Undergraduates share their college perspectives with Rising Leaders

When Brutus Buckeye enters a room there’s an excitement and Ohio State spirit that can’t be surpassed. His ability to rally a crowd is infectious ― as evidenced by the excited screams of 150 intermediate school students who recently spent time on Ohio State’s campus.

While Brutus may have brought the spirit, Fisher undergraduates provided the fourth-grade students relatable knowledge and experience about their paths to college as part of the Rising Leaders program.

The outreach program, hosted by Fisher’s Undergraduate Programs Office, introduces K-12 students to college by helping them envision their own personal path to success. Students from Columbus City Schools’ Northgate Intermediate School attended the day of learning, interacting with professors and students and experiencing the excitement of a university campus.

During casual conversations and a panel discussion, six undergraduate students talked about their specializations, backgrounds and life on campus. They shared their experiences as volunteers, campus mentors, resident assistants, Fisher ambassadors and leaders of collegiate clubs and organizations.

“I was excited to encourage these young students to start thinking about college,” said Isabella Wall, a first-year finance student. “Everyone deserves the chance to reach their goals, and I want every young kid to know that regardless of circumstances, college is attainable and a fantastic stepping stone.”

The students also shared their pre-collegiate experiences including their focus on academics and extra-curricular activities, participation in young scholar programs and the importance of working hard in the classroom to earn scholarships.

Brianna Harris, a fourth-year accounting and economics major, led the fourth-graders in a personal and professional branding exercise, helping the young students create vision boards representing what they stand for.

Jacob Jones, a third-year finance major, said events like Rising Leaders are opportunities for students to explore a path that they may not know exists.

“The earlier you plant seeds of a potential future, the more the roots of those seeds deepen and start to blossom over time,” he said. “These face-to-face interactions and real-time responses show the students they are a priority. Although it may seem small, that gesture alone can make all the difference.”

Wall, Harris and Jones joined other Fisher students Amarina Lewis, Erin Williams and Kennedy Tucker in participating in the event. To help build connections with the fourth-graders, Wall said she and her classmates wanted to be relatable.

“Kids don’t want to be impressed, they genuinely want to connect,” she said. “We talked about school and what I’m studying, but mostly about my favorite activities, sports, my friends and food.”

Jones said he treated the students like he does his cousins who are around the same age. He talked in everyday terms, making things easy to understand, and made sure that his posture, expressions and movements conveyed that he was happy to be there.

His goal was to show the young students that whatever they wanted to achieve was attainable. For Jones, his goals were to get accepted into Ohio State, become a Fisher Pace Setter and find a community where he felt supported and seen.

“They can see someone like me who was more introverted freshman year but is now in a position of being comfortable sharing my experiences with others,” he said. “My role in the program was a foreshadowing of what is to come for them.”

“Talking with the students provided me with a moment of self-reflection. A lot of times I am so caught up in making sure I am meeting a deadline, planning an event or supporting the community that I forget to enjoy how far I have come.”