Fourth year: my junior year? Pre-senior year? Final lap before the super-senior victory lap, despite being predetermined by pursuing a five-year degree? Well, it was something. 

 

This year was defined by a sense of feeling generally overwhelmed. It was a lot! I spent the past year serving as both President of my engineering fraternity, as well as on the executive board of my sorority. To add onto that, I also helped out with the UHP Ambassadors Leadership team, along with starting the first classes of my dual-degree MBA. Not only that, but this was a year of stacking on extra part-time jobs. 

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Serving on two executive boards at once for two separate organizations was absolutely an exercise in humility, teamwork, and coming up with not only creative ideas, but also creative solutions to surprise problems. One example of this was my time as a sorority treasurer, managing thousands of dollars and hundreds of purchases; the only break I got was when things weren't being purchased - so, really never. This had seemed like the least of my struggles, but ended up being, as implied, overwhelming. I ended up creating a form open to each and every officer, which they could fill out under a variety of options and conditions, which would only email me one daily, summarized overview of that day's purchases. Hence, a creative solution to a surprise problem.

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Next stop on the tour, starting my MBA! This was a long-awaited achievement; since freshman year, I've been hoping to enroll in UC's ACCEND (Accelerated Engineering Degree) program, and have been putting in the work to front-load classwork early on. This finally paid off, and I started my foray into introductory Management, Accounting, and much more. This was a major adjustment, from debugging code and analyzing electrical currents to writing 20+ page research papers. I rose to the challenge and enjoyed every ounce of business-based knowledge I was lucky enough to learn this year, but this turnaround was - you guessed it - overwhelming. Making a complete educational reroute for the first time since my high school to college transition was expected, but not quite in how distinct it ended up becoming. As I write this, though, I'm currently enrolled in about 12 more credit hours' worth of my MBA, so we'll see how that goes when it comes time for my final year in review!

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And finally, this year has been kept busy with additional part-time work. I found places where I could work in my hobbies and interests, so it stayed lighthearted, and ended up spending my fall working at a local farmer's market. Now, I can proudly say that I can choose the highest-quality produce available when shopping at other markets! And more recently, I've traded that summer/fall gig for one at a fancy, five-star restaurant here in Cincinnati. I'm a server assistant, at least until I can learn enough about the menu's ins and outs to become a server, but I've gotten the chance to spend my time around good food, good people, and a stunning space. As someone who already had a passion for at least good food and good people, this has been an incredible experience. Getting to snack on the chefs' masterpiece meals hasn't been too bad either. 

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Overall, this year has indeed fulfilled the theme of being overwhelming, but simultaneously has let me flex my skills in new and unfamiliar environments. As I enter my final year of my undergraduate career, diving in headfirst to experiences outside of my comfort zone feels ever more important. I have plans to solidify my spot in these stretched boundaries and continue pushing them further and further, and this year has been an unmatched foundation for doing so as a soon-to-be graduate.