Student Shares What It’s Like to Attend The Ohio State University at Newark 

COTC and Ohio State Newark

The Ohio State University (OSU) at Newark is Licking County’s hub for higher learning. With over 67,000 students across all campuses, the university system is known not only for its size, but its comprehensive programs in business, engineering and health sciences. The main campus of OSU in Columbus boasts a top-rated medical center and is home to a robust athletic program headlined by its iconic Buckeyes football team. 

Britney Amponsah

Britney Amponsah is a freshman at OSU at Newark majoring in journalism with a music, media and enterprise minor. She grew up less than an hour away in Columbus (in fact, she was born at the Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center), so OSU was always an obvious choice. 

She recently gave us a student’s-eye view of campus, sharing what makes it great and why she chose to stay close to home for college. In this conversation, discover what college life is really like for a dedicated Buckeye. 

COTC and Ohio State Newark

What about OSU at Newark and the Licking County area felt like the perfect fit for you? 

Since I’m from here, I just felt a sense of belonging right away. I always knew, wherever I went to college, it would be somewhere closer to home, so OSU at Newark was the perfect fit. 

Who has been a mentor to you, either on or off campus, and what have they taught you about your future career? 

My mom has definitely been an inspiration for me. She has had a great work ethic her entire life. Her personality makes me want to work harder. 

She is from Ghana, and so traveling across the U.S. the way she did to come here and give us a better life has always inspired me. I just want to make her proud so that she knows that everything she did wasn’t for nothing. 

COTC and Ohio State Newark

How did you choose your major? 

I chose my major because I’m interested in travel journalism and in documenting, talking to and learning about what’s going on in different parts of the world. My minor in music, media and enterprise has a range of opportunities. For example, I can choose to do music or content on social media, then turn that into a business. I’ve always gravitated toward journalism because I was interested in hearing people’s stories and viewpoints from all different walks of life. OSU had my major and minor as options, which helped me to choose to attend there. 

Describe a time a class at OSU at Newark changed the way you see the world, even in a small way. 

In my communications class, my teacher gives us different perspectives by bringing in a little bit of psychology and teaching us tips on how to talk to people and how interactions work this way or that way. By her teaching us this, it shows me how to talk to people and how to respond depending on how people are talking to me. I’m learning different ways to interact with people. 

COTC and Ohio State Newark

What’s a fun tradition that only students at OSU at Newark would understand? 

This year, all the students wore red for convocation, and we got together and spelled out the letters “OSU” while a drone took photos of us from above. I haven’t seen any other schools do that and it was really cute. I was happy to be part of the first group of students to participate. 

If you were giving a “locals only” tour, what’s the first place you’d take someone? 

I would take someone into Newark because they preserve the city’s history and celebrate it. Another place I’d take people is the library on campus because it’s really pretty.