When the coronavirus pandemic worsens globally, my original plan to study abroad in Costa Rica changed, which led me to complete my study abroad virtually. Global Engagement through Scholarship and Citizenship, referred to as HONS 495, satisfied both my study abroad and Cormier Honors College course requirements. This course addresses complex issues and further students’ understanding of their cultural instincts, bias, and practices. It also introduces the principles of global engagement and identifies the differences between facts and cultural assumptions.
Although my original study abroad plans change, I was excited to take this course. I did not know what to expect from this course, but I could not wait to see what I will learn and gain from this experience. I found this course exciting and enjoyable because I learn about what global engagement looks like and how I can become globally engage. At the beginning of this course, the first project I completed was examining my personal cultural history. With this assignment, I examine who I am as a person and how my identity leads to some of the cultural assumptions I experience or thought about in life. Starting the course with this activity provided me with a focus point to see where I stand now and where I will be after this course. For the remainder of the course, I engage in journal reflection and discussion posts, and it was insightful to read discussion comments and posts of my peers. The discussion boards enable students to engage in discourse even though we are virtual. Overall, this course allowed me to think differently about the things that I am learning in and out of the classroom, and I enjoyed every moment spent in this course.
The artifact I selected to exhibit my work in this course is the professional interview reflection paper. The professional interview project was my favorite project to work on because I got an opportunity to meet a different professional and learn about their profession and their involvement with global engagement. For this assignment, the person I interviewed was Dr. Shoaib Afridi, an infectious disease doctor, and my professor’s old classmate. I enjoyed the conversations that I had with Dr. Afridi. He shared his experience studying abroad, completing fellowships in developing countries, and learning from those experiences. One of the most significant takeaways from our conversation was his experience as a father to a child with special needs. As a special education major, it was good to hear the perspective of a parent who has a child with special needs because I don’t know what the parents go through when their child returns home from school. Hearing his perspective will help build a strong parent-teacher relationship because the parent knows their child best. Using the suggestion provided by the parent will help me to understand the student a little better. When I interviewed him, he was busy since he was working on the frontlines, and it was a holiday weekend, but I was thankful to have met him and heard his story. I have included the reflection paper of my interview with Dr. Shoaib Afridi below: