Throughout my time at Iowa State University, I have taken my fair share of

General Education courses. Though the classes themselves did not have anything to do
with engineering, they all taught me different things that I can use in my everyday life as
a professional engineer. In this essay, I will outline some of the things I have learned
throughout the various courses I have taken and how they will be useful to me in the
future.
Before I go into what I have learned from each of my general education courses,
it will be beneficial to explain what I would like to do with my future career. That way,
you, the reader of this essay, have some background knowledge regarding specific
responsibilities I will have. After graduation, I want to design electrical systems within
buildings. This includes, but is not limited to, lighting, power, and signal. To do this, I will
need to talk with clients to determine what they want. Since working with clients will be a
big part of my career, it is vital that I can interact with them effectively, something
general education courses have done a great job of teaching me.
In order to work with clients, it can be helpful to understand their background.
During my first semester at Iowa State, I took a World religion course. This course
taught me about the major religions of the world and what is important to them. By
understanding what is important to my client, I will be better able to work with them. For
instance, if I know that a client is a practicing Muslim, I know that I should not contact
them on Eid. Eid is a religious holiday in which the people celebrating do not work.
Therefore, I know that they will not be available for questions on that day. Additionally,
many cultures have different ways of greeting each other; or practices that are
considered rude. I can use this information to ensure that I do not offend any clients I
work with.
Another course I have taken during my time at Iowa State is a women’s studies
course. In this course, we learned a lot about gender and what it means to be a part of
the LGBTQ+ community. Understanding what it means to be a trans individual will help
me if my client identifies as trans. This is important, especially with more people
becoming comfortable expressing their sexual or gender identity. Many people in this
community are discriminated against, so it is essential that I can make them feel safe
and validated.
In addition to understanding my client’s background, it would be beneficial to
know why they may want certain aspects of a design to be in a particular way. In the
entry-level psychology class that I took, we learned why people make certain decisions,
even if they are not aware of this subconscious reasoning. This will come in handy
when I am working with customers. In my future career, I will be working a lot with
clients to determine what exactly they want. If I can understand why they might want a
specific aspect, I will be able to recommend something else that may be a better option
based on their wants.
 The women’s studies course mentioned above also doubled as a speech class.
Public speaking will be extremely useful in the future when I need to give presentations.
Public speaking is an important skill to have in engineering; I anticipate giving many
presentations on the work I do. Therefore, I must be able to communicate effectively to
my audience; something my speech class has taught me how to do.
Recently, I took an environmental science course in which we learned about
different types of renewable energy. In my experience with this kind of work, most
buildings already have an established power source. However, if I have a client looking
for an environmentally friendly power source, I will be able to use this information to
make a recommendation. As climate change continues to worsen, I am hopeful that this
information will become more requested. It would be great to see companies move
towards renewable energy, as it will significantly reduce CO2 emissions, helping slow
the progression of global warming.
Of all the general education courses offered at Iowa State, these are the ones I
have taken that have taught me the most. After I graduate and go into the industry, I will
be able to use the knowledge I gained to help me pursue my career. General education
courses can be extremely beneficial in ways that one may not think of at first. Going into
my world religion course, I did not know that I would use anything from it. However, I
now realize that I can use the information I learned to understand my clients better. For
that reason, I am grateful for all of the general education courses, as they have helped
me become who I am today.