A Word from the Wise - Riley O'Brien

March 15, 2021

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.

What is one of your biggest lessons learned since becoming a student at OSU? What is one piece of advice you would give incoming buckeyes?

The biggest lesson I've learned since becoming a student here at OSU was to be reflective. Taking time out of my day to really think about what is going on around me and to develop ideas on how to navigate those changes was a huge learning point for me as growing up it was never something I did. BLF provided me the platform to do this, and reflecting is something I do quite often now. The one piece of advice I would give to incoming freshman is to say "yes". Freshman year essentially lays the foundation for the next 4 years and taking in all the experiences you are offered is important in really involving yourself on campus and understanding what it means to go here.