News : Buckeye Leadership Fellows

A Word from the Wise - Tyvon Smith

04/12/21 by Staff

What is the best piece of advice a mentor or mentor figure has given you? How has this advice impacted your life, decisions, and/or goals?

The biggest piece of advice that a mentor has given me is to always aim for the highest that I can achieve, and to never be afraid of possibly being alone in the journey. For me personally, this piece of advice has tremendously been impactful to me as there are many endeavors and opportunities at OSU that I have partook in as being the only African American male to do so in my (prospective) graduating class. This advice stimulates my ambition and motivates me to always excel regardless of the unlikely circumstances I may encounter.

A Word from the Wise - Simran Ambwani

04/5/21 by Staff

What is the best piece of advice a mentor or mentor figure has given you? How has this advice impacted your life, decisions, and/or goals?

One piece of advice a mentor told me is that in college is that I must prioritize my time well because I will not have time for everything. There are so many opportunities to grow at OSU and sometimes there is pressure to be overly involved. But, figuring out what you want to dedicate your time to in college will help with your overall experience and life goals. It will help you become passionate about things and help you figure out more of your identity and purpose in life. College is all about making decisions for yourself and figuring out what is important to you. So, even though it may take some time, figure out what is important to you and focus on that. This has impacted my life, decisions, and goals because it has given me time to reflect on what I am passionate about. Prioritizing my time has allowed me to get involved in things I am interested in and even add a minor that has guided my current career aspirations. Without delegating my time in the correct manner, my life would be different. I am glad I had someone to tell me early on that this is an important part of college.

A Word from the Wise - Steven Wallace

03/22/21 by Staff

What is the best piece of advice a mentor or mentor figure has given you? How has this advice impacted your life, decisions, and/or goals?

One of the greatest pieces of advice I’ve received and always carry with me is from my dad when I was twelve. On a ninety-plus degree afternoon in August, my dad was tying his shoes on our front steps when he asked me if I wanted to go running with him, I was intimidated. I knew that my dad ran a longer, hillier route than the loop I had been running and was nervous that I wouldn’t be able to complete it. For some reason, unbeknownst to me now, I agreed and laced up my shoes with him. After we started running, I soon felt the faster pace he ran at and began to struggle. I thought I was being attacked, the heat and humidity each taking turns laying it in on me. It felt like a weight had been placed on my chest as I sweated profusely and did my best not to walk. About 3 miles into our hellish journey, I stopped to walk and thought I was incapable of running anymore. My dad, who had slowed down to meet me, told me as he jogged in place, “Come on, you can keep going! Don’t stop moving!”. At the time I thought he was crazy and thought to myself, “Doesn’t he know I feel like I’m going to die? How am I still alive?”. Using his encouragement, I mustered up all the energy I had and started jogging again. I had a couple of short walk breaks on our way back home, but eventually we finished.

A Word from the Wise - Riley O'Brien

03/15/21 by Staff

What is the best piece of advice a mentor or mentor figure has given you? How has this advice impacted your life, decisions, and/or goals?

One of the best lessons I've learned in life was through my mom. This lesson was never an explicit piece of advice but rather learned through a culmination of experiences and exchanges with her. Whenever I was at a crossroads and had a hard time understanding how to move forward when working with people, the immediate response from my mother was to understand what has been said and then attempt to view it from the other party's perspective. In this consistent immediate breakdown of whatever situation I was in, I now regularly perform the same analysis whenever I find myself unsure of how to move forward with a person or persons. In doing this, I have become exponentially better at navigating relationships as well as building more meaningful connections.

A Word from the Wise - Fardowsa Dahir

03/8/21 by Staff

What is the best piece of advice a mentor or mentor figure has given you? How has this advice impacted your life, decisions, and/or goals?

The age difference between me and my oldest sister is nearly a decade. For years, I took this for granted. That me and the third-born made up a younger unit and our two oldest sisters made up their own. As I’ve grown older, I’ve come to appreciate the fact that I was born into a family of friends, trailblazers, cheerleaders and mentors. Better than any words they could string together, their example was eloquence in motion. They taught me to be fearless in my ambition, dedicated to the causes that move my heart, and to hunker down and do the hard work even when I didn’t feel like it.

A Word from the Wise - Tabitha Willis

03/1/21 by Staff

What is the best piece of advice a mentor or mentor figure has given you? How has this advice impacted your life, decisions, and/or goals?

The best advice a mentor has given me was on the topic of complacency. A lot of things in life are about luck. There’s always someone who’s worked harder or smarter than you. Just because you’re the winner today doesn’t mean you’ll be the winner tomorrow. This has always stuck with me and pushed me to always be self improving and never be complacent in success because nothing is ever guaranteed to you.