Amy Heistad

Looking back on my first semester here I am very happy with how far I have come so far. Beginning was the hardest for me, but I think that anyone can attest to that. Moving away from home and living with someone that you don’t know was probably the weirdest part for me. The hardest part for me though was moving away from where I was most comfortable. I have a strong family bond and that was really hard for me to sever those ties with mom and dad. Although this was very hard for me, I found someone that I really connected with. We have now become the best of friends. Becoming friends with Molly has made this transition into college that much easier. 

With the transition becoming easier I have also grown to be better at my study habits. In high school I was never required to actually study for certain tests or subjects that we had quizzes in. That all changed when I got here. I realized that I needed to study so most of my free time was spent either at my job or doing homework. Yes, I still have some-what of a bad habit of procrastinating some of my work. I do manage to get it all done on time though. As far as I know I am doing okay in all my classes so far. It is coming to the end of my first semester here and I am confident that I will be in the clear.  

Looking at some of the things that I wrote at the beginning of the year until this date I have become so much better at how I write. Along with my writing skills I have improved on many other things as well. Like I said before I have majorly improved on my studying skills. I have also learned more about myself and how I like to interact with people. Learning about myself was one of the most difficult things to do. I trained myself to look at what I had to do and assess what I could manage. Knowing what I can handle and what I can’t is a big part of who I have become. When I keep to myself it’s because I know I have to get things done and not be distracted by anyone or anything. At times though I get distracted by people or things that are on my computer, but sometimes that’s okay. Sometimes I need that mental break for five minutes to forget what I’m doing and come back to it with a fresh mind.  

As for next semester, I am really excited to see what all of my classes turn out to be like or which ones I find interesting or not. I know that I am going to have a big load with taking 17 credits, but I have the confidence in myself that I will be able to accomplish what I need to.  
In all of my new classes I am also excited to meet some new people and get to know them more. Looking back at the Comm. Sci. Class this semester I know that I will always have these people as my friends which is so nice. I hope to do this in my future classes as well. With smaller class sizes at times it will be easier to do so. Looking further into my future I feel that being apart of the GPS program I will have a better grip on being prepared. There are certain skills that I have taken from this class that I will be able to apply in my future endeavors.  

Overall, I had a good first semester here. I am happy with the way everything has turned out so far and am looking forward to what my future has to hold here at Green Bay. As some might say your story has only begun. Well that is very true and I can’t wait to see what the future has to hold for me in my education and life in general.

Career Exploration in Comm. Sci. 145

In this class we did a career exploration assignment. In this assignment we explored what U.W.G.B has to offer for majors through the Major Fair. At this fair we went up to people at the specific booth we chose and talked to them about the major and what it has to offer. In doing this it was to help us better understand or get an idea of what we would like to do as our major. For me, I discovered that I still want to be a psychologist, but with a possible emphasis in a foreign language. The French and Francophone Studies was an eye-opening emphasis that I would like to investigate more for my future endeavors. 

Critical Thinking in English Comp. 100 

In this class we had an Investigative Research project. For this paper we were to either pick an emersion experience or profile experience. I chose to do the profile experience. So, I had to go out and interview someone who I thought would be helpful in writing my paper. Applying my critical thinking skills, I contacted a few people who I thought might be able to help me. Turns out that the chairman for the psychology is a really good candidate for my research. Along with interviewing someone on my topic I also had to find creditable sources and people to help me along my way. In doing all of this I was able to overcome my setbacks of not knowing what to write about and showed my problem-solving skills along with some critical thinking. 

Portraying Professionalism in the Work Place 

As this may not be a class, I chose to get a job here on campus. Along with all my studies I have a job. I work about fourteen hours a week. That is just about enough with the work load that I have already and next semester I feel I am going to test my limits with the seventeen credits that I will be taking, but as for the job I am expected to be there on time every day that I work. Along with that I have to deal with patrons all the while I am working whether they are pleasurable or not to deal with. Looking professional is always a good thing even though we are not required to be in professional clothing all the time. It is also my duty to uphold a professional attitude while I’m at work. Presenting these attributes is what I feel qualifies this as professionalism and work ethic.  

Group Collaboration

In the spring semester of my first year, as a class, we had to pick a topic and place to achieve our service – learning project. During class time we talked about our ideas that we came up with last semester for the service-learning project. Coming to the conclusion that our first idea had hit a stone wall; we went back to the drawing board. After about two weeks of talking and figuring in all factors we came up with the class came to a consensus on what we wanted. Through this, as a class, we threw out ideas, problems, and solutions. Working together on the issues we were going to face, we came together and decided upon volunteering at a domestic violence shelter here in Green Bay. We delegated people to contact the place and everyone had to pitch in and do their part by applying on their own to volunteer. 

Global/Intercultural Influence

In this class I have been exposed to different issues throughout the world. Our professor has given me the knowledge about how different cultures work and the issues they have lying in their governments. Coming into this class I had some knowledge of what was going on in the world, but with the knowledge that I have been given I now have a better understanding of what is really going on in the world around me. I have also gained many aspects as to how international law and government work through doing a simulation were the class acted as a part of the United Nations Human Rights Council. Overall, this class has broaden my knowledge in the global/intercultural areas, and I am looking forward to learning more about it. 

COMM SCI 145 – 21^st Century Citizenship 

Fall 2018 

Purpose: By completing this assignment, you will be able to…. 

