Fall Semester Study Abroad in Florence, Italy
During the fall semester, I lived in Florence, Italy going to classes and having once in a lifetime experiences. My daily activities included walking A LOT, doing a lot of sketching from life, drinking coffee and eating lots and lots of pasta! In addition to that: traveling! I was in a different city/country almost every weekend - most notably Switzerland, Berlin, Munich, Barcelona, Positano, Rome, Milan, and many more!
This semester, I really challenged myself with going out of my comfort zone, problem solving, and quick learning. It was a first time for me to be walking around and not hearing any English speakers. I was constantly challenged to pick up bits of language and try to communicate to get where I needed to go. I was surprised at my ability to do this, because I haven’t tried to learn a new language since high school, and I ended up having a lot of fun with it, being able to interact with others fully in Italian by the end of the semester.
Additionally, my classes were much different than those at UC! We spent a lot more time learning from life outside the classroom, walking around the city, and sketching from life. I really improved my quick sketching techniques and portrait drawing skills. I really enjoyed these classes learning the history behind architecture, sculpture, etc. alongside studying the artistry through drawing the landmarks. It was an unmatched experience and I am extremely grateful for my professors and friends I met that made it an amazing semester!
UHP Belong
This past year, I had the opportunity to become a Belong Coordinator for the Honors Program, where I got to create programming and interactive social media that encourages inclusivity and awareness amongst the UHP community. The group of people I was working with had such a great energy and I always felt great after a call with the team. We were always throwing out ideas and bouncing things off of each other, and we quickly were able to get into a groove for working on campaigns for each month. As part of this group, my main responsibility on top of participating in the brainstorm sessions and meetings was creating graphics for in person and social media activities. For example, we made a series for Black History month showcasing Black individuals that pioneered in their different fields of study that corresponded with different colleges at UC. My favorite project was the end of the year self-care encouragement. We created goodie bags that promoted self care during exam week. This topic is really important to me, and I got to create a fun, spring-themed graphic print out to go with it! Overall, it was a great opportunity to meet some new friends, get involved in UHP, and encourage good culture amongst our community.
Peer Career Coaching
During Spring Semester 2022, I joined the team at the Bearcat Promise Career Center as a Peer Career Coach. This was a very new experience for me, as I had never officially had a job on campus nor had I had any experience with professional career help. I really enjoy interacting with students and helping people, so I knew that this would be a job I would enjoy. Although there was a lot to learn right away, I was able to observe current peer career coaches and pick things up quickly! I fit right in with the team and made some close friends and connections. Before long, I was running my own appointments and gaining knowledge about resumes, interviews, etc. My favorite part of the job was helping people with Mock Interviews. Doing this, I was able to calm people’s nerves and encourage them to be themselves as they prepared for their interviews. I really think that this helped because they were able to practice how they would answer certain questions before the official interview. This job also taught me a lot about career development that is relevant to my own career! Ultimately, it was a great experience, and I hope to return in the future to continue working!
Visit the Cincinnati Coffee Website!
Science and Creativity Seminar
During the Fall semester 2020, I had the opportunity to take the honors course “Science and Creativity.” This class initially appealed to me because of the “making” aspect. I am studying Industrial Design in school, and we focus a lot on aesthetics and product form, and not always as much on how to engineer the product to work. This course gave me great experience in using code to think through product function.
At first, I was really hesitant about the coding aspect of this course because I wasn’t sure I would like it. I ended up really enjoying the coding process! Now, I even spend some time on my own furthering my code knowledge just for fun. To continue, most of my DAAP classes are with the same group of people. This class allowed me to branch out of that circle a little bit and see how students in other majors like business and engineering think through projects.
For my final project in this course, I used TinkerCad and code blocks along with an Arduino computer to program a toy design to turn on lights and play music when a person touches its head. I was even able to 3D print my final model! Watch the video to see the full process!
