turn, I genuinely wanted to participate in class, and do the homework: meticulously examining metafiction texts by Spanish authors such as Carlos Fuentes (this was the first time I had ever read anything more modern than Don Quixote in a class). Even as early as my freshman year, I couldn't imagine only taking 5 more Spanish classes and being done with the process.
After meeting with an advisor in the SW department, I learned of an accelerated program (only for the most motivated of students) and I was settled. I would earn two degrees in 4 years, by participating in this program, and doing an intensive study abroad. By the end of the quarter my freshman year, I had made some major life decisions, and felt lucky to have made choices that made me happy, when so many of my peers were feeling the consequences of their indecisions. I later learned that had I visited the social work office even a quarter late, I may not have been eligible to graduate in such a short time frame.
This story isn't meant to sound self righteous. It's meant to provide a bit of encouragement. Getting involved in activities outside of class is (in my opinion) the best way to get to know yourself and to find your place in the world (not to mention: at Ohio State).
For me, that place was in reading and analyzing Spanish writers and poets on one end of campus, and learning about important public policy decisions that have affected the Social Welfare system of the USA on the other end. These decisions may not have been made, had I not gotten involved in my community and taken the initiative to meet with advisors. Thank you, 18 year old self.