Week Five Reflection

This marks the end of week five of the semester. This week was fun, informative, and relaxed. I enjoyed the week and the events I was able to be a part of. One of my favorite events that I had the opportunity to work was “The Voice: Bearcat Edition” on Tuesday. For this event students signed up to audition to sing the National Anthem at the football game on October 7th. My job entailed, checking students in and doing my best to make them feel comfortable. Some of the students were very confident in their auditions and others were more nervous and shy. I loved the opportunity that I had to create a warm and welcoming environment for the students in a potentially nerve racking situation. On top of that I was also able to listen to the many talented students that auditioned. It was exciting to be a part of the audition process.

The next morning, I had my first Alumni Council meeting. We met in the Deans office and I had the opportunity to sit at a table with the Dean and a number of alumni members. It was an enriching experience to hear what they had to say on various topics and issues. I was able to learn more about an Alumni Mentor program that had been revamped this year that I had not known about. I learned a lot from simply listening to what everyone had to say and getting a feel for what the Alumni Council does. I was encouraged that they wanted me on their council and that they were so welcoming. They are a fun group who truly cares about each other and the college.

In my classes this week I learned about derivatives, James Baldwin, leadership in small groups, and how to conjugate Spanish words. In my English class, I lead a class discussion about the essay “The Harlem Ghetto” written by James Baldwin. I was able to work with two of my class mates on this project. We each presented and asked the class questions on different sections of the essay. I focused on Baldwin’s style and the way that he wrote. I discussed how he used sentence structure and specific words to create emotion in the reader. I also asked the class what they thought about his style and whether they thought that his “persuasive” style was successful or not. Presenting on this topic caused me to take the time to really understand the text I was reading.