Transfer to HU restores biology student's confidence

TIFFIN --- Olivia Raubenolt's first experience in college did not go as she envisioned. So, the second-semester freshman transferred to Heidelberg University, and her decision has made all the difference. "I didn't originally consider Heidelberg," Raubenolt said. "Honestly, it never crossed my mind because I didn't want to go to college in my hometown (of Tiffin.) I was ready to get out." Raubenolt said she initially enrolled in another university, realizing almost immediately that it wasn't a good fit. The other university fell far short in residential living and especially academic support—critical to Olivia's career goal to become a cardiothoracic surgeon. "I had always been an exceptional student in high school and I began to question my abilities," she said. "Am I not cut out for college? Do I need to give it more time to adjust? I was barely keeping my head above water." Raubenolt recalls making tutoring appointments for which the tutor didn't show up and going to faculty office hours where no faculty member was present. "That really tainted my image of what I now have learned college is supposed to be." As a biology major on the pre-med track, Raubenolt had a big decision to make. "Is it worth it to just be content where I am or to take that uncomfortable step and potentially have a better experience?" she asked herself. It didn't take long to make the hardest yet best decision of her life by transferring to Heidelberg. While she thought it would be temporary, after the first week she knew she had found her academic home. "I got here and within the first week, I knew I was never going to leave," said Raubenolt, who joined Heidelberg's Honors program this semester. Confidence restored At the Owen Center for Teaching and Learning, Raubenolt found exactly the academic support she was looking for. She also formed connections with her faculty members who went above and beyond to help her get through her most challenging courses. Since she enrolled mid-academic year last January, Raubenolt was apprehensive that she would fall behind. "But that fear quickly dissipated once I learned about the Owen Center," she said, noting how easy it is to take advantage of the academic support resources available to all students. "My tutors not only helped keep me in great academic standing, but they restored the confidence I had lost from my previous university," she said. "Everyone at my previous school told me they had everything that Heidelberg actually has...It was nice to have that sense of comfort that if I don't understand something, I won't be thrown to the wolves." Full circle When she enrolled at Heidelberg, Raubenolt was terrified to take chemistry, which wasn't offered at Columbian High School when she was a student there. With the support she found at the Owen Center and from her professor, Dr. Brandon VanNess, she aced the course. It was such a positive experience that Raubenolt decided to pay it forward and become a tutor through the Owen Center for other HU chemistry students. She's also going to tutor in public speaking and piano. "It's so amazing," she said. "The class I struggled in the most (I'm now) going to tutor in it!" Now that she's settled at HU, this semester Raubenolt plans to explore some major-specific student organizations such as Chemistry Club and SCRUBS. Experience leads to scholarship Last semester, Morgan Harrigan, the Owen Center's Director of Academic Support, nominated Raubenolt to receive a NOSS: OH Student Scholarship and she won. The scholarship was based on an essay along with faculty and staff nominations. Raubenolt will use the $350 award toward the purchase of her textbooks. Even more so, she's looking forward to getting a jump on her ultimate goal: to change people's lives in positive ways. "Because of the experience with tutoring I had at Heidelberg, I can 'start my career' right now," she said. "In helping others with their coursework, it will not only solidify course material for me but will allow me to begin making a difference." "That is the greater, and arguably more important, lesson I have learned in my educational journey at Heidelberg so far," she said.