Eduardo Contreras

CPRE 494

General Education Reflection

March 16, 2023

General Education Reflection

Iowa State University has allowed me to get out of my comfort zone and take courses that

do not directly relate to my Computer Engineering major. Through my general education classes,

I expanded my knowledge into a broad range of topics and ideas that I still use today. These

courses were a way to challenge my skills to adapt to different problems that may not have a

direct connection to computer engineering. General Education courses have allowed me to look

at many subjects from a wide range of perspectives to approach various challenges from different

angles that best fit a certain scenario.

One of the first general education classes I took was "Relig 210: Religion in America"

during my second year at Iowa State. In Religion 210, I learned about various highly practiced

religions and their history in America within our modern society. Learning about different

religions and cultures I had little knowledge of was fascinating. It was great to learn about the

many practices within a religion and how religion is tied to cultural practices. This course

showed me the diversity within our communities and the importance of understanding and

acceptance of cultural differences within our society. Diversity and inclusion in engineering are

important because we all come from different backgrounds and skills that can be combined to

efficiently problem solve.

 I took "Agron 342: World Food Issues Past and Present" in my third year of college. This

class taught me about the numerous factors that negatively impact our environment and how they

can lead to health and safety issues within communities worldwide. This class gave me an

important perspective on our planet and how I can become a small but significant part of creating

a healthier world. In our class, we also had discussions about ethics, especially within our

careers, when it comes to considering how our actions can affect the safety and health of people.

Another general education course I took was "Econ 101: Principles of Microeconomics."

Econ 101 introduced me to some of the many factors to consider when making economic

decisions and how these factors affect competition in our economy. This course can be useful in

engineering because it is helpful to consider the economy when it comes to project design and

see which economic factors can affect the success or failure of a project.

Although these general education courses have little or nothing related to engineering, I

still gained valuable skills and perspectives I can use in my engineering career. I had a lot of fun

taking general education courses because I learned fascinating information that I still use today. I

am fortunate to have been allowed to expand my knowledge outside of engineering.