Take a Daughter to Work Day
	Rachel Bergman and Sarah Peck experiment with the "Vortex Flow in Fluids."

	Lina Osmani and her mother, Aysha Osmani, participate in a "Physics of Toys" workshop.
Nancy Shucker shows Jenny Nodjak an EKG readout.
	Cynthia Green takes a photograph of the eye of Megan Hunter.
Officer Anna Stephenson helps Leah Wharton obtain a fingerprint from a pop can at "A Career in Law Enforcement."

Photos by Kevin Fitzsimons, Jo McCulty and Joni Bentz Seal

Working 9 to 5

The onCampus "Be a Reporter for a Day" workshop staff, from left: Christine Irvine, Anna Irvine, Hailey Preston, Rachel Brush, Alex Heaney, Lydia Delphia and Stephanie Vawter.

Seven young reporters write for onCampus for a day

Seven cub reporters became members of the onCampus staff on April 24. The girls, all participants in Take a Daughter to Work Day, interviewed women faculty and staff about their careers at Ohio State and then wrote stories based on those interviews. Their articles are published below.

Sue Jablonski works for the Medical Center

By ALEX HEANEY, onCAMPUS correspondent

During take your daughter to work day I was a reporter for a day. I interviewed a lady named Sue Jablonski. She is a very important person at OSU. She is the chief communications officer for the OSU Medical Center. She works with staff and lets people know exciting things that are happening at the Medical Center.

"When I was little I liked writing," says Sue. "But I didn't want to be a news reporter. Now I have a chance to write and do great things at the same time."

Sue thinks her job is important because of the important work being done. For example she tells people about exciting research being done and all of the health care programs at the Medical Center. She is busy every day. "The hospitals are always open!" said Sue. "Even on snow days!"

She likes her job a lot. She says every day is different and she likes working with smart people who believe in what they are doing. "I get to be creative," Sue said. She does publications, advertisements, she works with news reporters and she does special events. I think OSU should be thankful for having someone like Sue to work for them. I also want to thank Sue for all of the information she gave me about herself. I find it very interesting.

Rachel Brush writes an article about Barbara Snyder, vice provost for academic policy and human resources.

Mabel Freeman talks to students everyday

By ANNA IRVINE, onCAMPUS correspondent

Mabel Freeman is the assistant vice president for undergraduate admissions and first year experience. She works with undergraduate admission, orientation, and first year experience.

She really likes working at Ohio State. "I get the joy of talking about OSU to students everyday," Freeman said.

Freeman's office is located in room 110 Enarson Hall. Enarson Hall is where anyone goes who is interested in going to OSU, or getting a tour of the campus. Her office is most busy during the fall quarter and in April. One of the reasons her office is very busy in April is because students that are applying for college have to choose where they want to go by May 1.

Freeman started working at a high school as an English teacher. Freeman has been working at OSU for 20 years. She has been working at the Office of Undergraduate Admissions and First Year Experience for 3 years.

"I really like working with students, faculty, and strategic planning," said Freeman. The Office of Undergraduate Admissions and First Year Experience is important to OSU, because without them, there wouldn't be any undergraduate students at Ohio State University. They admit students and make sure students have a good first year.

Melinda Nelson is a hard worker

By CHRISTINE IRVINE, onCAMPUS correspondent

Melinda Nelson is happy with her job, though some days she wishes she could just stay home and cuddle up with a book. Melinda only feels that way in the winter, when it's very cold, but even then, she only feels like staying home every once in a while. Melinda Nelson's job is the assistant dean in the College of Humanities. Her building office is located on Ohio State's campus in University Hall.

Melinda Nelson is a very busy worker, and a hard one. She is most busy around 8:00-8:30 in the morning. That is when she is receiving telephone calls and e-mails.

Melinda has to be able to talk to people on the phone, write letters, and write speeches! She also has to work with a big group overseeing construction of a building, and that's just a brief description of Melinda Nelson's job. To be able to do the job she does, you have to be happy to meet with people, have excellent organization skills, and be able to write coherently. "The job actually came to me," said Melinda Nelson.

Melinda chose this job because it sounded like something she could do, and it seemed like something fun to do. To this day, she is still doing her job and is also happy with it!

