A Global Citizen Scholar is someone who constantly aims to be aware of the issues that face their local community, as well as global communities, and tries to find solutions to these issues. Education is crucial to this as knowledge to solve these problems is gained through it. Constantly trying to learn from mentors, peers and the world around you also helps educate you on what can be done to solve the world’s complex issues as their experiences can be used to help guide the new generation of Global Citizen Scholars. Global Citizen Scholars aim to use this gained knowledge to make a meaningful impact by putting themselves in the shoes of others facing crises and by maintaining integrity in their values. My definition of being a Global Citizen Scholar has changed over the semester as I realized there is more to being one than aspiring for how you will change the world in the future and doing well in school. I realized that the steps you take along the way and the people you meet are just as important as the result of creating a fix to an issue. There are several experienced engineers and engineering students that I have met over the semester that have offered meaningful insight into my career plans and academic success, and I realized that part of being a Global Citizen Scholar requires you to connect with those around you and learn from them to get a wider perception to work with when you target global issues.
One goal I have is to secure a co-op for the fall semester. A resource that will help me achieve this goal is by reaching out to my co-op advisor for any guidance and using the co-op handbook for any guidelines. I also will be applying heavily on platforms such as Handshake. I plan on going to the career coaching service offered at UC to get a headshot taken for my profiles and get advice on how to improve my resumes and applications.
My top VIA strength was kindness. I believe this will help me achieve my goal of securing a co-op as many co-op recruiters are looking for someone who is friendly and welcoming to be around in a work environment, especially for the first co-op where students often lack much experience. I also believe being a kind person often makes you come across as more caring and personable, which can help me in interviews and in workplace relationships. My values also influence my progress in my goals because I want to make sure to apply for co-ops that don’t conflict with my values or ethics as that is something extremely important to me. As someone who aims to be a Global Citizen Scholar, I want to gain experience that will help me with my goals of helping underserved communities in the future or any experience that doesn’t conflict directly with my values. Innovation is also highly valuable as an engineering student. As someone who did robotics in high school, I believe the growing field is highly innovative and I would love to co-op for a robotics related company. This factor of innovation will influence me to apply to many robotics related co-ops. Career readiness influences my approach to securing a co-op by helping me stay on top of applying to many co-ops per week as the co-op experience is not only required by UC for engineering, but also crucial for career readiness. The work experience gained from co-op helps prepare students for the workforce for many measures more than only classes would.
I plan on doing one self-designed experience, either based around my YouTube channel or matcha catering business. I currently have a YouTube channel I have not posted on, but I have been wanting to start and use that as an honors self-designed idea would be a great way to stay consistent and keep track of my progress with growth of my channel. Additionally, my matcha business is just starting to develop, so I could potentially turn that into a self-designed experience as it hasn’t launched yet. My matcha business will require a lot of dedication and time outside of school and I think the reflective format of self-designed experience would be a nice addition to my experience as a business owner as I can see how I have grown from the experience of being one and see how much my business has grown over time. Another honor experience I am interested in is studying abroad in Costa Rica. I have traveled there before, and it was one of my favorite places to visit. Being able to visit a place I enjoyed so much while filling my honors requirement would be an amazing opportunity, especially since it will be guided by faculty and I will be surrounded by peers. I am not sure of which study abroad opportunities will be available when I do get to go, but I would love to go to Costa Rica next year or the following year as I know that is one of the destinations for some of the study tours.
My self-design honors experience will teach me how to pursue difficult projects using my own creativity and by reflecting on my own mishaps and successes. It will teach me how to solve problems more effectively and how to persevere when issues arise. Studying abroad will open the scope of my understanding of problems facing the world as I will gain more knowledge about places, I am less familiar with than Cincinnati which is vital to being able to understand and tackle the world’s complex issues.
Huda Khan's University Honors Learning Portfolio 