Kelly Bryce

2 June 2016
Spring Reflection Essay
Over the course of this year, this freshman inquiry class helped me learn many new
things and refine my educational skills. The four goals for the university studies program at
Portland State University are communication, diversity of human experience, inquiry and critical
thinking, and ethics and social responsibility. Throughout the year, I have completed
assignments for this class that have helped me achieve each of these goals. The main projects for
this term included a research paper on the topic of our choosing, a group presentation on an
assigned novel, and a class project on cardiac arrest. Each of these assignments falls under a
certain goal, and some even fall under more than one goal.
Communication is an important skill to have, especially in an academic environment such
as college. The assignment that related most to communication in this class was the cardiac arrest
evaluation project. This project was a collaboration with students at the University of
Washington, who actually designed and conducted the cardiac arrest program. They went door to
door of senior citizens putting flyers up about cardiac arrest, and some households of senior
citizens were visited by firemen. The students along with the firemen talked to the seniors about
cardiac arrest and how to deal with a cardiac arrest situation. Before this class, I actually did not
know what cardiac arrest was. I came to learn that it is different from a heart attack; cardiac
arrest is an electrical problem in which the heart suddenly stops beating, while a heart attack is a
circulatory problem in which the flow of blood to the heart is blocked. It is important for seniors
to be aware of the dangers of cardiac arrest, because it is much more likely to occur in older age
classes. The work that our class did for this was a project evaluation, in which we obtained

feedback from seniors and compiled the data in presentation form. This was helpful with regard
to communication skills because this project was so large and cooperative, meaning it took
sufficient communication between everyone involved to put this project together. The other
aspect that relates to communication is learning how to conduct interviews and surveys, which
was a major part of this project.
The second university studies goal is diversity of human experience, which is important
in appreciating and understanding the variety of lifestyles, cultures, and struggles of people
around the world. The assignment that most related to this goal was the group book presentation
assignment. Our group was assigned to read the book The New Jim Crow by Michelle
Alexander, which explored the topic of mass incarceration of African Americans in the United
States. This book opened my eyes to an issue that I did not know much about, and helped me
understand this issue by offering different perspectives from my own. Through this assignment, I
was able to understand the diversity of human experience, because it explores the struggle of
what it is like to be an African American in todays world. Compared to other races, African
Americans are disproportionally incarcerated, which is a major violation of basic human rights.
This era of mass incarceration is referred to by Alexander as The New Jim Crow, because of
the underlying racism that parallels with the Jim Crow laws of the early 20th century. Learning
about a different life experience from my own was enlightening, and I learned a lot from reading
The New Jim Crow. Sometimes it is difficult to step outside of ones own perspective, but it is a
valuable experience because it shows how drastically different peoples lives around the world
can be. Understanding the diversity of human experience is important in becoming a wellrounded and educated person.

Inquiry and critical thinking is the third university studies goal, and is important because
one of the best ways to learn is to ask questions about the world and think in detail about specific
topics. The assignment that most related to this goal this term was the research essay, because
conducting research and analyzing information is a major part of writing a research paper. We
were allowed to write about anything that related to health, happiness, or human rights, so it was
a very free-reign assignment. I chose to write my essay about the impact of dog companionship
on human health and happiness. The reason I chose this topic was because I am an animal
enthusiast, and particularly enjoy learning about the biological processes involved in different
animal behaviors. The human-dog relationship fascinates me, and I was able to gather a lot of
information about how this relationship developed. I came to the conclusion that dogs have a
positive impact on the health and wellbeing of their owners, and also that service animals were
extremely valuable to the disabled community. It was interesting to learn about all of the
different kinds of service dogs and how they perform their tasks, because it is an indication that
dogs have a special sixth sense that can greatly benefit disabled humans. The research process
required a lot of inquiry and questions, because the purpose of a research essay is to answer a
research question and provide data to support that answer. When it came time to actually
organize and write the essay, critical thinking was required to formulate a thesis and describe my
findings in a meaningful way.
The last university studies goal is ethics and social responsibility. This is important
because everyone should learn how to become a decent, contributing individual. However, this is
only possible if ethics are explored and we know what our social responsibilities are to the world
around us. The assignment that most related to this goal was again the group book presentation
we did on The New Jim Crow. As stated before, this book depicts the issue of mass incarceration

of African Americans. This topic involves human ethics and provides the reader with a social
responsibility to acknowledge and change the unethical practice of mass incarceration, as it is
racist and a major problem for many blacks in America. Another assignment for this class that
relates to this goal is the cardiac arrest project evaluation. This is because it is an ethical issue
that many seniors are not educated about cardiac arrest, which indicates a social responsibility of
educating seniors about how to deal with a cardiac arrest situation. For many people, this
information can be life-saving, so it is unfair that not everyone can be educated on cardiac arrest.
However, the feedback for this program was very positive, showing that seniors are appreciative
of efforts to help them learn about cardiac arrest. Both of these assignments involved ethics and
social responsibility, which is important in being a contributing member of society.
In conclusion, I learned a lot from this course throughout the school year, and I feel that
each assignment helped me achieve the university studies goals. Overall the material was
interesting, and the class was a good environment to transition into college and learn how to be a
successful student. I am grateful for the experience and I feel it has helped me grow as a student
in many different areas and prepare me for my next year of college.