- Please provide a brief description of your STEP Signature Project. Write two or three sentences describing the main activities your STEP Signature Project entailed.
My STEP Signature Project consisted of a four-week study abroad course in Prague, Czech Republic. During the project, we took a course at Charles University and spent the weekends traveling as a group to different cities in the Czech Republic or new countries. The program ended with exams in our classes that overviewed what we learned and how we can apply this to our home countries and the new countries we studied.
- What about your understanding of yourself, your assumptions, or your view of the world changed/transformed while completing your STEP Signature Project? Write one or two paragraphs to describe the change or transformation that took place.
I tended to always notice major issues in the United States and used this as a way to complain about what was going on in the world. I noticed, however, that I was not looking at problems other where in the world and comparing this to the United States. Instead of constantly thinking about changes that needed to be made in the United States, I came up with real processes in other countries that I could utilize in my future career. As an education major, this is a problem that we run into a lot and I came to realize that there is no country that is flawless in this system, but there are people that can become educated on all of the issues and find a compromise to benefit the students.
I also got to look deep into myself and became more comfortable exploring and trying new things. I found myself adventuring off on my own and spending the end of the day using what I learned in class to adjust my thinking towards my habits. I gained the confidence that I needed to succeed in my studies in the future, because I felt that I could create good change on my own through exploration and studies.
- What events, interactions, relationships, or activities during your STEP Signature Project led to the change/transformation that you discussed in #2, and how did those affect you? Write three or four paragraphs describing the key aspects of your experiences completing your STEP Signature Project that led to this change/transformation.
The first thing that really inspired me to be confident in who I was were the interactions that I had with my peers. We were all students who had come out to a new country knowing no one, and soon recognized that in itself was something that forced us out of our comfort zone. That one giant step made each of the smaller steps into exploring on my own or traveling to new countries a lot easier. These interactions also formed into fast friendships that I know I can return to any time in the future for that same motivation.
Furthermore, I took a class abroad that I thought was very beneficial to my future studies and the view I had on the world. This Global Economy course helped me and my peers learn that each country had its own struggles, and every person cannot only be judged by the views of the country they reside in. Each of the countries that we reside in or visited relies on each other and we can use these same relationships to learn and adjust the programs that we introduce into our own ideas.
As I reflect on my time abroad, I realize that this trip has made me more open to new ideas and more respectful of the cultures around me. I met people that could immerse me into a new culture and teach me new ideas that I can use to benefit my future students. I now have the background knowledge needed to learn about each of my students and be more accepting of the different cultures that I will meet in the future. Each student deserves respect and I feel that I have learned through meeting new people and learning how to be confident in my own abilities.
- Why is this change/transformation significant or valuable for your life? Write one or two paragraphs discussing why this change or development matters and/or relates to your academic, personal, and/or professional goals and future plans.
As mentioned before, I feel that I can extremely benefit from this experience in my future classroom. As I traveled around Europe and sat through lecture about the global economy, I learned how to respect certain customs and studied the practices in different school system that find great success with students. As a person, I have always been shy and reserved, and found it hard to participate in class and share my ideas. With the new values I have gained, I feel confident enough to really investigate my ideas that I am willing to present in the future and start sharing my findings with people who can help me create success for students and teachers throughout the world.
