Final Reflection

​From a time when achievement was rare, and succeeding among minority was minuscule, a sense of order was needed. During this time Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity Incorporated came into the world, bringing core values and achievement. Within the five objectives Kappa Alpha Psi showcases the distinction of itself from other fraternities. The founding fathers had the desire to shape a unique group personality different from the other greek letter college organizations, around the idea of achievement. When achievement was mainly concerned with improvement of personal status, security, and meeting the demands of everyday living the founders of the fraternity envisioned something bigger. Thus bringing about the Five Objectives that men of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity Incorporated live by and exemplify on a day to day basis showcasing Achievement in every field of human endeavor.

A condition of my admission to the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign was the completion of my senior year courses. I admit that my grade in Math Techniques was an F. This fact is not what I wish to explain, as there is no way for me to skirt the fact that I received a failing grade in this class.

Before I joined the National Honor Society (NHS), my ideal characteristics for a successful student included earning straight A’s every semester, taking challenging courses, and, ultimately, ranking myself among the top students of my class. I was trapped in my own model student, exhausting myself with grades and incessant school work. It was an endless cycle. However, when I became a member of NHS, I was reborn. The Society’s four pillars—Scholarship, Service, Leadership, and Character—have gradually reshaped my definition of a successful student.

The National Honors Society boasts of members with significant academic accomplishments, selfless hours of community service, and strong leadership capabilities as a representative of the school’s excellence. Becoming a member of the National Honors Society is a prestigious honor. As a student, I strive for excellence in my academics and have made the honor roll every quarter, showing my aim and dedication to reaching my highest potential. I try not to compete with other students, but with myself. My academics are the result of my hard work, and my dedication towards grades correlates to the dedication I have towards becoming a leader and a role model for the community.

As a member of the Phi Theta Kappa Honor Society, my academics must be my highest priorities. However, even before I received the invitation to join the community of honor students and alumni, I was keen to educate myself. Unlike some, I did not continue my formal education immediately preceding high school. My family lacked the resources to get me there, so I had to work for it; I had to want it. The time between my schooling was spent working hard to eventually work even harder once I could afford to. Days off were spent reading countless books at public libraries—reference and recreational—dabbling in anything I

Pursuing the dream of obtaining membership into the First Intercollegiate Greek Fraternity for African Americans, Alpha Phi Alpha, Inc. is one of very few ultimate goals in my life. An organization that was founded to stimulate the ambitions of its members and prepare them for great usefulness within the community has since become one of the most well respected organizations in America. Over one hundred years later, the pivotal movement in 1906 has spread to over the entire country in different collegiate chapters and cities across America and the impact has been tremendous. Alpha Phi Alpha, Inc. was vaguely introduced to me as a child but it did not take effect until I started school at Southern University and A&M College in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

Pursuing the dream of obtaining membership into the First Intercollegiate Greek Fraternity for African Americans, Alpha Phi Alpha, Inc. is one of very few ultimate goals in my life. An organization that was founded to stimulate the ambitions of its members and prepare them for great usefulness within the community has since become one of the most well respected organizations in America. Over one hundred years later, the pivotal movement in 1906 has spread to over the entire country in different collegiate chapters and cities across America and the impact has been tremendous. To some individuals, I was considered very lucky to be reared in the upbringing I experienced. But in my eyes it was a double edged sword.

Before I joined National Honors Society, I was a shy, though dutiful student. I completed assignments, turned them in, and got a good grade. Nothing more, nothing less. Though my school career appeared successful, and I had minor volunteer commitments, it wasn’t until I joined our school’s chapter that I grew to feel confident enough to pursue excellence unabashedly.

In 1982, I entered college for the first time and I realize to some of you that means I must be at least one-thousand years old. Well, I’m not quite that old but I must admit to being somewhat older than most of my fellow students at Trident. In 2015, I re-entered college and this time accompanied with my twenty-five year old daughter at my side. In the last two semesters, my daughter and I completed 21 credit hours between us and I have been accepted into the Phi Theta Kappa Honor Society and my daughter has been invited to join with her current GPA. It was been a very eventful eight months and we have progressed significantly towards our final goal – graduating – side by side in May of 2016.

Winner of the Alpha Omega Contest is the highest honor that can a student at Joliet West High School can receive. To win this award, to me, would be a realization of all the hard work I have put in over the last four years. The goal of my efforts was not to build a strong resume for college applications or even for the Alpha Omega contest, but to challenge myself to grow as an individual, and to serve my community. Joining clubs and sports because they interested me, rather than in an attempt to have something else to write on applications in the future, is a strategy that helped me to excel in these endeavors. My passion for community service was cultivated in Students of Service (SOS), when I joined as a sophomore. However because I of my dedication and leadership ability, I was awarded the position of Vice-President the following year, and those same traits have resulted in me being awarded my current position of President.

I have learned so many things out of this class that would be very useful to me in the future. Also, I don’t think that if I truly want to write about all the things I have learned from this class it would all fill a 2 pages paper. However, the three main things that I have retained from this include how to write a response paper, how to read a book better, and how to better write essays.

The chapter members were significantly impacted by the Omicron Tau chapter by the useful information and resources provided to them. The Chapter Advisor team aided in the coordination of significant events that lead to the personal development of the members. As a chapter, Omicron Tau was consistently keeping members updated on the latest volunteering opportunities, scholarships and upcoming events. The implementation of this information into meetings and e-mails successfully reached out to students which allow them to improve themselves and become more involved in the honor society. The Advisor Team was present in meetings to further inform students if there was any issue or a student wanted to seek further information with a staff member. Keeping members informed on relevant information to their personal and career growth further developed the connection between Phi Theta Kappa and its

As a new student coming into this class we might have wondered what interpersonal communication was. However, I believe by now we all have a better understanding of what it means to communicate amongst ourselves. We all, or at least most of us were strangers at the start of class. However, through exercises and discussions we have become open with each other and learned a little along the way. Something as simple as our shared interests such as superhero movies or Star Wars trivia has opened up discussions we might not have had otherwise as a group. Our perceptions of each other have changed since that first awkward day playing a cheesy board game (Alder, Rosenfeld, Proctor II, 2013, p. 106-139). As we practiced our communication skills many of us have developed a stronger self-concept as well as boosted our self-esteems (Alder, Rosenfeld, Proctor II, 2013, p. 66-67). We also used social comparisons in our class intended or not (Alder, Rosenfeld, Proctor II, 2013, p. 69). We compared our backgrounds, both cultural, ethnic, as well as socio economic standing. Some of these comparisons come from what we learned as children to believe, while others are from what we have learned in life. This is what has intrigued me the most in class. The facts that we as a “civilized” world still have not come that far at all. Women are still for the most part second-class citizens, hate is taught to our children, and language still hasn’t evolved to where there are no

After completing clinical simulation laboratory session 5: surgical scrub, I found that entire process of surgical scrub is way too complicated and time consuming: the entire process took me 5 minutes to complete and one wrong move could result in restarting whole process. My tutor emphasized the importance of surgical asepsis and its role in preventing infection but surgical scrub seemed torturous and waste of time to me. Still not fully convinced, I decided to do some research to find out the importance of proper surgical scrub.

During week one, my initial definition of learning was listening to an instruction, studying and then rehearsing that information in my mind, or categorizing it in a way so I could remember most of what was taught in the course. The class has opened a new dimension for me in the learning process; from understanding how I process information to deciphering which learning processes I use in intentional learning or metacognition. Understanding my learning patterns form dynamic learning relationship is a key element to my view of how and why I process the learning experience, even relating it to every day life.