Your High Impact Experience Plan 

• Identify High Impact Experiences offered by the university that align with your interests 

• High Impact Experiences have a profound influence on your development as a person and a professional, and are vital to advancing your education and your career. Research illustrates that participation in High Impact Experiences positively impacts students’ learning, skill development, and success. 
• All kinds of activities can serve as high impact experiences, but common examples include:  
• First-Year Seminars  
• Writing-intensive courses  
• Collaborative research with a faculty member 

• ePortfolios 
• Service learning projects 
• Internships 
• Study abroad programs 
• Develop a plan to pursue these opportunities 

• This kind of foresight and planning will make you more likely to engage in these activities and will help you to develop better organizational and planning skills that will help you in your career. Not only will you become more aware of various opportunities outside the classroom to further develop a strong skill-set, but doing so will make you better prepared for future tasks within and outside your coursework; better preparation that should result in better performance. 

Tasks: 

1) You will gather information on different high impact experiences that you may have an interest in pursuing. 

a) You will identify 1 experience that you plan to complete in each semester [you’ve already got 1 for your first semester with your GPS First Year Seminar]. 

i) In addition, we encourage you to also identify a second possible High Impact Experience each semester. 

b) Opportunities past GPS students experienced will be discussed during the panels in class on Friday, November 2^nd. 

2) You will create a plan for the experiences you’ll complete over your first two years of college. As you develop that plan, answer the following questions:  

      a) Which semester/year will you complete it? 

b) What requirements or prerequisites do you need for the experience?  

c) How you plan to gain access to the experience (e.g., fulfilling eligibility requirements for an internship, completing the application to be a Student Ambassador, completing an audition)? 

d)  What will you do in the experience? Be as detailed as possible. 

e) How will the experience benefit your purposeful exploration, personal, professional, and/or civic growth? 

3) You will share this plan with your peers in class on Friday, November 9^th. 

4) Save a copy of this document and type your responses to the questions below into the document, and submit an electronic copy of this assignment to D2L on Friday, November 16^th. 

5) Post the relevant information into your ePortfolio by Friday, November 30^th. 

a) Classes will spend time briefly reviewing the process for uploading this information during tutorials on Friday, November 16^th.  

Criteria: Doing this assignment well requires that you spend time researching each experience – looking at information on our website, going to campus offices, talking to other students who’ve participated in it, reviewing the requirements to apply or participate and creating a plan for how you will successfully gain access, and then deciding when in your first two years you should do each. 

Once you have completed your research, answer the following questions: 

The goal of this work is to gather enough information on each experience for you to have a detailed guide that you can follow to participate in that experience. When describing the experience and its benefits, your responses should be roughly 1-2 sentences for each. 

Fall Semester First Year: First Year Seminar 

• What will you do in the experience? 
• Create friends and learn about the sixties 
• How will it benefit your purposeful exploration, personal, professional and/or civic growth? 
• This will benefit me by exploring my personal interests along with finding out more about the career that I want to pursue in the future. As for the professional side of this class I will take out of it is presentation of self.  

Spring Semester First Year:  Community Service Project 

• What are the requirements/prerequisites? What is your plan to gain access? 
• For our first-year seminar we are required to come up with a service project as a class. To gain access to this we will research and plan what we must do to be able to go forward with our project.  
• What will you do in the experience? 
• In this experience I will be helping to organize and plan the necessary tasks needed to fulfill the project.  
• How will it benefit your purposeful exploration, personal, professional and/or civic growth? 
• This will benefit me personal experience by growing with the group and becoming closer. For a professional aspect I may have to talk with other professionals that may have more knowledge about the service project that we choose to do.  

POSSIBLE Spring Semester First Year: Taking a Foreign Language  

• What are the requirements/prerequisites? What is your plan to gain access? 
• It is recommended that you have 1 year of high school French or 1 semester in college. 
• What will you do in the experience? 
• I will broaden my horizons and expand my cultural knowledge. 
• How will it benefit your purposeful exploration, personal, professional and/or civic growth? 
• This will benefit me in my professional career because I will be able to speak the second most spoken language in the world over others who may not have that experience.  

Fall Semester Second Year: Studying Abroad  

• What are the requirements/prerequisites? What is your plan to gain access? 
• You must take a class while you’re in the country you choose.  
• What will you do in the experience? 
• Take a course and immerse myself in the culture. 
• How will it benefit your purposeful exploration, personal, professional and/or civic growth? 
• This would be a great opportunity for me to get out there and explore the world. It would also be a great chance for me to more credits for a class.  

POSSIBLE Fall Semester Second Year: Join a sorority  

• What are the requirements/prerequisites? What is your plan to gain access? 
• Sign-up for the rush week that a sorority has. See how far you make it through that week and move on from there. 
• What will you do in the experience? 
• Meet many new people and become very close with them. You must hold a certain academic standing to be allowed to stay with the group.  
• How will it benefit your purposeful exploration, personal, professional and/or civic growth? 
• I would be making lasting friendships and I would be doing well in school.  

Spring Semester Second Year: Volunteering at a Women’s Shelter  

• What are the requirements/prerequisites? What is your plan to gain access?  
• To be able to volunteer there I would have to apply for a volunteering position and must have a background check done.  
• What will you do in the experience? 
• I will be volunteering at a local women’s shelter doing what my supervisor tells me to do.  
• How will it benefit your purposeful exploration, personal, professional and/or civic growth? 
• I feel that this would benefit me not only personally by making connections and helping the women at the shelter, but also professionally for when I would like to start psychology career.  

POSSIBLE Spring Semester Second Year: An Internship  

• What are the requirements/prerequisites? What is your plan to gain access? 
• To gain an internship you’ll have to meet all the qualifications required by the employer after sending in your resume and cover letter.  
• What will you do in the experience? 
• Work for a company or office to get experience under my belt before I go out into the actual real world.  
• How will it benefit your purposeful exploration, personal, professional and/or civic growth? 
•  This would benefit me in the fact that I could get some on the job training with real people. This could also benefit me by getting my name out there for future employers to look at.