Ashley Thompson 11 April 2014 Eng.

2010/Kilpatrick REFLECTION This assignment has opened my eyes to the world of education in a new way. College, unfortunately is a business, and this fact is a hard-learned lesson for many graduates. After completing over a years worth of education at SLCC, I feel as a whole Ive had more than a positive experience with its professors and fellow students. Completing this research paper furthered my level of education through several different facets; how to pick an appropriate major, understand student loans and debt, and ways to a successful career path. From previous English courses I have completed here at SLCC, English 2010 with Professor Kilpatrick has strengthened my use of rhetoric and confidence in academic and public writing. Ive learned to use kairos in a more timely manner. This form of rhetoric is especially important for research. Logos, Ive never struggled with before until going back to school this turn around. I had forgotten MLA and APA standards, and this class has helped me improve that lost knowledge. I typically have too much pathos in my pieces and have now learned to hone that in to further strengthen the passion and relatable values in my writing. Lastly, by clearly doing research and searching for sources, I now can distinguish credibility of sites, articles, and so on with much more ease. Ive struggled with organization in papers before, but through this English course I also feel I have greatly improved. The biggest struggle I faced researching this topic was finding enough material, however using the SLCC Library database provided more information than google.

This assignment in particular challenged my previous notions of attaining a dream career. I thought anyone can do it if they work hard enough. I was too idealistic. I now see the realistic perspective as well. Through my research, as a whole, Ive come to the conclusion you can have your cake and enjoy every mouth-watering, morsel! Students just need to be cautious as to what majors have a positive job outlook in the future, suit them as a person, outweigh student loan debt, and provide enough interest to keep them passionate. Through these little bits of wisdom, students can choose their career path more responsibly and prevent future struggles. Overall, this research project has increased my knowledge in all-things education and how to facilitate the right resources at the right time.