stephanie sotiropoulos

My job involves having meetings with the athletes, hosting events pertaining to athletics, creating RSVP links for my committee events, staying up to date with problems or questions athletes my have, and sending in monthly reports of my work. My lovely teammate Kelley Sharp was the previous coordinator, and was very helpful in getting me prepared for this role. I appreciate her help and look forward to what I can do to help the Honors College Student Leadership Team grow.

In the past two months I have had the pleasure of shadowing Dr. Jay Dutton and his physician's assistant, Kris Larsen, in both the clinic and the operating room. In the clinic I had the chance to learn the diagnosis and post surgery side of their work. During this time, I did get to see a few procedures done in the office such as a myringotomy, botox/filler injections, and a wound drainage. In the operating room I witnessed incredible surgeries such as an otoplasty, rhinoplasty, rib grafts, thyroidectomy, and much more. I am extremely grateful that I was given the opportunity to work with such an amazing surgeon and I feel that this experience has taught me more than I could have asked for. Shadowing has really opened my eyes to the idea of working to become a surgeon in the future. I am utterly amazed by the process and find it thrilling to be able to treat patients hands on.

My project was focused on injury recovery and sport specific training. For five months, I shadowed three athletic trainers in Purdue Northwest's athletic department and a group of strength/conditioning coaches from 219 Elite Sport Performance. At the end of my journey, I came up with my own workout plans for four specific sports that would help to strengthen the correct muscles and help in the prevention of injuries. These workouts could all be modified for athletes currently in the middle of an injury. My research paper consisted of specific injuries I dealt with and the proper way to heal each one.

This committee is meant for members of the honors college to promote athletics. We worked to organize social events for all of Honors College to attend and enjoy.

I was a teaching assistant for HONR 112, which was the required speech course. My job mainly consisted of grading speeches and any other homework. There were also some instances where I made questions for the class to have discussions on after each reading chapter. At the end of the semester, my fellow TA and I worked on a questionnaire which we had the students fill out. We then had a verbal discussion with them. This required the teacher to leave the room, so the students did not feel pressured to say anything. With the comments we received, we were then able to go to the Honors College board and tell them our concerns.

My role as a peer mentor was to assist three Honors College freshman in their transition to college. Each week I would meet up with them to talk about new opportunities (clubs, volunteering, etc.), social events Honors were having, and more. I also made time to answer any questions they ran into throughout that week. At the end of each meeting I sent a detailed email to my supervisor to let her know my mentees’ and my own progress. The semester ended with me assisting my mentees with their schedules for the upcoming spring semester. I printed out all of their plan of study paperwork, which included their required classes, and then spoke with each member individually to walk them through the process.

Every month I would be assigned a topic or I would get a topic I was interested in approved. I wrote about one to two pages for each post and it would be posted on the Honors College Newsletter after being checked over by the committee chairman. A few topics I wrote on are the top haunted houses in Indiana, the history behind Valentine’s Day, a sudoku puzzle I created, holiday riddles, and more.

First semester I worked with the physical education teacher for grades six and seven: setting up activities, leading stretches, researching new ideas, etc. Second semester I worked with the sixth grade science teacher: grading papers, making worksheets, answering student questions, etc.

My job consisted of writing annual updates on the school website, welcoming visitors and filling out any forms needed, assisting any school staff, and more.

I started off my journey in this organization as the corresponding secretary for 2 years. My job entailed writing minutes at meetings, emailing members with updates, and emailing and/or calling any of our liaisons with important changes or announcements. In 2018, I moved up to Vice President for one year; assisting in anything the president needed. I have recently been nominated for president, and with this new opportunity I hope to improve this chapter by increasing member attendance and fundraising profits. Through the past few years, I have had the chance to organize and execute events such as our Annual Mother's Day Tea/Luncheon and our TopGolf fundraiser. These events are what allow us to raise the money for the causes chosen each year. As a small group of dedicated girls, we have been able to keep a decently consistent attendance and profit, but there is always room for improvement.