Blog Posts
Meghan Ahearn is a fourth-year logistics and operations major from Trumbull, Connecticut who chose to attend The Ohio State University because of its size. Having seen her siblings attend other big schools like Alabama and Penn State, Meghan ultimately chose Ohio State after feeling welcomed at Fisher.
Meghan began her academic career as an accounting major who eventually discovered a passion for operations and logistics, which led her to switch majors. Her involvement at Ohio State includes being a part of the Mount Leadership Society, which helped her meet people and create friends during her first two years on campus. She also joined Greek organizations, including Alpha Xi Delta, where she became vice president of member development. During her first year she worked as a student services assistant where she formed relationships with advisors and helped students. When COVID-19 started during her second year, Meghan served as a virtual Peer Impact Consultant (PIC), a role she holds today.
As a PIC, Meghan meets with primarily first- and second-year students where she guides them in discovering and pursuing their interests through co-curricular and extra-curricular involvement within Fisher. She loves giving back to fellow students and to the community. She is excited this year for the in-person events available to all Fisher students.
After her sophomore year, Meghan decided to study supply chain. She worked for the J.M. Smucker Company in its purchasing department. She spent her junior year working as a supply chain intern for Abercrombie & Fitch, where she has secured a post-graduate position as a supply chain analyst in the company’s leadership development program in Columbus.
As for Meghan’s goals this year and beyond, she wants to give back and make an impact on newer classes and students by paying forward all the support she received as a student.
Eva Fischer is a first-year student from Madeira, Ohio, who began her academic career at Fisher as a fully virtual student. Knowing that her first year would be different because of the COVID-19 pandemic, Eva wanted to create a community for fellow virtual students to connect before returning to campus in their second year. She created the Virtual First-Year Community (VFYC), which provides a space for online, first-year students to connect through virtual social events.
The younger sister of a Buckeye, Eva remembers attending Ohio State’s Sibs & Kids weekend, taking part in a campus tour, where she learned about the Public Affairs major and experiencing the many opportunities the university offers.
She began classes this fall as a John Gerlach Medalist Scholar, a full-tuition scholarship based on her academic accomplishments. Eva is double-majoring in business and also public affairs, with the goal of working in public policy or in the nonprofit sector.
After enrolling this fall, Eva joined the Undergraduate Business Women’s Association, HeforShe, and Business for Good. She is grateful for the opportunities available to her as a student at Ohio State. Even as a virtual student, she has gotten involved, experienced events offered by the Ohio Union Activities Board and other organizations, and founded VFYC.
As she progresses in her academic career, Eva hopes to build her professional network and explore ways to align her passions with her career path. Her advice to incoming first-year students is to put yourself out there and reach out to people for help, as there are plenty of people at Ohio State who are eager to help students accomplish their goals and aspirations.
Saba Setegn is a third-year student from Mason, Ohio, who is majoring in finance with a minor in philosophy. She arrived at Ohio State in 2018 as a member of the Morrill Scholarship Program, a premier merit scholarship program that recognizes academically driven students who are actively engaged in diversity-based leadership, service and social justice activities.
After arriving at Ohio State, Saba changed her academic focus from actuarial science to finance. Since making that decision, she has fully immersed herself in a number of Fisher’s signature undergraduate programs. She is involved with the Fisher FIRST program, Alpha Kappa Psi Professional Business Fraternity and Society of Sisters, all of which she joined throughout her freshman year. These involvements helped cultivate a community for Saba and enriched her student experience.
This year, Saba joined the Honors Cohort program, which she considers to be the most rewarding part of her time at Fisher thus far. The program helped add even more value to her educational experience while increasing the support system at Fisher that helps her achieve her goals. Additionally, through Honors Cohort, Saba found an interest in working with employee engagement and is looking forward to working within human resources in future internships and professional experiences.
Internship opportunities have played key roles in Saba’s development as a Fisher student. She has served as an intern at a number of local and regional businesses, including with The Cincinnati Insurance Company, where she was an internal audit intern. During her sophomore year, Saba attended the JPMorgan Chase Launching Leaders Program, a three-day event that introduced her to the opportunities the company provided. The program eventually led to an internship in the Chase Leadership Development’s Wealth Management Program, which she completed this past summer.
Throughout her junior year, Saba reprioritized her goals as she pursued her interests in human resources and employee engagement. This summer, she will be working with Salesforce as a Global Ohana Program Intern, where she will be involved with improving the employee engagement efforts for the MuleSoft Marketing team, a subsidiary of Salesforce.
Saba’s strongest advice to first- and second-year students is to take opportunities as they come. While it is important to plan your goals, you will learn from each of your experiences.
Lucy Soto is a fourth-year, first-generation student studying accounting at Fisher. She attended St. Francis DeSales High School in Columbus wherethrough the, through the Latinx Space for Enrichment and Research (LASER) Program, she was able to learn about many of the opportunities that Ohio State offered. The program is dedicated to mentoring Latinx high school students in central Ohio.
Thanks to accounting-focused elective classes in high school, Lucy discovered a passion for the industry. She remains convinced that accounting was a great career choice, as it utilizes her interest in structure as well as her analytical skills.
At the Fisher Fall Frenzy during her second year, Lucy discovered the Association of Latino Professionals for America (ALPFA), which was formerly the Hispanic Business Student Association (HBSA). She co-directed the creation of ALPFA from HBSA, which allowed organization members to take advantage of ALPFA’s nationwide network of student and professional chapters. Throughout her time in ALPFA, she took on leadership opportunities and currently serves as its vice president. She is motivated to give back to her peers through her professional development and personal growth.
Lucy spent the spring of 2020 as an intern with Nationwide’s Financial Data Governance Department. This past summer, she interned with JPMorgan Chase within in its Global Finance and Business Management Summer Analyst Program. She attributes both of these internship opportunities to the connections and professional development that she has gained through ALPFA. After graduation, Lucy plans to work full time for Nationwide as an accountant on its Resource Management Team. She plans to sit for her CPA exam and is looking forward to exploring more of downtown Columbus while transitioning to a full-time career.
Lucy’s biggest piece of advice to underclassmen is to continue to ask questions. It is important to stay curious and ask about any opportunity that interests you. She would not be in the place that she is today had she not asked about opportunities that interested her.
Nate Garens is a student veteran originally from Akron, Ohio. At the age of 22, he enlisted in the United States Marine Corps. After serving for 12 years, Nate decided he wanted to go back to school with the goal of becoming a certified public accountant (CPA). Being from Ohio, Nate has always been a Buckeye fan and chose to attend Ohio State and Fisher School of Business because of their academic prestige and recognition.
This year, Nate will finish dual degrees in accounting and Chinese language and culture, the latter of which was sparked by both his experiences in the military and the recent economic growth of China. Having satisfied the academic requirements, he plans to take the first of his four CPA exams this spring.
At Ohio State, Nate attributes many of his student experiences to the community of people around him. He is currently the treasurer of Vets4Vets, Ohio State’s undergraduate student veteran organization. As part of the organization, he interacts with other veterans, helping them transition from the military to life as a student, an experience Nate says can be challenging. In addition to Vets4Vets, Nate is a member of Mountaineers at Ohio State, an outdoor adventure club. As part of the organization, he developed a passion for sport climbing and hiking, which he said was a great way to stay active and balance his schoolwork.
After completing his internship this summer, he was offered a staff position in EY’s business consulting practice. His advice to other students is to plan out your courses and stay organized.
