Lima, OH native, Ely Roa, is a student of firsts. Earning a Bachelor of Science in Biology with a minor in Psychology this SP24 semester, this first-generation student was also the first-ever regional campus student to graduate under the new Arts & Sciences Honors Program requirements. The Honors Program has recently shifted its guidelines to require an Honors Project, which incorporates the experiential learning component of being an OSU student.

At the first-ever Honors Project Symposium this spring, Ely reflected on the combination of his experiences with undergraduate research and service-learning coursework that made up his Honors Project. 

Ely’s research journey began with taking the honors-embedded Psychology 3340 course taught by Virginia Tompkins. Ely chose to expand on his independent class project and get involved with Dr. Thompkins’ research lab long-term, studying the relationship between storybook characteristics and comprehension in preschoolers. Ely received the Arts & Sciences Undergraduate Research Scholarship to aid with his project, which was presented at the Undergraduate Research Festival on Columbus campus this spring as well as the Lima Undergraduate Research Forum. Ely was also a recipient of the Arthur and Marian Rudd Scholarship Fund.

In addition to research, Ely also incorporated a Psychology service-learning course (4571S) into his Honors Project experience, where he applied classroom content to community service opportunities around Lima. These service skills will translate to Ely’s future career in medicine. This fall Ely will be part of the inaugural class to start the Community Medicine MD track at The Ohio State University College of Medicine. After medical school, Ely plans to stay in Lima and practice medicine, with a focus on public health and community medicine.

 “It has been an honor to represent the Lima campus. Students on our campus do not always get the chance to shine and I hope that being the first to graduate under the new Honors curriculum will encourage other Ohio State-Lima students to pursue this same opportunity. Completing the Honors Project helped me reflect on how interconnected my experiences at Ohio State are and how these experiences will prepare me for my future career in medicine” Ely shared when asked about what it meant to graduate as a regional campus Honors student.

Ely’s impressive undergraduate experiences resulted in a feature as the Student Speaker at Lima’s Spring 2024 Academic Celebration. More details and a recording of some of the event can be found on the Hometown Stations website.