Project 1

Reflection Paper

How the Study of Liberal Arts has

Influenced My Professional Development

Nicole Savinda
Integrative Seminar
SBU 465 45
Seton Hill University
January 28, 2022
 Looking back, I often questioned the reasoning behind the liberal arts requirements.

When I first entered college at the age of 18, some of the classes seem to be unnecessary. Why

would I ever need to take an art class or a Spanish class to be an accountant? I remember

saying “why do I have to take these classes”. At the time, I just went with the idea that it was a

requirement and that was that.

I am not a traditional student in any sense of the word. I started college right out of

high school, in 1998. After a short college stay, I decided that campus life was not for me. I

attempted to live at home and commute an hour each way to school. At the time, I was also

working every night. I ended up burning myself out and dropped out of school. After taking a

break and getting married, I decided to return as an adult student in the Adult Degree Program.

About a year into that, my husband and I decided it was time to start a family. Once again, I

stopped taking classes to focus on raising our four children. A little over a year ago, I returned

for hopefully the last time to finish what I started.

I currently work full time at NexTier Bank as a Senior Teller. To anyone who doesn’t

work in the banking industry, that title probably doesn’t mean anything. Being a Senior Teller is

a low-level management position. Anytime that the branch manager is unavailable, the Senior

Teller is in charge. Since the introduction of covid, my management skills have been put to the

test on multiple occasions.

As a manager, it is important to think outside the box sometimes. Remember that art

class I was questioning earlier? That particular class for me was a Visual Design class. That class

required a lot of critical thinking and planning. Training yourself to figure out alternative ways
to accomplish your goals personally or professionally requires that same skillset. When it

comes to managing other people, it is not always a clear-cut path. There is not a single set of

instructions that will work with every employee.

Every person and every situation is different. This fact is never clearer than when you

study any of the world’s religions. As I learned from taking multiple religious classes, people (as

a group) are not always who you think they are. Coming from a family who aren’t necessarily a

religious family, the study of Jesus was a little tough for me. I followed that class up with a class

on Islam. In my studies, I quickly realized that while every group of people are different, we are

all very much alike.

Working in the public, people are often quick to judge others. I have seen this happen

so many times. As a manager, I have seen this by employees and customers alike. A customer

once told us that she was uncomfortable after a group of special needs customers left the bank.

She didn’t know how to respond to them because she had never been around anyone with

their particular disability. I assured her that they are harmless young men and were doing

nothing wrong. This is just one of the times when I think back to my religious studies come into

play. We should never judge someone that we know nothing about.

I believe that my liberal arts education has made me into a well-rounded person. The

lessons I have learned over the years have had a significant impact on my management style.

Different people have different ways of doing things. It is important to remember that there is

more than one right way to do most things. What works for one person will not necessarily

work for another. That is a lesson that I have taken to heart when dealing with employees. I
believe that I will carry these lessons with me throughout my career. They have started me on

a good path…one which I plan to continue.