Biology Major
Public Health Science Masters
Pre-Med Track
Indiana University Purdue University, IN
What is the Intro Honors College Course
First Assignment:
Assignment Description/ Summary
"The purpose of this assignment is for you to use self-reflection to help you identify and articulate the values and qualities of an honors student that matter the most to you. This activity gives you a solid grounding in what it means to be an honors student." - Dr. Sheeler
This assignment helped students find where they belonged in the honors college. It helps students find what they value and what they are passionate about.
"I am Statement"
I am Jada! A passionate and determined student, leader, and scientist. I am driven to lead and help others within the community with any of their needs through VIDA and being an RA. As, I grow older I am told time and time again by family once I make a plan in my head I stand by it until I grasp what I want.
Reflection Essay
For this Assignment, I had the opportunity to understand where my place in the Honors college was. It gave me a since of mind to who I am no matter what others believe of me. This assignment was a reminder that I am an accomplished individual and to strive for my goals as I walk the path of college. I have had the opportunity to grasp that my determined, leadership characteristics are that similar to others within the Honors college.
Second Assignment
Assignment Description/ summary
"The purpose of this activity is to reflect on your ‘I am’ statement from the beginning of the semester and set goals for who you want to become as an honors student at IUPUI. This self-reflection identifies areas of growth and helps you to set your intentions." - Dr. Sheeler
This assignment has allowed student to reflect on what they have already completed and what they want to do in the future. This allowed us to look into the future and plan what we want to do.
Ever since graduating from high school and coming to IUPUI I have strived to complete 4 specific goals: leadership, experience, volunteering, and cultural understanding. The object of these 4 goals was to better understand where I stand at IUPUI and to become well rounded student and medical school applicant. I started college knowing I wanted to go into medicine after my undergraduate years, and in order to work with anyone within medicine you have to be well rounded.
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I started out completing these goals by joining an apprenticeship, working in a research lab, becoming a leader in volunteer initiatives domestic and abroad, also known as VIDA, along with a few other experiences. These experiences for the most part have covered all four goals. The one that I haven’t fully completed has been cultural understanding. I want to study abroad at least once; this would allow me to broaden my knowledge when working with others in the world. I want to use these goals and experiences to network with others and get my foot in the door. I want to one day use my knowledge on cultural understanding to eventually become a travel surgeon.
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Though I have had a lot of positive experiences so far in college, I believe that being a part of the honors college I will be able to build on my networking skills as well as achieve outstanding grades. I want these experiences to help me teach others about what I have learned. I want to be able to advocate for others and myself. But ultimately, I want to be the example for the younger kids in my family to inspire them to reach their dreams as well.
"I Want to Become Statement"
Reflection Essay
For this assignment, I was able to plan out my future. Earlier in the semester I had talked about who I am as a student today, but I never talked about where I want to go or who I want to become and that was precisely what this assignment helped me do. The I want to become statement helped me set realistic goals with a general time frame to accomplish them. I have also learned that if you write down what you want you are more likely to stick to the plan, because it won't be train of thought that became forgotten, but instead a fact that is to come in the near future.
Third Assignment
Assignment Description
"The purpose of this assignment is to identify a challenge facing honors students and collaborate with a team of peers to develop an action plan for how to address it." - Dr. Sheeler
This assignment allows students to show that we all have struggles, and it is okay! We had the opportunity to find ways around our struggles.
Group Project
Check out the Group Website Here
Reflection Essay
For this assignment, I had the honor to work with a few of my classmates to create this artifact talking about "FONO" (Fear of no opportunity). This project gave me the perspective that many honors college students face when going through college. Students tend to excel in the tasks given to them, however, when accomplishing so much, it may seem that they are not being so sufficient in everything they aspire to do. This is the fear of no opportunity. This made me reflect on everything that I have accomplished as a student, and how to cope with the feeling that I could be doing more or even better if only I did not say no to one opportunity or took a different opportunity. This made me take a step back and has helped me realize I need to take time for myself.
Fourth Assignment
Assignment Description
"The purpose of this assignment is to help you identify your skills, interests, and values, and explore engaged learning experiences and leadership opportunities that align with your academic and personal goals as an honors College student." - Dr. Sheeler
This assignment helps to build a plan for the future and allows you to plan on what skills you want and need to build on.
IUPUI provides a plethora of opportunities that I have taken an advantage of and so many more that I have yet too
experience. These opportunities put their students on a pathway that will guide them into their lifelong career. Specifically, for
me, there are three of their engaged and leadership opportunities that I would like too take advantage of in the next two years:
study abroad program, health and wellness peer educator, and LHSI.
Being able too study abroad will give me an experience too understand how others around the world live. This could
include cultures, religions, foods, and many other aspects. I feel that having an experience like this would allow me too get
outside of my comfort zone, explore, and learn outside the classroom. Going study abroad will assist me in becoming a well
rounded student and future employee. With this characteristic and understanding of others, I will be able too tend too a
broader population of patients and make them feel more comfortable when I start too work in a hospital.
Being a part of the health and wellness peer educator program I would get too experience a teaching aspect of school. I
believe that learning about health and wellness and educating others on it will give me the opportunity too advocate for others
about their own health and give a new perspective on why each and everyone’s health is so important. I would be able to build
on my communicating skills with this opportunity as well. Having these skills could later on in the future help me communicate
with future patients and lead them too a healthier lifestyle.
Being able too partake in the LHSI program will allow me too experience a few skills such as research, and
communication. LHSI I would have the opportunity too hone my skill for interviews and build on them through this program.
The other aspect of LHSI would being able too learn heads on with a lab in health sciences. Before you work with patient care, you have too understand where medicines or how sciences works. Working in lab would allow me too grasp that idea. This opportunity could open doors too a future career in a research lab.
Every one of these opportunities taken, is going too help me achieve my goals as a honors student, by helping me go beyond the normal academic expectations and engage in hands on work. I specifically plan on including the study abroad program into my spring semester too fulfill part of my honors four-year plan. Though I’m not sure exactly when I will be able
too complete the other engaged learning opportunities, I will definitely be including them along my four too five year pathway. I
strive too use these experiences too get my foot in the door of an operating room one day.
Engaged Learning & Leadership Planning
Reflection Essay
For this assignment, I learned that IUPUI has many clubs and organizations that can help me further excel beyond the classroom as a student. Specifically these clubs/organizations that I have chosen above has encouraged me to explore out of my comfort zone. This assignment has also taught me that though you may have a leadership position already, you might take a new position that is similar but you may gain a better experience or new set of skills. Some of the many skills that I have learned the applies too many of the clubs are communication, cultural understanding, and leadership.