Weavers tries new experiments

By STEPHANIE VAWTER, onCAMPUS correspondent

Have you ever wondered about engineering? Well, there are many types of engineering. For an example, Linda K. Weavers is a civil and environmental engineer. What Weavers does is she teaches hazardous waste to students at The Ohio State University. One of her favorite activities to do on the job is to work with the grad students and work on questions no one has ever answered before or just try new experiments that no one has tried before.

She got to where she is today by going thorough a lot of education at the University Of Minnesota and Caltech. What made her choose this job was that she liked exploring new ideas, teaching people about the things she knows about, and to learn new things. Weavers said, "I learn new things everyday and you may think that once you have graduated from school that you are done learning, but you're not. You can learn something everyday."

If you would like any further information, she is located in the Hitchcock Hall. I hope you learned some interesting and valuable things about what Linda K. Weavers does because I sure did.

Morris loves to dance

By HAILEY PRESTON, onCAMPUS correspondent

Christine Ballengee Morris, from the time she was young, always loved to dance and do art. She loved to do dancing and art, so she had gotten lessons. She was doing so good that she got an education for dance and art. She did that for a few years, then quit her job. After she quit her job she started a new job which was teaching. A few years pass by and she gets a call from one of her friends. Her friend called her to tell her that, "there is a new job opened on campus and this is the job for you!"

The job was a director at the Multicultural Center. She loves it so much. She started doing this job in the year 1995. Now it is 2003 and she has been working at this job for about eight years.

What she likes about her job is that she gets to meet new people and see neat kinds of people.

Vestergaard inspired by stories of space

By LYDIA DELPHIA, onCAMPUS correspondent

Marianne Vestergaard, post-doctoral researcher, works at OSU to expand her opportunities of advancement in astronomy. For the past 3 years, Vestergaard has been analyzing the light from newborn galaxies (quasars), to figure out "how the black holes eat matter" and how they affect the formation of galaxies.

Vestergaard is a researcher in the Department of Astronomy and came to Ohio State from Denmark in Europe, and plans to go to the University of Arizona when she finishes her term at Ohio State. She eventually wants to be a college teacher and researcher.

Her interest in astronomy and the stars began when she was young, and she was inspired by stories her father told her of space.

Barbara Snyder is a law school teacher

By RACHEL BRUSH, onCAMPUS correspondent

Barbara Snyder is a professor in law. She has been working there for 15 years.

She has 3 children: Adam who is 21, Ben who is 18, and Elizabeth who is 17.

She would not want to change a thing at her job. "They're really grown up!" she says about her students.

In her spare time she reads mystery books, gardens and redoes her rooms. She has gone to church since she can remember.

She went through 4 years of college and 3 years of law school. "I am a person who is always very busy and works a lot of hours," she said. She works with 100 other people.

Business marketing major and Mount scholar Chris Troxell, right, expresses his appreciation to his mentor, Jen Bossard, a staff member in Student Activities, at Presentation Night April 7. The event was a precursor to Mount Legacy Week, which began May 5 and involves teams of Mount scholars implementing an array of service projects they have planned.   By Kevin Fitzsimons

Mount Leadership Society focuses on leadership, community service

By JONI BENTZ SEAL, onCAMPUS staff

One of nine scholars programs at Ohio State, the Mount Leadership Society is a program for high-ability freshmen and sophomores that centers on personal and professional development -- both inside and outside the classroom -- as well as academic achievement, community connection, diversity, leadership and service.

The program, now in its fourth year, was founded with an endowment from the late Ruth Weimer Mount, who served Ohio State students for more than four decades -- most notably as the university's first dean of students -- and left behind an incredible legacy of volunteerism and involvement. The 100 freshmen who are accepted into the program each year benefit from a long list of co-curricular activities, mentorship and the option of participating in a unique series of courses called clustered classes.

The Mount program is one of only four scholars programs at Ohio State that is not discipline based, meaning students of any major are welcome in the program. And community service and leadership are part of the program's mission rather than a side element of the programming.

"Our mission is very important," said Vicki Pitstick, program coordinator for the Mount Leadership Society. "We strive to instill in our students an ethic of service and to develop their leadership skills for success in a diverse society."

