By: Kelsey Rumburg

It seems like just yesterday that I loaded up my car and moved into my freshman dorm—uncertain of the path that lay ahead, what I wanted to do, or even who I was. But, somehow, in the blink of an eye, I stand here four years later, ready to graduate. I’m saying goodbye to my best friends and preparing to leave my second home. It’s bittersweet, but I know I have many opportunities and adventures ahead that never would have been possible without Fisher and Ohio State.

As a third-generation Buckeye, it is amazing for me to be a part of the centennial-year class at Fisher. I have gotten an incredible technical education from top-notch professors, but, more importantly, I have found myself and discovered the mark I want to have on the world.

I have gone abroad several times to Scotland, Denmark and Honduras, and these experiences have given me the courage to plan a round-the-world trip this summer before I begin my job with Rolls-Royce in its Customer Relationship Management Graduate Rotational Program.

I have also discovered what it means to be an authentic and principled leader that does the right thing—even when no one is looking, a vital element of future success in business. A few programs have played a tremendous role in my life at Fisher:

• The Wolstein Scholar Program, which provided me with the opportunity to lead an interdisciplinary team of students in designing and constructing a home in Honduras
• The Honors Contract through Industry Cluster program, through which I have furthered my knowledge of sustainability in business and completed an honors thesis in social enterprise.

As a native of Chardon, Ohio, a small suburb of Cleveland, I have grown up knowing the Wolstein name, but I never imagined the family would have such a key role in my college experience. The Wolstein Scholar Program focuses on entrepreneurship and allows students from all walks of life to start building their own businesses and learn from their real-world mistakes.

As a part of the Honduras Sustainable Housing Program, students from civil engineering, architecture, construction systems management and business work together to design a better housing solution for those in rural Honduras. I have applied many of the principles I learned as a Wolstein Scholar to this very challenging international project – something I never would have dreamed of! This experience also encouraged me to gear my research toward entrepreneurship, and I recently completed my honors thesis on scaling social enterprise, which is a business with a social mission.

I cannot believe my four years are over, but I hope I can continue to help shape Fisher into an even more amazing school for the next 100 years. And, most importantly, thank you to all of Fisher – faculty, staff, students, alumni and friends – for making my four years such an amazing experience.

Congratulations Class of 2016, we did it!!