Final Reflection
In May of 2018, I was thrilled to have earned my Rawlings Sports Business Management degree from Maryville University, and eager to take on my next goal of pursuing a master’s degree. Before entering the working world, I had aspired to get a master’s because I understood that workplaces were evolving on a daily basis. Our world overall continues to advance very quickly, and I wanted to ensure that I would be well-prepared to enter the workforce with all of the necessary skills to help me be as successful as possible. Finally, in August 2018, I began my pursuit in UNC-Greensboro’s Master of Applied Arts & Sciences (MAAS) program and all I can say is: What an adventure it has been!
As I am nearing the end of my journey in the MAAS program, I am proud to say that my work displayed in this portfolio reflects the new knowledge I have gained over the past two years. Going into the program, I was looking to become more of an innovative, creative, and adaptable person, and enhance my critical thinking skills. In all eleven of my courses, I was challenged in all of the areas I was working to improve in, and also required to apply my new knowledge and integrate it while participating in real-world projects. At one point in every class I was urged to think “outside of the box”. Not only have I been able to expand my knowledge in my different areas, but I have been able to evolve as a person as well.
In the past two years, not only was I striving to obtain a master’s, but I was able to get a glimpse of the profession that I planned to begin after receiving my degree. I was fortunate enough to be a graduate assistant for the UNCG women’s basketball team where I was able to explore another one of my dreams of working with a collegiate sports team. While participating full-time in a master’s program and basically experiencing having a full-time job as well, I have learned how to handle many multifaceted situations at a time. I also have proven to handle all of it successfully. Working in an office 8 hours a day, taking on game road trips, practices, and having to manage a full-time class workload, I still was able to maintain a 4.0 throughout my time in the MAAS program. Once I actually begin my career in the workplace, I will have a better understanding of what it takes to juggle multiple responsibilities at one time. I have been able to see myself grow as an individual and have become more prepared to navigate through the highs and lows of life.
During my adventure in the MAAS program, there were many courses that I have taken that have deepened my appreciation for the cultural diversity in our world. Coming into the program, I would say that as an individual, I was not very aware of the cultural issues in our world. Part of what makes our society so great is that we have multiple opportunities to interact with so many diverse people on a daily basis. Continuous self-reflection has led to my new perspective of understanding cultural identities in our contemporary world.
The Contemporary World was the perfect course for me to begin my adventure in the MAAS program. I was challenged to analyze cultural issues all over the world from different perspectives, such as President Truman’s decision with the atomic bomb and the 1991 Gulf War. Racial, ethnic, and religious conflicts have influenced our world. In some instances, there are people that are just taught to hate other groups that don’t have the same views and beliefs as them. I found this idea to particularly be very disturbing, but it also clearly describes the conflicts that have transpired in the world, for example the Arab-Israeli conflict or even the Rwandan genocide. In this course, I quickly began to realize that hatred between racial, ethnic, and religious groups have played a tremendous role in shaping our world. We encounter people every day whether in the workplace or grocery store that most likely belong to another cultural group other than our own. Finishing up this course, I had come to the conclusion that I really wasn’t very attentive to the issues that occur in our world, and how these issues have shaped different opinions on certain topics today.
While taking the Global and Intercultural Engagement course, I was able to take what I had learned in the Contemporary World and further expand my knowledge of the diversity issues in our world. Much of the hatred between cultural groups mentioned in the Contemporary World were from not being able to acknowledge that others may have different beliefs than our own. In life, we’re not all going to agree about everything, but it’s important to recognize that there are multiple world viewpoints. In order to acknowledge the alternative viewpoints, we as a society need to make more of a conscious effort in regard to listening to others and asking more questions to gain a better understanding of a culture. Many of the issues in our world can attempt to be mended simply by not basing our opinions from preconceived ideas.
For the Dangerous Minds: Terrorism course, I had to let go of the preconceived ideas that I had about terrorists. I do not agree with terrorist groups actions, but after this course, I am able to understand that these groups typically have certain motivations and goals for committing their violent acts. During this class, we literally take a peek into the minds of terrorists and examine the actions that take place because of their cultural/political conditions. This class specifically challenged me to think “outside of the box” in every assignment as we discovered what encourages terrorism in the world.
Being in the MAAS program has also made me very appreciative of the diversity of the people in the classes. It was helpful because everyone was a part of different age groups and stages in their lives, and while participating in the discussion boards, I was able to see multiple perspectives. These perspectives on the topics and content in the courses allowed all of us to view and learn the course concepts from multiple viewpoints. Specifically, in the Contemporary Media Literacies course, I was able to speak to my own view concerning how traditional literacy has transformed over the years. Growing up as a millennial in the education system, at a young age I have experienced how technology has impacted my learning in school. However, I was also able to hear experiences of others that grew up in an education system that incorporated more of the traditional literacy approach of reading and writing. This program opened my eyes to other point of views involving concepts like literacy.
Lastly, the MAAS program undoubtedly expanded my integrative thinking skills. There were specifically 2 classes that required me to be innovative, creative, and challenge my ability to relate course concepts to a real-world context. Some of the projects that I’ve completed in the courses cause me to be more open-minded as I was challenged to use integrative thinking and creative thinking to develop deeper understandings.
Design Thinking was an interesting class where I was able to literally create my own project that was centered around the design thinking approach. As we moved through the stages of inspiration, ideation, and implementation, we collaborated with our peers regarding our projects. In this course, I was able to bring awareness to a topic that I felt was problem within our society: reducing the stress and anxiety associated with the transition for freshman collegiate student athletes. I jumped into this project full force by first identifying the needs of my users (freshman collegiate student-athletes), framing my design challenge, and then developing a prototype. This course allowed me to apply the design thinking method to a real-world problem. Just from this class, my perspective regarding integrative thinking was transformed as I was forced to become more creative and open-minded.
One final class in the MAAS program that has had a tremendous impact on my outlook of our world was Understanding Data. In this course, my curiosity was intrigued by the role of data in our world. My ability to analyze, interpret, identify, and utilize data was challenged as I noticed the large amount of data that is being generated. Constantly, I was having to critically think about all of the statistics that we consume on a daily basis in today’s data driven world. Many of the skills in this class I will be able to apply to my future profession.
My adventure in the MAAS program at UNC Greensboro is coming to an end, but my next journey is about to begin as I start to maneuver my way through my other goals in life. I believe that I will be able to take a lot of the knowledge I have gained throughout the past 2 years and use it to better impact our world today. I have developed a better awareness of what is occurring around me and what others are experiencing in life as well. I am proud to say that my time in this master’s program will be something that I cherish forever. Not only has the MAAS program assisted in preparing me to go forward professionally but has also prepared me for achieving my future personal ambitions. I am more confident than I have ever been now as I continue to leave my own mark personally and professionally in this adventure of life.