General Education Reflection

Throughout my time as an undergraduate I was able to experience so many great classes in the

field of Engineering. Although these classes were very important to my degree the focus of this

reflection will be the General Education classes that I was able to take. These classes were able

to offer me some other perspectives on issues that relate to people today, as well as allowing

me to reflect on how I can help create a positive environment for my colleagues when I enter

the workforce in less than a year.

The first class that I would like to highlight is History 380: History of Women in Science

and Technology. This class really focused on the Women that made huge achievements in the

field, but also went in-depth into their stories: what did they do, what caused them to pursue a

career in science/tech, what obstacles did they face during their careers. It was really that last

point that resonated with me throughout the course. Women throughout history have faced

many issues that men never had to deal with and unfortunately that is very true when it comes

to Science and Technology. Being able to read about the experiences that these women had in

the field, even after they had made very impressive contributions to science and technology

was shocking. It made me think about the ways that I can be an ally to Women in tech and how

I can foster a positive working environment with my Female colleagues in the future, which may

have not been the case had I not taken History 380.

Another class that had a significant impact on me was Russian 375: Russia Today. This

class focused a lot on how Russian culture has been molded throughout the years, and how
things are different from the United States. The latter is what really stuck with me after the

class. I had assumed that Russian and American culture would be very similar. However after

taking the class, I soon realized that assumption couldn’t be farther from the truth. This class

really highlighted how important it is to not assume anything about anyone’s culture and it also

taught me that learning about different countries and cultures can be very fun. Going into a

global field like tech, it is important that I be mindful of other cultures and how they do

business, and without this class I may not have made that connection.

The 3rd class that I took that had a significant impact on me is Kinesiology 210: Concepts

in Fitness and Wellness. Being a recent intern, I was able to talk to many people who were

recent college grads and were working their first jobs. I liked to ask them what they struggled

with when they first started, and the response a heard a lot was work-life balance and struggling

with developing good habits. This class went into detail about the importance of health and

well-being but also went over plenty of methods to get started and maintain healthy habits, not

only physical, but mental as well. I think being able to have a healthy mind and body is super

important for most things in life, especially work so taking a class that provided me with insights

into how to maintain those healthy habits will absolutely stick with me for the rest of my life.

The final class I would like to focus on is International Studies 235: Intro to International

Studies. This class highlighted some very important things for me. The first thing is the

complicated nature of global politics. This is important because things like politics can present

large issues in global fields like Tech, so being able to get a high-level overview of global politics

was something that will stick with me forever. Also focusing on issues like global wealth

inequality and how Global Organizations like the World Bank try and solve these problems. This
is important because the tech field plays a huge role in trying to fix these issues, so for me,

being able to understand what the issue is, and how people are trying to fix them will be super

important for me going forward. Because globalization grows more and more each day having a

basic understanding of international relations, politics, and issues will serve anyone looking to

join the workforce in the near future.

It would be obvious to say that my engineering classes have had a huge impact on my

and my career choice, but as I reflect on my classes I think that it would be fair to say that the

General Education electives that I have had the opportunity to take have had an equal, if not

greater impact on me and my career. Going into a workforce that is clearly not perfect can be

daunting, but because I’ve had exposure to a ton of issues that plague the workforce in my

classes I feel comfortable in my ability to create a positive work-life environment not only for

myself, but for those around me as well.