Professional Documents
Culture Documents
12/13/10
Honors Seminar
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
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.
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
One of the most difficult assignments that we had to do for this class was
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
even though this was one of my least favorite activities, I could see the importance
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
college career. I came to the UNC Charlotte with a set goal in my mind to transfer to
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