Michael Rojas-Steinbrecher

12/13/10

Honors Seminar

Reflection of this Past Semester

Freshman seminar was the only class that I had on my schedule this semester

that I had no idea what it was about. I remember my first day of class coming into a

small room that smelled like chalk. I remember taking a seat next to India, who at

the moment was the only person I knew in the whole class. Then Mr. Robert Arnold

comes into the room and talks to us about what we were going to accomplish this

semester. He told us that we would have visitors from different parts of the

university that would inform us on the services that are provided for UNC Charlotte

students. We also had a book for the University Honors Program that nobody could

pronounce, Interstices. We would read different essays and speeches that were

compiled in this tiny green book and write reflections on what we read. After

hearing this, I knew that this class was perfect for me. I could learn about what the

university provides me and make friends with my fellow classmates.

We had to write a decent amount of reflections for this class. Some of them

were about speeches we read in Interstices and others on guest speakers that came

to our class. We read a speech by Karl Paulnack called “Welcome Address” which

was a welcome address given at The Boston Conservatory. The message that he

gave was that not everybody would be in high positions, but if you pursue

something that you truly love, then you can become of great importance to the

world.
 We also went to a Sex, Alcohol, and Drugs presentation at the Student Health

Center. During this presentation, we were told about all the different services that

the Student Health Center provides UNC Charlotte students. Before coming to this

presentation, I had no idea that we could get medication for a very cheap price, or

even get looked at by a physician. I had no idea that students could get free

condoms and discounted birth control. They also taught about alcohol and the

dangers of drinking too much. Out of all the presentations and guest speakers we

had this semester, the Student Health Center was by far the most informative.

We also had guest speakers from the Recreational Services, who in my

opinion were by far the most entertaining guest speakers we had. These guys just

had so a fun and friendly attitude. They really kept us interested in what they were

saying and made it a really fun presentation.

One of the most difficult assignments that we had to do for this class was

writing a reflection on something we read in Interstices and post it on Moodle.

Writing a reflection on the piece we read was not the difficult part, but reflecting on

another student’s reflection was the hard part. I found it pretty difficult to reflect on

a reflection, but I ended up just telling this person what I thought and whether or

not I agreed with them. Being able to do this is pretty important because we should

be able to express our feelings without feeling judged. We should also be able to

criticize someone in a constructive manner as well as agree with him or her. So

even though this was one of my least favorite activities, I could see the importance

that was in it.

 For all these presentations and speeches, we had to write reflections. Just a

page or so about what we thought and learned. These reflections were not too hard

to do, I just wrote about what I heard or read and whether or not I enjoyed it or not.

I can tell by the way that I am writing that I am enjoying everything more at the end

of the semester than what I was at the beginning. All these reflections that I wrote

for this class are included in this portfolio, which makes it easy to see the difference

between the beginning of the school year and the end.

I find myself strangely satisfied looking back at the first semester of my

college career. I came to the UNC Charlotte with a set goal in my mind to transfer to

NC State for my sophomore year. I came to this university completely alone.

Nobody from my high school came here and I have lived in Cary for the past six

years, so I was away from home and by myself. I did not like the idea of starting

over from scratch, but I found no other choice. I can compare this situation to what

Karl Paulnack says in his “Welcome Address”. He says that his parents are not sure

about his career choice in music, they wanted him to become a doctor or an

engineer, but he is committed to becoming a musician. Just like how I was unsure

on whether or not UNC Charlotte would be the school for me, when I thought NC

State was a far better option. Eventually I had to accept the fact that I was going to

be at UNCC, just like Mr. Paulnack’s parents had to accept the fact that he was going

to be a musician. Now it is the end of the first semester and I have made countless

friends and met numerous people. I cannot imagine a better semester than the one I

am just about to complete.