STEM Exploration and Engagement Scholars

All first-year scholars will enroll in the STEM Exploration and Engagement Scholars seminar course. This seminar course is designed for first year Scholars students to explore personal interests, interdisciplinary opportunities, campus and local community resources, and specific theme activities related to STEM Exploration and Engagement Scholars.

Objectives: Through the sessions and assignments in this course, students will…

• Describe the requirements and expectations of being a STEM Exploration and Engagement Scholar
• Describe the G.O.A.L.S. of the University Honors & Scholars Center
• Develop a close relationship with the Scholars Program staff and other Scholars students
• Navigate campus resources and opportunities related to their interests
• Connect to the greater Columbus community especially in areas related to the program theme
• Gain awareness of career development and career options

Through the seminar, students will explore aspects of the STEM fields through the lens of the G.O.A.L.S. of the University Honors & Scholars Center as indicated below:​

• Focus on careers, specifically on the diverse STEM careers and how this diversity is essential in addressing scientific questions.
• Provide peer reviews, evaluate summative data, and propose new forward thinking designs.
• Participate in long-term learning experiences that will help apply learning in the classroom to real world problems.
• Train and serve as mentors and tutors to help enhance leadership ​skills.
• Participate in service activities to support STEM understanding in the community and mentor incoming STEM students. 

The second year curriculum builds upon the foundation of the first. All second year Scholars will spend their second year immersed in an intensive project, individually developed, which relates one or two of the most important G.O.A.L.S. to their STEM major or area of interest. The purpose of this project is to allow Scholars to begin to work toward their future personal and/or career goals with intentionality and structure.

In keeping with our group motto, "Planting the seeds of innovation," this project allows them to be creative, innovative, and purposeful as they develop unique ways to solve problems they are passionate about in the local community, country and world.​

Second year Scholars also build a stronger sense of community with their peers through biweekly meetings, complete a professional informational interview project, and serve as mentors to the 1^st year STEM EE Scholars.

• Faculty dinners with various STEM faculty, which allows the students the chance to meet and chat with professors from chemistry, math, physics, engineering, computer science, etc. Scholars are able to have small group and one-on-one personal and informal conversations with faculty outside of the classroom setting, allowing them to discuss topics ranging from research interests to how to be a successful STEM student.
• Trips to campus and community STEM locations, including COSI (Columbus science museum, where we also serve as floor volunteers), the Byrd Polar Research Center, the Columbus Zoo, Battelle, Biological Greenhouse, and more.
• Lab shadowing opportunities for students interested in becoming involved in research
• STEM Case Studies series where students explore and discuss various STEM-related topics in relevant case studies
• Medical panel consisting of doctors, nurses and pharmacists from OSU
• Speakers and alumni related to the STEM fields
• Video series discussing the intersection of various STEM fields
• Resume building workshops
• Science and math group study sessions
• STEM Jeopardy and trivia contests
• Planetarium showing
• Book club
• Mentoring/tutoring younger students in STEM topics in the local community
• Designing and developing experiments and activities to get more youth excited about STEM
• And much more!

First year STEM EE Scholars participate in a variety of community building and social activities, including:

• ​Mentor group events with their upperclass mentors, including:
  • Ice cream socials
  • Columbus Crew soccer games
  • Exploring the Short North (downtown Columbus)
  • Rock climbing at the ARC
  • Laser tag
  • Group dinners
  • And more!
• ​Intramural sports teams, including softball, flag football, basketball, volleyball, and more
• Football tailgating with other Scholars groups
• Attending sporting events
• Game nights
• Movie nights
• Ice skating
• Day and weekend trips, including white water rafting, Cedar Point, Kings Island, and more

The Leadership Council is comprised of current students. STEM Exploration and Engagement Scholars will apply in the fall semester which allows students the opportunity to begin serving the STEM EE community in a leadership position as early as their second semester at Ohio State. Students may serve on the executive board or on academic or social committees, creating relevant programming for the STEM EE Scholars community while gaining the skills to become an effective leader in the STEM fields.​

Several social activities occur throughout the year, examples may include:

• A welcome tailgate during the first Scholars meeting of the year
• Attending sporting events
• Bowling
• Game nights
• Movie nights
• Cooking group meals at Kuhn Honors & Scholars House
• Attending prominent faculty lectures
• Apple picking at a local fruit farm
• Craft projects
• Ice skating​