HNRS1010: Gateway to University Honors
Gateway to University Honors is the only required class in the University of Cincinnati’s Honors Program. While some students like myself take advantage of other Honors courses to both expand our learning and meet the requirement for five Honors experiences before graduation, there is only one class that all Honors students must take, and it is HNRS1010. This course is a 1-credit hour class that focuses on the many different aspects of the Honors Program and the many opportunities that this program provides to students. A fundamental part of the course was examining the idea of reflection and the ways in which proper and significant reflection can take place. This in turn tied in to our study of the thematic areas central to Honors: research and creative arts, global studies, community engagement, and leadership. With the guidance of our professor, we were able to develop a heightened understanding of where our own passions lie based on the formative experiences that have shaped our progression throughout life thus far. With this understanding, we moved forward into how we can take advantage of experiential learning opportunities in any or all of the thematic areas to explore these passions and pursue our long term goals. We learned that by reflecting on the experiences that we have, we can develop meaningful comprehension of the importance of our involvements.
I absolutely loved my experience in Gateway this semester not only for what I was able to learn, but also for who I was able to meet. Because the class is mandatory for all Honors students, the breadth of interests in every class period was pronounced. I was able to meet and befriend students in majors as diverse as cinematography, nursing, and astrophysics, and have definitely benefited from it. In addition, I am now very familiar with the requirements of the Honors Program and the many ways in which I can enhance my collegiate experience by engaging with the program. I am appreciative of the guidance provided by the Gateway class and hope to coordinate my identified passions with activities that can build on these areas of interest and help me to achieve my personal and professional goals. In the future, I look to develop my familiarity with the resources and opportunities made available to me into beneficial, enjoyable, and impactful experiences. I also hope to strengthen the bonds I have made with other students, and utilize these friendships as the foundation for a successful college experience.
Below you can find some of the assignments that I worked on in my Gateway to Honors class that contributed to my learning. The reflection on personal passions was important because it afforded me the opportunity to examine a topic about which I care a great deal and to develop my own personal connection to the issue. For this assignment, I decided to focus on a passion of mine which did not fall in line with the traditional pre-medical coursework or co-curricular activities. This allowed me to reach inside and find out why the issue was important to me and why I want to continue engaging in experiences that can relate to it. From this, I developed a much stronger connection to my passion and solidified my desire to continue its pursuit into the future. My mock self-designed experiential project proposal is also a major example of the learning that I took out of the Gateway class. It serves as the perfect amalgamation of the reflective process and the Honors Thematic Areas that I learned so much about during the course. By preparing this proposal, I also gained a great deal of experience in proposing future projects, which will ultimately open doors for my future endeavors and opportunities through the Honors Program.
I absolutely loved my experience in Gateway this semester not only for what I was able to learn, but also for who I was able to meet. Because the class is mandatory for all Honors students, the breadth of interests in every class period was pronounced. I was able to meet and befriend students in majors as diverse as cinematography, nursing, and astrophysics, and have definitely benefited from it. In addition, I am now very familiar with the requirements of the Honors Program and the many ways in which I can enhance my collegiate experience by engaging with the program. I am appreciative of the guidance provided by the Gateway class and hope to coordinate my identified passions with activities that can build on these areas of interest and help me to achieve my personal and professional goals. In the future, I look to develop my familiarity with the resources and opportunities made available to me into beneficial, enjoyable, and impactful experiences. I also hope to strengthen the bonds I have made with other students, and utilize these friendships as the foundation for a successful college experience.
Below you can find some of the assignments that I worked on in my Gateway to Honors class that contributed to my learning. The reflection on personal passions was important because it afforded me the opportunity to examine a topic about which I care a great deal and to develop my own personal connection to the issue. For this assignment, I decided to focus on a passion of mine which did not fall in line with the traditional pre-medical coursework or co-curricular activities. This allowed me to reach inside and find out why the issue was important to me and why I want to continue engaging in experiences that can relate to it. From this, I developed a much stronger connection to my passion and solidified my desire to continue its pursuit into the future. My mock self-designed experiential project proposal is also a major example of the learning that I took out of the Gateway class. It serves as the perfect amalgamation of the reflective process and the Honors Thematic Areas that I learned so much about during the course. By preparing this proposal, I also gained a great deal of experience in proposing future projects, which will ultimately open doors for my future endeavors and opportunities through the Honors Program.
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Reflections on Personal Passions / InterestsThe University Honors Program focuses on developing students and helping them to take maximum advantage of the opportunities afforded to them as part of the University of Cincinnati. In addition, one of the primary goals of UHP is to allow for this to happen at the same time that students are exploring their passions and using their skill sets to make lasting and important contributions to their communities and in general. As a student in the University Honors Program, it is part of my job to reflect on what my passions are and what motivates and interests me. As such, I have written the essay at left to highlight just one area in my life about which I am passionate. The assignment follows the "What? / So What? / Now What?" format of reflection to help me better understand how my interests translated themselves into passions. With this information, I can then move forward and understand what is most important to me and how I will focus on things that are important to me in my time at UC and beyond. Hopefully this outlining of my particular passion for politics will help encourage me to pursue future classes, honors experiences, or other opportunities to maximize my personal growth and impact on the university.
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Mock Self-Designed Experiental Learning Project ProposalThe University Honors Program offers multiple avenues by which students can gain the Honors Experiences they need in order to graduate with an Honors Diploma. Some of these experiences are set up through classroom instruction in multidisciplinary Honors Seminars that examine specific topics over the course of a semester. Other "Pre-Approved" experiences are those that have already been determined to meet the guidelines for dedication, personal reflection, and growth outlined by the Honors Program. The final type of experience is a Self-Designed Experience, in which students embark on their own projects that contribute to their academic, personal, and professional goals. These projects range from doing research in a laboratory to leading a costuming team for a series of Shakespeare in the Park performances. Each experience, however, must fall within one of the outlined Thematic Areas of the Honors Program: Research and Creative Arts, Leadership, Community Engagement, and Global Studies. Students must also demonstrate how a project that they are creating or participating in falls in line with the Honors Program guidelines and with other academic theories or readings that they have researched to contribute to their overall learning. Students show this alignment with an Honors Experiential Learning Project proposal like the one at right. In this assignment, I have created a proposal for a trip to Guatemala that I will take in January 2015, during which I will be learning about Guatemalan culture and investing my time in the construction of a home for a family in need.
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