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UToledo Honors ambassador and political science major Tabitha Romer found meaningful belonging, academic success and opportunities for paid research and study abroad by following a simple philosophy: “put yourself out there.”<\/p><\/div>\n
Now a sophomore studying political science<\/a> and Jesup Scott Honors College<\/a> ambassador, Romer has transformed that childhood familiarity into something far more ambitious.<\/p>\n In just over three semesters, she\u2019s studied constitutional texts at Oxford University, conducted paid research on Ohio\u2019s 1912 constitutional convention and found a best friend and vibrant academic community, all while mapping out a future in law and public service.<\/p>\n The Power of Saying Yes<\/strong><\/p>\n Looking back on her whirlwind first year and a half at UToledo, Romer said she attributes much of her success to a simple philosophy: \u201cput yourself out there.\u201d She started by getting involved in the Honors College.<\/p>\n \u201cEven if you\u2019re nervous, and you\u2019re afraid you won\u2019t know anybody at an event, just try it,\u201d Romer said. \u201cAt least you can say that you went and you tried, and who knows, you might end up meeting a friend, or you might discover a new hobby that you really enjoy.\u201d<\/p>\n She also said “yes” when a professor invited her to get involved with UToledo’s Institute of American Constitutional Thought and Leadership, an independent academic unit established by the Ohio Legislature in 2023.<\/p>\n The Institute conducts teaching, research and public programming on the core texts and great debates that have shaped the American constitutional order, and it prepares students for responsible leadership and informed citizenship \u2014 including through study abroad, scholarships and research opportunities.<\/p>\n From Toledo to Oxford<\/strong><\/p>\n After plugging into the institute\u2019s Model Senate and other programming, Romer was invited to study abroad with the group the summer after her freshman year. For someone who had never traveled beyond Canada, the prospect was intimidating.<\/p>\n \u201cI was terrified,\u201d she said. \u201cI\u2019ve never been overseas.\u201d<\/p>\n But Romer decided to take a chance and found herself at the University of Oxford\u2019s Pembroke College analyzing constitutional texts and exploring the ideas of James Madison and Thomas Jefferson.<\/p>\n \u201cIt was amazing,\u201d she said. \u201cIf I had the opportunity to go anywhere, England would have been my first choice, and there I was dissecting texts about what freedom means, what democracy means, what \u2018we the people\u2019 means.\u201d<\/p>\n Chain Reaction<\/strong><\/p>\n When she returned to UToledo this past fall, the opportunities continued to snowball.<\/p>\n Romer began working for the Institute of American Constitutional Thought and Leadership<\/a> in December, supporting research on Ohio\u2019s 1912 constitutional convention as part of the Quill Project, a partnership with Oxford aimed at digitizing constitutional texts to make them more accessible.<\/p>\n She\u2019s currently compiling biographical information on delegates from the convention.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s all been like a chain reaction,\u201d Romer said of the experiences that came one after another.<\/p>\n Through it all, the Honors Learning Community has been her anchor.<\/p>\n \u201cHonors has brought me so many great opportunities \u2014 the biggest one being a sense of community,\u201d said Romer, who now serves as an ambassador for the program. \u201cI always know Honors has my back. They are people who you can count on.\u201d<\/p>\n What\u2019s Next<\/strong><\/p>\n As she considers her future, Romer wants to be someone others can count on, too.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ve always been passionate about human rights,\u201d Romer said.<\/p>\n That commitment drives her academic goals. After she earns her bachelor\u2019s degree in political science, with minors in Spanish and Latin American Studies, Romer said she plans to attend law school, with immigration law as one career aspiration. She also envisions a future in public service, perhaps working for the Ohio Senate or holding a government office.<\/p>\n But first, with two and a half years as an undergraduate Rocket still ahead of her, Romer isn\u2019t slowing down. She\u2019s already eyeing another study abroad opportunity in a Spanish-speaking country to complement her language studies.<\/p>\n For other students wondering whether to take that first nervous step toward an opportunity that seems intimidating, Romer offers reassurance based on experience.<\/p>\n \u201cYou just have to learn how to have a little confidence and put yourself out there,\u201d she said. \u201cYou never know when you walk through a new door what other doors will open.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Sophomore Tabitha Romer\u2019s journey shows what\u2019s possible when students embrace the unknown. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":930,"featured_media":97081,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[581,36,498,1,71,7],"tags":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.utoledo.edu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/97077"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.utoledo.edu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.utoledo.edu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.utoledo.edu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/930"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.utoledo.edu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=97077"}],"version-history":[{"count":11,"href":"https:\/\/news.utoledo.edu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/97077\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":97129,"href":"https:\/\/news.utoledo.edu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/97077\/revisions\/97129"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.utoledo.edu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/97081"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.utoledo.edu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=97077"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.utoledo.edu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=97077"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.utoledo.edu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=97077"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"UToledo](\"https:\/\/news.utoledo.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Tabitha-Romer-02052026-0024-edited-150x150.jpg\")
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