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Major Orientation Reflection Paper

remember the first time I was introduced to English was through a TV show called “Muzzy in
Gondoland” on HTV3, I used to be so into that TV show that my mom begin to grumble whenever I
turned on the TV, you may say that I had a “big fat crush” on English. Throughout my secondary and high
school years, I knew I wanted to go to college and be an English major, that’s what motivated me to
apply to USSH. With the help of Ms. Di and Mr. Bao, the Major Orientation course held in the three days
of 5, 6, and 8 of October was more helpful and exciting than I expected. Before taking the course, I still
hadn’t given any thought to the specialization, the work that I wanted to do and what are my plans for
the future, what do I need to “survive” through my college years, the course had given me some
answers toward the problems and questions that have been struggling me since day one. So now I can
confidently say that I am well-equipped to start my journey as an undergraduate student at our
university.

Throughout the three sessions of the course, I’ve come to realize that there are endless possibilities of
the different occupations available for me to explore. Before attending college, I thought that English
Translation & Interpreting was going to be my main area of study. After finding out about the choices
that I could make with a degree of English major, I’m now juggling several ideas about my future. As a
freshman, I can’t say that I know exactly which field is the final decision, but I can state confidently that
I've got a far better understanding of what my undergraduate education will provide. The skills that I'll
acquire while working for my Bachelor’s degree, which includes interpersonal, research, analytical, and
experiential skills, are the skills that employers nowadays highly appreciate.

English Literature falls under the category of Liberal Art. Because of that, students will amass a variety of
different abilities like communication, reading, listening, computer literacy, critical thinking, problem-
solving, and self-management as Liberal Arts tends to provide a solid foundation for those abilities that
students accumulate throughout their years of study. The skills learned during the course of education
in English Literature simply build upon those gained in the study of Liberal Arts. English Literature
students also learn about critical thinking, problem-solving, listening, reading, writing, speaking,
interpersonal and intrapersonal skills, computer literacy, and adaptability. Some of them overlap each
other, but I strongly believe that each of the skills here plays an important role in the students’
employability.

The value of the aforementioned abilities when learning online tends to be forgotten but students must
recognize the meaning and importance of each of those skills as it applies to them. Critical thinking, for
instance, may sound like an area of knowledge that’s only needed during standardized testing. Many
failed to comprehend that employers thirst for workers with such skills to finish many important tasks.
Those who learn to think critically can solve complex problems by looking at them from many
perspectives. Communication and interpersonal skills often play a vital part in the decision of getting
hire or not. Interpersonal skills and effective communication help people be more self-aware and
therefore be able to monitor and manage their behavior, which results in better academic results and
interpersonal tasks completion. Computer literacy is an indispensable part of the highly technological
society nowadays. Being able to understand and analyze the data in any given situation will give you a
slight upper hand in the job market. The second language is also a thing that needs to be taken into
consideration since the more language you use the more appealing you’re to the employers.

That is some of the information that I’ve gathered from the course, it’s also helped me realize that
college it’s the place where you will polish your transferable skills and mindset so I’m trying to improve
my knowledge everyday by reading more books, trying to be a more active learner than I used to be,
using tasks, time management apps to keep up with the schedule and trying to step out of my comfort
zone to make some new friends or just simply doing things more creatively, that’s my preparation for
the new higher education environment. As a freshman, I still haven’t got that much plan for my
upcoming years but with the help of this Major Orientation course I’ve been able to set some goals and
directions, thank you once again to Ms. Di and Mr. Bao for this amazing opportunity.