Liberal arts has opened my mind and allowed me to have a greater understanding of

others around me. Through analyses across various cultural intersections, I have discovered the

multifaceted traits in people and cultures that contribute to the vast world we live in beyond

myself. With this knowledge, I have been able to reflect about how I can better serve my

community as I shift my career goals into the field of high school counseling. I have learned a

greater sense of empathy toward others by learning how to think objectively. Studying in the

field of liberal arts has afforded me the ability to reassess the trajectory of my career through

introspection gained in the courses I have taken, which pushed my thought processes outside of

my comfort zone many times. Additionally, through the support of my cohort and professors, I

have gained confidence in my own abilities to succeed under any circumstance.

         Earning a degree in liberal arts has given me a unique insight into global concepts I

previously wasn't privy to. I have learned that in order to understand contemporary globalization

issues, we have to examine the painful history of the conception of this land, and the reign of

power used to expand into other countries. Through this understanding, I can better recognize the

migration patterns across the world which categorizes dominant countries in power and how they

use their dominance to remain in power. This complicated awareness has given me a deeper

appreciation for understanding the hardships that others have endured in order for someone like

me to have certain privileges today. This has also given me the ability to have a wider

understanding of many cultures in order to better support diverse communities. Albert Einstein

said, “the more I learn, the more I realize how much I don't know.” This quote hits close to home

as I continue my education. The courses I have taken have opened my mind to the point where I

feel overwhelmed by the things I cannot alone fix. However, the BALA program has given me
the confidence to engage in conversations I would have not dreamt of having now that I have

learned to think objectively and vocalize my opinions. 

         In CHLS 335, Asian and Latinx Immigration Since WWII, we learned about the United

States as an Empire to the world. In my final research paper, I focused on how the immigration

of Latinx countries to the U.S. is perceived by Americans as less than. Yet, if we dive into the

history of how and why immigration to the U.S. happens, we find a history of the U.S.

government meddling in the political affairs of dictatorships in order to stay in power. This then

causes civil wars within these countries like Nicaragua and Guatemala, causing mass amounts of

people to migrate to the U.S. This class helped me understand why certain cultural groups live in

certain areas of the U.S. It also made me reflect heavily on my own family’s history. For at least

three generations before me, my maternal grandmother’s family have been from the southern

California region. I grew up being told that we are Mexican, Spanish, and Juaneno/Acjachemen

Nation. However, no one was able to pinpoint what part of Mexico we were from. Professor

Rodriguez taught us about the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo in 1848. This marked the end of the

Mexican-American war. Through this treaty, American territory was gained, and those living in

Mexico, woke up the next morning on American soil. This gave me a better understanding of my

own Mexican-American heritage, as I believe the border crossed my family rather than them

crossing any border. Additionally, this gave way to a broader understanding of why certain

Latinx communities are in specific areas of California, and why there is a high percentage of

financial hardships. The root of why this marginalized community suffers is based in a deep

history of racism. Racism against brow and black people effects all aspects of their lives, from

housing to healthcare. I didn't fully understand the reality of why or how racism against this

group came to be until I took this course. It helped me understand the microagressions directed
toward my family and myself, which has helped understand how to educate others on this topic

as well as better protect myself. I learned that nothing is what it appears to be on the surface, and

if I take a little more time to look into the history of a situation, I will gain more knowledge and

have an understanding of why things are the way they are, versus accepting things for how they

may seem outwardly.

Professor Jenks taught History Western Scientific Thought in the Fall of 2020. He has

ended up being one of my favorite professors in this program, and one that made me realize that

communication was key. Professor Jenks is truly a teacher who loves what he teaches and will

go out of his way to help you understand the material. I thoroughly enjoyed writing papers in his

class because of his teaching style. Additionally, he made the information being taught relatable,

which made it that much more enjoyable to learn about. He challenged my thought processes by

engaging in discussion boards beyond what was prompted. I can say that I rarely enjoy

discussion boards as they feel robotic and more like busy work than a way to retain information.

