Experiential Learning Application: Leadership (Fall 2011)

Summary
For my second experiential learning project, I will be leading a section of Honors 100 as a Teaching Assistant.
Throughout the quarter I will be running my small group to give new Honors students a feeling of connection
to their fellow Honors students and the program in general. I plan to introduce my students to a variety of
resources around campus so they will feel more prepared as they make some important choices as students.
I am expected to set a positive example of an Honors student for my section by being a resource to them and
guiding them through assignments, discussions and reflections during the quarter.
Explain how your project fits the provided Honors Program definition of the Experiential Learning area you
selected:
I am certainly "demonstrating vision" and "translating that vision into sustained action" as an Honors 100 TA
because I have the freedom to take my section down the path of my choice. While there are general
guidelines set about the topics we need to cover as TAs, I have been able to choose how I want to
communicate these details. Through this entire TA process (my TA training spring quarter and the teaching
during fall quarter), I am collaborating with my fellow TAs and the Honors Advisors. Their input has given me
a lot of new ideas to grow from. As a section leader, I am guiding my group of Honors freshmen through the
course and contributing a lot of time and effort.
How and why did you select this engagement?
I became an Honors 100 TA because I wanted to give back to the Honors Program. After my experience in
Honors 100, I definitely thought the class could improve with the new section component, so I'm excited to
help out with some positive changes in the Honors experience. Most importantly, since I have had such great
mentors in my life, I wanted to be a positive influence in the same way. I spent my freshman year using
Rachel Morin as my Honors 100 TA - she was great at answering my stupid questions - so I'm looking forward
to answering stupid questions for freshmen who might not otherwise have a person to ask. As a TA, I hope to
improve my public speaking and communication skills to get better at answering all of life's stupid questions.
How does this project connect to your concurrent or past coursework? How does it speak to your broader
education goals and experiences?
Since my job as an Honors 100 TA is all about communicating the Honors Program experience to new
students, this experiential learning project connects to all of my past, present and future Honors coursework.
I am learning more about all the Honors classes with this job, so the knowledge I have gained as a TA will
definitely help me select other classes in the future. I'm planning to someday go on to graduate school where
I know graduate students often TA classes, so being a TA now will hopefully help me be a fantastic TA in
future classes.
How will your project contribute to the larger goals of the organization or those of your partners?
My experiential learning project connects directly to the larger goals of the Honors Program because my
sections will hopefully engage my students with the Honors program in a positive way. My class is comprised
of students from a variety of intended majors. By connecting them all to the Honors program and each other,
I will be helping to reach an Honors goal - the "interdisciplinary" experience.

Experiential Learning Final Reflection
As an Honors 100 Peer Educator (PE), I had the amazing opportunity to be a mentor for a group of incoming
Honors Program students. The freshmen I met with gave me a whole new insight into the "freshman
experience." As each of my students came from very different backgrounds, the variety of experiences they
shared really enhanced the group's dynamics and my understanding of leadership. While being a PE was time
consuming and, at times, frustrating, the overall experience and the positive reflections I later received from
my students made the experience completely worthwhile.

Even though I wouldn't characterize my entire Honors 100 section leadership as successful, the overall
growth I saw in my students, the Honors 100 experience and myself was outstanding. As my students became
more familiar with college life and each other throughout the quarter, they began to see the actual point of
the course and the Honors Program. The course content also gave me enough freedom to cater my sections
to my students' particular interests - allowing me to engage my students in a more dynamic, friendly
atmosphere. During my section of choice, I took my students to four different research labs on campus for
tours. All of their amazed expressions really drove home to me the reason why I decided to become a TA in
the first place - to give my students the chance to experience brand new concepts in a completely different
setting. By the end of the quarter, I know my freshmen really saw and experienced the "meaning" (and fun!)
of college.

During my students' portfolio presentations in our last section meeting, I saw my teaching goals and the goals
of the Honors Program/Honors 100 fulfilled. As each of my students gave telling presentations connecting
their first quarter experiences to general themes and the Honors Program objectives, they truly confirmed to
me the benefits of Honors 100. At times, I had my doubts that the "message" was getting through to them,
but the presentations I saw moved past "why I applied to the Honors Program" to answer the greater
question of "why I'm a part of the Honors Program." There's just a subtle difference between those two
questions, but Honors 100 really gave my students the chance to make that transition. I believe that Honors
100 was a really valuable, important experience for my students, and I'm really glad I had the chance to be a
part of it.

In addition, Honors 100 was a really valuable leadership experience for me. I've always, in general, taught by
example, so being a mentor for a group of Honors freshmen was the perfect chance for me to apply my
particular brand of leadership. By working with a small group of students for a quarter, I gained a clearer
understanding of the areas my teaching methods are effective and where they could use some work. While
leading by example is often successful on an individual basis, you have to really gain the trust of a group in
order to eventually command their attention and respect. My experience as a leader last quarter taught me
more about how I can improve based upon my values and ideals. This will certainly help me through my time
this year as my sorority's Scholarship Chair. As Scholarship Chair, I look forward to using my leadership skills
to move my sisters in the right direction academically. I'm really excited to help my sorority's new freshman
transition academically into college next fall.

While I do not have the time to commit to being an Honors 100 PE again next fall, I do hope to continue this
leadership experience by staying in contact with my students to see how the Honors Program continues to
shape them and define their direction in life. I'll truly be interested to see if the majority of my students are
still Computer Science and Engineering majors this time next year!




Supervisor Feedback
Thanks, Nancy, not only for putting such thought into your reflection, but for the amazing work you did as
a PE this past quarter. It was wonderful to have the chance to work with you and get to know you, and I
know your students feel the same. Thanks! - Laura, Brook & Aley