Introduction/ Blog Post 1

Hello everyone! My name is Tegest Mengestu. I am from Columbus, Ohio. I also am a second year here at Ohio State. I am a first generation student here in America. My mom is from Ethiopia and she came here and had me here. I am an Ethiopian Orthodox Christian and my church is actually located just a few minutes from campus (maybe even considered on campus).  I also am very in touch with my religion and hold it very close to my heart. I can't help but to think that I was almost forced into a leader. At my church there is a huge language barrier among the youth and the adults. This prevents so many of our kids from understanding our religion or history of our country and church. Parents are also having issues assisting children and youth in their homework and assignments. So as an older member of the youth I had to step up and offer assistance to our youth. This push I received to help so much at my church definitely started in high school for me. I attended a local catholic high school Bishop Hartley. One of our pillars was actually leadership. This was something that we were always working on from freshman year to graduation. 

After experiencing many retreats, group discussions, service projects and other things our leaderships skill developed and became apart of who we are. I began to apply the same skills in my church youth group and decided to give back to my community. I helped in the development of our English bible studies, mentor programs and also other things that help benefit our youth. My major in social work is focused on my interest of children and youth, What I decided to do was to shape our youth to become better leaders so that they are able to do the same on their own one day. However I understand there are many skills that they must all work on and recognize before becoming a confident leader. I think that leadership revolves around vision and sacrifice. As a leader I am always thinking about how important it is for me to stress somethings that may stunt these kids in their growth to their full potential. I am always reminding them to make sure they aren't always comparing their selves to other people because ultimately it comes in the way. I am usually leading the discussions we have after our lessons. I know see that they are able to hold the discussion on their own once it has been started. Seeing my kids everyday and how dedicated they are definitely the reason why I am always on top of my job. If they are interested and willing to learn then I would not want to not be able to provide this for them. As a first generation student who has a little more experience than them I feel that it is only right for me to help them adapt to two cultures and finding their self and understanding it. I understand that I always have room for improvement and am always interested in hearing feedback to better myself for others.