Reflection on G.O.A.L.S.
Global awareness is the area of the G.O.A.L.S. that I feel that I have the most room for improvement. So far I have mostly worked to expand my global awareness through course work. For example, keys themes in several courses I have taken over my freshman and sophomore year have included diversity and social problems such as how my geography class, that was taken during the 2017 spring semester, examines how globalization and diversity effect the world. In the future I plan to expand my global awareness through other means such as a study abroad program. I believe that a study abroad program would help me expand my global awareness because course work alone can only go so far and thus first hand experience with other cultures would be much more conductive to learning about other cultures.
I have a long history of original inquiry in the sense that advanced course work has always been a part of my curriculum. Since High School I have always taken honors and advanced placement courses when possible. Furthermore, since coming to OSU Newark I have made certain to take at least one honors course every semester and on several occasions have taken more than one per semester. I believe that besides continuing to take a rigorous curriculum over the rest of my college career I must also diversify my approach to original inquiry. I believe that the best course to diversification in this respect is to take up creative productions such as creative writing.
My Honors Contract exemplifies academic enrichment in several ways. Firstly, I have chosen the general education courses that I have because they offer a challenging curriculum in a variety of fields which offers a well rounded education. Secondly, I chose to pursue an English major because it has not only been a subject that I have always been passionate about but I also chose an English major because of it is a versatile degree which teaches skills applicable to a variety of fields. Finally, my choice of course selection demonstrates a commitment to excellence through my selection of a variety of honors courses as well as honors approved general education courses.
In terms of leadership development, I have grown in this respect through my participation in the LeFerve Fellowship. Through this class I have developed my leadership skills by examining social issues with other students, discussing possible causes and solutions to said problems, as well as doing actual service in the community to remedy these problems. This has given me the skill to analyze an issue and develop a plan of action to implement to solve said problem. Besides my improved problem solving skills my time in the LeFerve Fellowship has also taught me how to work as a team with a diverse group of people I knew nothing about previously. All of this relates back to a personal goal of developing leadership skills as part of a general self improvement program which I intend to continue well into the future.
Service engagement has always been a topic I have been very passionate about. As state before I am currently a member of the LeFerve Fellowship which, besides serving as a program to develop leadership skills among students, has a service learning component. In this year alone I have completed sixty-seven hours of community service with the LeFerve Fellowship so far and I only intent for that number to grow going forward. As for my future goals in respect to service, I hope to address issues of poverty and homelessness in America through my future service projects as that is the social issue that is closest to my heart.