Professor Jenks had a way to keep the conversation flowing and making me want to engage in

more conversation beyond the discussion deadlines. He has an innate ability to think and teach

objectively, while making me question a stance I felt strongly about, but also giving me full

confidence in my own opinion. He is understanding of personal circumstances and pushed me to

be a better writer while enjoying the writing process while analyzing heavy topics.

In continuance with heavy topics, two courses further stretched my writing abilities and

methods of analyzing information previously unknown to me. I/ST 317, Problems in

International Social Conflict with Professor Luke Wagner, opened my eyes to how small we are

as individuals compared to international conflict happening around the world. JOUR 312,

Global News Media with Professor Heloiza Herscovitz, gave me a greater understanding of how
the media operates in different countries while covering conflicts abroad, and how the narrative

is perspective based or biased in more recent years than in past. These two courses tied in well

together. Through their teachings, I am able to apply theoretical principles in understanding and

analyzing conflicts and challenges in the workplace and or communities at large. I can directly

tie this into the work I am currently doing, as I work with students and staff with extremely

diverse backgrounds. Often times I see issues arising that may seem insignificant on the surface,

but being able to better understand where the issue stems from of the individual, can help the

problem solving process knowing that there is a history of deeper rooted issues.

To demonstrate my understanding, I can link my midterm exam from I/ST 317, which

was about the ongoing conflict in Syria with corruption of the Assad regime, and the

asymmetrical resources available to the rebels versus the activists. We watched the movie,

Return to Homs, about the activists taking one the Assad regime. This civil war is horrific. I

cannot imagine living through the daily fear that the people of this country continue to live

through. The movie was graphic and gruesome, and necessary to watch to better understand what

other parts of the world are going through. It is necessary to watch to understand the trauma

individuals face as they seek refuge in other countries. I remember seeing on the news very

briefly, Syrian children drowning on life rafts trying to get to safety in other countries. Yet, that

is all I saw. It was just a few clips on the news before it disappeared from our screens within a

few weeks. Taking this course gave me a greater understanding of the actualities of this civil war

beyond a blip in the media.

As the U.S. continually is more and more divided, immigration remains a huge point of

contention in politics. Immigration is used as a bargaining chip to sway audiences one way or

another. Unfortunately, this is bargaining with people's lives. What is portrayed in the media is
people trying to come into the U.S. for a free ride. What people want is safety for their families.

We see this over and over again with Mexico, South and Central America, and currently, Haiti.

People are trying to legally seek asylum as they run from the dangers of their country, only for

the U.S. to forcefully deny them. Many times, the U.S. is involved in the conflict to begin with. I

can directly relate this to my work, as I was recently in a meeting with the school district on how

to lower the barriers of enrollment for refugee students coming from Afghanistan, given the

current conflict there. This course has created additional empathy within me to grasp the terror

that young people have gone through. Especially when it has to do with immigration. We have

several students at our school that have come to the U.S. for the first time, or are first or second

generation. I/ST 317 has allowed me to broaden my sense of what is happening beyond my self

in the safe place I live in, and given me the additional tools to help serve the diverse community I

work in.

JOUR 312, Global News Media with Professor Heloiza Herscovitz has also provided a

better understanding of how the media portrays conflict and marginalized groups. The integrity

of journalism has been vastly challenged in the current political climate. With globalization and

the expansion of social media, it has become more difficult to obtain factual information. We are

left to sift through dis/misinformation from sources that may or may not operate on integrity. The

days of unbiased reporting are far an few in between now. Additionally, social media is thrown

in to the mix where any individual can voice and/or sway the opinions of the masses. What this

class has taught me, is to recognize the bias based on where the source is coming from. In an

extra credit assignment from Professor Herscovitz, we were able to analyze different sources and

their reporting on the 2020 U.S. Presidential election. This gave me further insight into the

polarization of not only the U.S., but how other countries, friend of foe of the U.S., would report
on the election. In most cases, the journalist is the gatekeeper of the information being pushed

out. As the gatekeeper, they are able to create a narrative that often times is riddled in their own

bias, which evokes certain emotions from the agreeing or disagreeing parties. The issue is then

framed as being "good" or "bad" without any real solution provided. During the 2020 election,

we saw this with many of our main networks here in the U.S. For example, MSNBC versus Fox

News. This was happening on a global level as well. An example would be Al Jazeera (left

leaning) versus RT (right leaning).

