My name is Ryan Hertlein and I am a first-year Chemical Engineering student at the University of Cincinnati. I am also a member of the University Honors program. My first semester here has gone by so quickly! It seems like I am just now settling in and finding my groove while holiday breaks and finals are right around the corner. As an engineering student, most of my time in the classroom is spent working with numbers, diagrams, and lines of code. However, my favorite class this semester has not been a chemistry or calculus lecture. Instead, it is my Gateway to University Honors seminar. Although it only meets once a week, my Gateway class has taught me so much about the power of reflection, my opportunities through the University Honors Program, and what it means to be the best version of myself.

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Before attending the University of Cincinnati, I had several enriching experiences that made up my personal story. Perhaps the most impactful was the supportive family in which I was raised, as it set good examples and high standards of how to prioritize the most important things in one’s life. For all my childhood, my family was a focus: we ate dinner together every evening without fail while discussing anything and everything, and we supported each other at performances, events, and family get-togethers. Although we both live at UC now, my sister and I try to go home occasionally to spend some quality time with our parents. Gateway to University Honors helped me to identify that family is one of my strongest values—I attribute this to the emphasis my parents placed on family when I grew up. Family doesn’t need to just be those you are related to, either! I am actively seeking to build friendships here at UC with people I may one day consider my family. I’m sure some of these individuals will be people I have met in Gateway to University Honors, too.

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College Life—the current chapter of my story—is drastically different from previous ones in so many ways. I have total command over my life, both how I choose to view myself and how I put my best foot forward with others. Other values that Gateway to University Honors highlighted for me are integrity and open-mindedness. Integrity represents the decisions that I make every day about how I spend my time and how I interact with the surrounding community. At such a large university such as UC, there are many instances where there is no one checking up on my progress and no one holding my hand as I complete my responsibilities. Managing these responsibilities every day requires the integrity that I am now more aware of thanks to the University Honors Program. Similarly, the UC community is in every sense of the term a diverse one. Take Center Court for instance: hundreds of students occupying the same space that represent contrasting majors, unique backgrounds, and varied interests coming together for a daily meal. It’s impossible to say who you may find yourself sharing a table with. I choose to identify myself by factors such as age, national origin, and religion, but others may not. In this situation, closed-mindedness would only prevent learning. With the University Honors Program’s guidance, I have the open-mindedness to foster learning, growth, and understanding about my peers.

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One of the most fascinating activities from Gateway to University Honors was the Clifton Strengths test. I have done many “personality type” assessments before, and I was skeptical that this one would be less than helpful like the rest. However, I was pleasantly surprised! The explanation provided with each strength shed light on its relevance to my experiences, and the originality of my test results was refreshing. Even more enriching was discussing each other’s strengths in class and getting to see where we shared attributes or had unique ones. One of my favorite memories from this semester is shouting “WOO!” with my friend Nick Legters at the end of each class period. All jokes aside, Woo is my most interesting Clifton Strength. I’m grateful to the University Honors Program for helping me make my outgoing personality more tangible. Teamwork is a fundamental aspect of engineering, and along with Includer and Communication, Woo will be invaluable as I begin to tackle real life problems with my peers. On the personal side of things, Adaptability and Positivity help me stay afloat during the turbulent parts of my story. With so many variables in my life, these rough patches can be frequent, like when my schedule conflicts with extracurriculars or when my roommates clog our toilet. With the support of the University Honors Program, though, I know I have the skills to bounce back.

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Gateway to University Honors is just the beginning of what the University Honors Program has to offer. Some see Honors Experiences as simply another requirement for graduation, but I consider them opportunities to move beyond the chalkboards and computers of the engineering curriculum. Right now, I have plans to apply to be a lead tutor for Bearcat Buddies next semester. Being a second grade tutor at Riverview East Academy is easily one of the highlights of my week and being a lead tutor would be the perfect way to integrate my passion for leadership into a service activity I already love. I am also interested in being a peer leader for a Gateway to University Honors class in the future! As they say, you don’t know something until to teach it to someone else. Being a peer leader would allow me to help others with their personal stories and build a greater knowledge of the University Honors Program itself. Along with study tours, honors seminars, and self-designed experiences, the University Honors Program offers so many ways I can diversify my learning and improve my knowledge of myself.

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I have (almost!) only completed one semester at the University of Cincinnati, and I already feel like a completely different individual than I was three months ago. This transformation is just the first step in the next chapter of my personal story, and I attribute this growth to the Gateway to University Honors class. I am beyond excited to see what my next four and a half years have in store. Alongside the University Honors Program, I look forward to becoming the best version of myself possible.

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