First-year Mount scholars live in Halloran House, a living-learning environment intended to foster a sense of community and help make Ohio State's large campus seem like a small, tight-knit community.

"Studies have shown that students who find their niche are more inclined to remain in college, so that aspect of the program is critical," Pitstick said. In fact, to further facilitate the bonding of each cohort class, Mount scholars residing in Halloran House arrive on campus three days earlier than other students to get to know each other, the campus and to learn about the program in depth.

Other unique components of the program include the focus on leadership training during the freshman year, and the "Year of Service," which occurs during the sophomore year and requires 75 hours of service to an organization or project of each student's choosing.

The mentor/scholar relationship

Like most other honors programs, scholars programs depend on faculty for success, and the Mount program is no different. In fact, faculty and staff involvement is even more critical for Mount scholars, as the mentor program isn't peer-to-peer like most mentorships -- it's faculty or staff to student. Pitstick said the ideal is to have a mentor-scholar ratio of one-to-one, but this year just 85 mentors are involved, so some are doing double duty. The majority are staff members; only about 10 are faculty.

"We would obviously like to see more faculty become involved," Pitstick said. "In recruitment efforts, I find many of the faculty who come highly recommended as having good relationships with students are already tapped so much that it's difficult for them to agree to take on yet another role."

The role of the mentor is to serve the scholar in any capacity in which they are comfortable.

"We ask them to help scholars make the transition from high school to college, to acquaint them with the culture and values of Ohio State, and to serve as a resource," Pitstick said. "But most importantly, to be an encouraging and supportive friend."

While the program holds training sessions for the mentors in September and hosts structured activities for the mentor-scholar teams each quarter, the responsibility for developing the relationship is up to the two parties.

To improve upon the random couplings of years past, Pitstick said the program now pairs mentors and scholars based on common interests -- by area of study, hobbies and similar activities -- that each expressed in an interest inventory.

Mount Leadership Society mentor Tim Heron, a professor in special education, was paired with freshman Christopher Powers, an aeronautical engineering major. They share a love of flying.

Mount scholar Chris Powers stands beside his mentor Tim Heron's Cessna 182 after one of their flights.   By Tim Heron

"In addition to teaching, I'm a pilot/flight instructor," Heron said. "With Chris majoring in aeronautical engineering, we hit it off immediately."

Although this is his first year as a Mount mentor, Heron feels his involvement has not only helped shape his scholar's collegiate foundation, but has allowed him to reap the benefits that performing community service provides to individuals.

"From my perspective, serving as a mentor is another way to provide service to the university and, in this case, to an individual student. I have thoroughly enjoyed the many lunch discussions, Buckeye basketball games, and outreach activities I've shared with Chris, and we've even found the time to share our passion for flying in my Cessna 182," he said. "I look forward to continuing my relationship with Chris throughout his studies."

The role of scholars programs

Both honors and scholars programs serve unique roles for high-ability students. Pitstick said the scholars program offers an honors-like environment to students who are looking for a specialized program, yet may not meet the qualifications of an honors program or desire the research aspects and rigorous curriculum honors requires.

Linda Harlow, interim associate provost of honors and scholars, said the Mount Leadership Society was the first scholars program created at Ohio State to increase the options for students seeking a more challenging collegiate experience. Eight more programs came on board during the past three years, and a 10th scholars program, Pharmacy Scholars, will begin autumn quarter.

Harlow said the success of the programs under the honors and scholars umbrella is evident, providing justification to continue along its current course and plan for future growth accordingly.

"For the first time in honors and scholars history at Ohio State, all the programs have reached or surpassed enrollment goals for the 2003-04 academic year," Harlow said. "That is a testament to the reputation our programs are garnering in this competitive academic climate."

And Pitstick said the Mount Leadership Society is pulling its weight.

"This year, we've received the highest number of applications ever," she said. "We're looking forward to another class of well-prepared freshmen who are committed to upholding the legacy of Ruth Weimer Mount."

Faculty and staff interested in becoming a Mount Leadership Society mentor should e-mail Vicki Pitstick at pitstick.10@osu.edu.

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