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Projects
Gateway to Honors
Gateway to Honors is an introductory course for the University Honors Program. Going into the course, I expected the class to basically just be an informative guide to the policy and procedure of the UHP. I was happy to discover that this was only a small part of the course in comparison to the many interesting projects, discussions, and discoveries the class involved. The course had a large emphasis on self discovery and reflection, which are two key things the UHP strives to enhance in its students.
Even after just the first few weeks of class, I took away the importance of reflection and started noticing my natural reflection processes and trying to deepen them. For example, I often do a lot of thinking as I walk to and from classes, and I didn't notice that I even do that until the Gateway lesson on reflection. Now when I'm thinking to myself, I try to delve deeper into the things that are on my mind or that have taken place recently. This has allowed me to better understand myself and my reasoning behind my actions and decisions. Going forward, I will start building more time into my schedule for reflection. I also feel the strengths lesson where we took the Clifton test for Strengths and discussed how they contribute to our lives will stick with me beyond the class. Knowing my strengths helps me notice how they can sometimes be weaknesses and how to use them to the best degree.
Problem Pitch
The Opioid Epidemic
Introduction
I chose the opioid epidemic as a major problem to address in my Problem Pitch assignment. The epidemic is something that effects so many people, particularly here in Ohio and Cincinnati. Through this project, I learned much more about the impacts. In Cincinnati, there are many who suffer from addiction who are homeless or unemployed and without a support network. Ohio has the 2nd largest epidemic, and has more pain medication prescriptions than their are people in the state. I'm not originally from Ohio, so hearing about all this was shocking to me and made me wonder what I have simply been overlooking and not noticing. Awareness is so important when it comes to this issue, because it's the type of issue people would rather remove themselves from. Community engagement, however, is just what is required to support those who suffer from addiction and end the epidemic.
Interview Reflection
Dr. Amanda Lynch is a Field Service Assistant Professor for Health Promotion and Education at the University of Cincinnati. She has worked with numerous drug use prevention and education programs, and is currently part of a “collective impact” coalition in Clark County, Ohio that is specifically addressing opiate use.
My group members and I got the chance to interview Dr. Lynch, and the experience was both educational and eye-opening. I had only a general understanding of the Opioid Epidemic going into the interview. I understood that disadvantaged, low-income communities have been hit hardest, that there are some problems with the pharmaceutical companies selling more than they should to individuals, and that the addiction is extremely easy to develop and extremely difficult to conquer. However, the specifics related to mental health, the health care industry, and the key reasons the addictions happen were unknown to me.
Dr. Lynch spoke in detail about the important role mental health (or lack thereof) combined with a flawed health care system plays in opioid addiction. One thing that I found surprising is that doctors tend to prescribe these opioids, even when there are less addictive alternatives. This information made me curious about why opioids have become so common and popular, even with other pain medications available. She talked about the fact that a few decades ago, doctors started to tend to treat pain rather than the root issue. According to Dr. Lynch, the pain scale from 1-10 did not exist until the 1980s. It was interesting to me that the solidification of the abstract concept of pain coincided with the push of pain medication. Instead of pain being a symptom, it was the problem, and of course had to be fixed immediately. This interests me because I have recently been thinking a lot about the idea that humanity often does things just because we can or because it produces satisfying immediate results without considering if it’s something that should be done. Mentally, the idea of quick fixes without caring about the long run plays in closely with drug abuse and other harmful coping methods. We have constructed a society where mental and physical pain is something to be destroyed, rather than healed.
I have been privileged enough to grow up with a healthy and loving support system. Unfortunately, this is not the case for many people for multiple reasons like the cycle of abuse, homelessness, and poor mental health. Dr. Lynch stated in the interview that the main reason people abuse drugs is due to a lack of connectedness. In this project, I’d like to explore the ways people can create connectedness in their communities. I feel I have trouble with reasonable ideas for this challenge because often mental health issues and addiction can cause people to close off and not want to seek out help or community. I do believe, however, that community members must start somewhere, and that a spirit of interconnectedness can spread even to those who don’t feel they want to be a part of it. Dr. Lynch explained the collective impact coalition she works on whose goal is to do just what I am curious about; they build up their community’s connectedness. The idea of collective impact is that multiple people with common goals work together with an evidence-based approach to create an ongoing productive agenda. I am focusing mainly on Cincinnati for this project, and her coalition is in Clark County. I plan to do research on either city/county or community led coalitions in Cincinnati. She told us a bit about how extreme the Opioid Epidemic is in Cincinnati. She mentioned that certain companies decided against locating in Cincinnati partly because our work force is suffering due to such a high percentage of people suffering from opioid addiction. Hearing this was painful, and I feel the investigation of the issue and its solutions is something that is really important and something I have become increasingly passionate about.
