Gen Ed Reflection

Coming to Iowa State I was expecting to have to take some type of Gen Ed classes but
was not entirely sure what that entailed. As time went on I started to become excited to take Gen
Eds because I saw them as a break from the rigorous course load that was put upon us as
Engineers. Having the opportunity to have a three-credit course that is not as stressful and can be
used as a break from other classes was seen by me as a gift.
The first elective I had the opportunity to take was ARCH 321, History of the American
City. This was by far my favorite elective that I have taken at Iowa State. The course consisted of
extremely interesting videos showing how America was built and what other countries and
cultures inspired our architecture. This was one of my highest-scoring classes ever at Iowa State
and I believe it was because I had so much interest in what I was learning about. From this
course, I was able to learn about different types of buildings, the reasons why cities were laid out
the way they are, and how different cultures built cities differently whether in terms of planning
or actual design. I enjoyed this class because I compared it to how actual software is architected
and the direct correlation between well-thought-out planning and highly efficient outcomes
whether through the development of an application or a city.
The next semester I had the opportunity to take RUS 375, Russia Today. This class was
extremely interesting because we were learning what was currently going on in Russia. What I
enjoyed most was the group discussion aspect of this course, it taught me how to speak
professionally with peers about real-world topics and I think this has prepared me to be
professional should a topic like that or similar to that be brought up in a workplace. This class
taught me to be open-minded to learning and discussing real-world issues. We had the chance to
see different things that go on in Russia and Russia's overall history.
Following RUS 375 I took ARTH 292, Introduction to Visual Cultural Studies. I
absolutely loved this course. We had the chance to see so many different kinds of art ranging
from tens of thousands of years ago and modern art. This was another class that had a lot of
discussions and I found it useful to be able to disagree or agree professionally with classmates on
our opinions about different art pieces shown to us. Additionally, some of the assignments were
to pick an art piece, bring it back to the class, and write up an analysis of it. I equate this in a
professional environment to trying to sell a new development method or tool to your team. You
have to do your research on it and then explain it professionally to others who may agree or
disagree with you. In this class we were able to see art from different perspectives and one that
really stuck out to me was art from The Great Depression. "Migrant Mother" was a very
important picture in the course and we studied that a fair amount.
I will be taking two more Gen Ed classes at Iowa State, one of them is INTST 235,
Introduction to International Studies. It is a half-semester course that has just started so I can not
speak much about it yet but I am ecstatic to take it. Overall my experience at Iowa State with the
Gen Ed classes has all been positive and I am extremely thankful to have been able to take them.