To explain further, the creation of a narrative largely effects marginalized groups, as it

did during the 2020 election. An example of this was the Black Lives Matter movement which

emerged as main stream during this election year. Although, the fight for equality and

accountability had always been around, politicians and the media decided to use it as another

form of bargaining just like immigration. The right news outlets heavily condemned the

movement and framed Black people as criminals. Doing this wreaked havoc among Black

communities. Certain politicians encouraged the bodily harm of those protesting, which carried

over into daily life. The narration from the media will be felt for decades to come. This has,

again, given me a greater empathy of those who are marginalized. I can better understand the

trauma that may have been inflicted in order to help problem solve as issues arise. Taking this

course has afforded me the opportunity to be a better ally in the face of adversity when it comes

to the community I am working with.

As these heavy topics saturated much of my studies over the last few years, there has also

been light-hearted fun woven into this program. Two courses that demonstrated oral and written

communication skills, especially as they apply to contemporary work and life, were COMM 335,

Persuasive Speaking with Professor Liza Ivezaj, and CWL 320, Comic Spirit with Professor
Katherine McLoone. These two courses both breathed a breath of fresh air into my otherwise

hectic life, and pushed me outside of my comfort zone in both oral and written communication.

Professor Ivezaj was one of two professors during the first semester of the BALA

program. For me, persuasive speaking is incredibly intimidating. I can talk all day and too much

in normal circumstances, but speaking formally in front of a group can be terrifying. Her

teaching style and structure of the class made for many enjoyable lessons. One group project

consisted of giving an informational speech on a non-profit organization within southern

California. Although we were broken up into many groups, our class came together as a whole.

My group spoke about the Aquarium of the Pacific. The speech had to be ten minutes long, and

each of us had to take on a different element of information. To do this, we decided to take a

group trip to the aquarium to gather more information. With this being our first semester, it really

bonded us as a group of friends and brought us closer together. Looking back, the friendships

built have helped every step along the way to get through to the finish line of our liberal arts

degree. After gathering the information we needed for our speeches, I learned, for me, that

working as a group was difficult because I didn't want to let anyone down. I had to work on my

time management both for the completion of my work, and the timing in our final speech. Along

the way, Professor Ivezaj was incredibly encouraging and helped us narrow down key points we

needed to drill home. She helped us focus on what the most important points are when trying to

capture the attention of an audience in order to help them contribute to the cause we were

speaking about. She gave us confidence, real world experience, and the positive tools needed to

execute the assignment. Beyond my own group, another group speaking about a different non-

profit organization, literally motivated our entire class to donate to their cause by saying they

would double the amount that we gave as a class that day. I attribute the good will and
motivation to the teachings and structure of Professor Ivezaj, which ultimately taught our groups

how to effectively speak persuasively with confidence, give back to local communities, and

make a difference in our lives and the lives of others.

Similarly, Professor McLoone had the same positive motivation to help us explore and

expand on our writing skills as it pertains to contemporary work and life. Professor McLoone has

be one of my favorite instructors, and we were lucky enough to have her twice. Our work

continued to deal with heavy, current topics, however, the structure of the class was conducted in

a lighter way. Although, lighter, the crux of the information still bore the realities of current

socioeconomic, and race related topics. In CWL 320, we had to dissect and write about the

movie The Hangover. The comic relief of a class gave us the ability to understand a basic

structure of characters that comedies follow, which dates all the way back to the structure in

which Shakespearean plays were written. Through this structure, I was able to learn a framework

in which race and social status play a significant part in regular life. Through this framework, I

began to understand why stereotypes are perpetually upheld in film, and how those stereotypes

spill over to daily life. Additionally, we as a society, add to the detrimental aspects of the

structure for our own entertainment, and therefore uphold the status quo of marginalized

communities. Professor McLoone forced us to take a deeper look into what each character was

representing and why. This taught me that representation does matter, as the film we watched

was overwhelmingly white, cis, males.