One Summer, Many Stories: Part IV

At the beginning of this month, we started our summer blog series called “One Summer, Many Stories” where we are featuring a few members of the TEDxOhioStateUniversity team each week and highlighting how they are spreading ideas and what they are doing this summer. Over the past few weeks, we have highlighted members who are doing things from researching to traveling to interning to much more!

This week, for Part IV of the series features Mehak Arora, Shivang Patel, and Alex Armeni!

Mehak Arora, a member on the Content Committee and a senior majoring in Theatre, is spending her summer traveling!

“I have had the wonderful opportunity to travel to China and India this summer. I started off my summer by taking part in the China Global May program at Ohio State. I was taking a class at the Southwestern University for Nationalities in the Sichuan Province in Chengdu. I spent a month learning about ethnic minority groups in China, studied religions like Buddhism and Daoism and immersed myself in Chinese and Tibetan culture. Our study abroad group traveled to a village called Yanyuan County and taught English to underprivileged middle schoolers, which was easily the most rewarding experience. I got to see landmarks including Leshan Giant Buddha and Qing Yang Temple. After Chengdu and Yanyuan County, I stayed in Shanghai for a few days. Studying abroad at this university definitely lives up to its hype, and I highly recommend it to everyone.

After an exhausting month, I went to India to visit my extended family. I stayed in New Delhi for the most part, but had the opportunity to travel to Agra where the Taj Mahal is located. I also got to see the Himalaya Mountains, which was definitely a once in a lifetime experience. I spent my 21st birthday in India and could not have asked for a better place to be at!”

Shivang Patel, our Director of Development and a senior majoring in Neuroscience is spending his time with the Red Cross!

“This summer has been thrilling and busy for me. I have been volunteering with the Red Cross since my freshman year, doing something called the First Aid Service Team (FAST) for which I perform first aid when needed at different events like sports games, festivals, and concerts. It’s exciting and I get to see some really cool acts like the Rolling Stones, which came to the Shoe this summer. I am working with the Red Cross in another capacity as well—as a Content Development Intern. I produce public health related content which is distributed to 45 of Ohio’s 88 counties, and also content for internal distribution. Working in this capacity allows me to work on my interest (public health), and it enables me to use many of the skills I learned and developed as the Curator for TEDxOhioStateUniversity.

In addition to working this summer, I have also started a series of blog posts on my website (shivang-patel.com) called A Slice of Cheese Please. I really love to cook and I love to eat even more. Since pizza is my favorite food, I have decided to try all the pizza places within I-270 in Columbus. If you have any places that you love to go, let me know! Other than that, I’ve been studying for the GRE and doing a bit of traveling.”

Alex Armeni, a member on the Community Engagement Committee and a junior majoring in Zoology/Pre-Vet, spent some time in Africa!

“This summer I had the opportunity to spend two weeks in South Africa on the Shingwedzi Cheetah and Wildlife Ranch. I was on a pre-veterinary program through International Student Volunteers. As a pre-veterinary student with plans to study wildlife and conservation medicine, the trip was a trip of a life time. I got to feed cheetahs, vaccinate wild dogs, work with the education ambassadors and spend the day working with a South African wildlife veterinarian! By living and working on the ranch I learned so much about conservation, and preserving wildlife. It was the most amazing two weeks of my life, and I can’t wait to go back.”

We hoped you enjoyed Part IV! Come back next week, Wednesday July 22, for Part V of this amazing series and learn more about the TEDx team! Check out Part I, II, and III if you haven’t already!