Presentation
Experiences
Auditory Exploration of America
This experience was a 2 week road trip out west starting in Illinois and going all the way to San Francisco. My best friend and I made this journey and saw and heard a lot of amazing things. I learned a lot about America’s history and culture, and we met a lot of really kind and helpful people along the way. I took audio recordings at many different locations, which I showcase below. Paying attention to all your senses in a new environment is exciting, and I greatly recommend it. I also observed radio stations at various locations, and there were some songs that I either had on the playlist I made or various other listening options that seemed to stand out as significant or fitting the mood. You will find links to my playlist and to my podcast page below.
Exploring the country and stepping out of one’s comfort zone is extremely powerful. It is especially important during these divisive times. The people we met may not have had the same beliefs or perspectives that we had, but we were able to exchange kindness. This is something that I will work to keep in my heart as I stand up for what I believe.
Wildlife Management Area
Nebraska
Songs of Significance, Podcast Episodes, and Radio Tunes
On the Road Again-Willie Nelson
I was driving when this song came on and it was the first time I really listened to the lyrics. It's all about best friends on the road seeing new things which made it seem like it was just for us!
America- Simon and Garfunkel
This song came on as we entered Grand Teton. The climax of the song hit right as we rounded a bend to a view of the mountainscape. We both had goosebumps and tears in our eyes. The idea of "looking for america" resonated deeply with me, as that really was what we were doing.
Teach Your Children- Crosby, Sills, Nash & Young
This song has some additional sentimental value because my mom bought me this album for the trip. I listened to the album in San Francisco, where it fit the hippie culture, and whenever I was most missing my mom.
Engineers Without Borders Tanzania Trip
Working on water systems in Tanzania was the best thing I have ever done, no exaggeration. I worked mainly on the water project in the community of Roche, building clean water lines to two schoolhouses and two community centers. I had never been immersed in a foreign country in that capacity before. Every day we were working with and communicating with members of the community. I learned so much about their culture simply by doing the daily tasks with them. The people of the area we were in were so generous, friendly, dedicated, and wise. If I had just come to the community for a couple days as a tourist, I probably would have gone along with the stereotypes about developing nations or the “white savior” complex. However I have come to admire the culture and their way of life. Writing about the experience or looking at the photos I took makes my heart ache to go back. I miss the beautiful landscape, giggly schoolchildren, and most of all the community leaders without whom we could not have done what we did. I hope to go back, but until then, I am trying to keep the spirit of the community with me: hard work balanced with restful togetherness with loved ones, greeting all you meet with a smile, and making the most of all you have.
Meeting with community leaders
COVID-19 and Environmental Careers Research
Dance in the City
Work Sample: Modern Dance Creative Response
Summary
Dance in the City has been the truest experience of interdisciplinary learning. Not only do we all have varying majors and backgrounds, but the class itself is a unique mix of discussion, contextual learning, and embodied movement. Since my main dance background was in Modern Dance, I particularly enjoyed the Modern and Postmodern dance units. Though I've always loved these dance forms, I didn't always have the words to describe what I liked about them. Discussing what we viewed and learned was enriching, particularly because everyone's opinions were so different. I gained an appreciation for the subjective nature of dance and the fact that each person can take away entirely different things from it. I also was able to reflect about what I take from dance both now and in my past dance experiences. I used my creative response about Modern Dance for my sample, because it was a reflection of my relationship with dance through the years. It was so cathartic to be able to look inwards and then share that reflection with such a supportive class. It also was great to have an opportunity to do creative writing, something I've always enjoyed but haven't been doing lately. My biggest takeaway from the class was that dance, like other artforms, can be appreciated by all people in a variety of different ways. I plan to keep dance in my life after graduation.