Retrospective Reflection

Reflecting on the skills I've honed in completing two of my honors contracts

Classical Mythology

In the spring of 2025, I completed an honors contract for my Classical Mythology course with Dr. Kathryn Lauten. This online course used an asynchronous model, meaning there was very little interaction required between myself and my professor. By completing an honors contract for this course, I was able to fulfill the IUI Honors College goal of being an active participant in my intellectual experience. Completing an honors contract for this course allowed me to develop a relationship with Dr. Lauten I would not have been able to otherwise, and to complete supplemental work that applied my skills as a journalist.

For my honors contract, I designed, researched, and wrote a newspaper themed around Greek mythology. I applied the principles of visual communication, feature writing, and media ethics I was learning in my other courses to this course that had little, if anything, to do with my field of study. The graphic design principles of visual harmony and layout I demonstrated in this project are directly related to the online writing and editing work required of producers in newsrooms. While I had completed projects like this before while learning these principles in journalism courses, this project let me apply them in a way that was both creatively stimulating and challenging, as I explored subject matter entirely new to me in a medium it is not often presented.

I was able to demonstrate my understanding of the course materials, largely Bates College scholar Dr. Lisa Maurizio’s interpretation of Greek myth. Much of the work I completed for Dr. Lauten’s course surrounded depictions of Greek gods in art across centuries and artistic movements. I exhibited a particular understanding of Greek art in this project, from the eras I chose for photos to my font and order choices.

While this honors contract displays my technical skills and holistic understanding of Greek Mythology, it is largely a testament to my learned ability to get more out of an online course than is usually possible. I was enrolled in only one in-person class in the spring semester of 2025, and I felt that I was going through the motions in my five online classes. I did not interact with my peers or professors outside of the occasional discussion post. This honors contract gave me the opportunity to connect with my professor, get continuous feedback about my understanding of course material, and learn to contribute to my intellectual experience by applying myself creatively.

J110 9/11 Honors Contract

Foundations of journalism

I completed an honors contract for Malcolm Moran’s Foundations of Journalism in the Spring of 2024. For this project, I analyzed the production techniques used in the television special on the Fire Department of New York on September 11, 2001, released in 2024 by 60 Minutes. I then applied my analysis to my own work in news production.

This contract is evidence that my work achieves the IUI Honors College goals of developing strong civic-minded skills and reflecting on my growth as a learner through classes and engaged experiences inside and outside the classroom. This contract asked me to explore the impacts of the September 11th attacks on a granular level, as the 60 Minutes feature examines the lives of first responders. This close inspection and analysis of media coverage of the tragedy developed my care and understanding of the attacks as a civic-minded student and journalist.

This honors contract had a particular focus on how the production choices made by the 60 Minutes team contributed to the story of 9/11. I write about executive producer Bill Owens and producer Maria Gavrilovic’s choices to deviate from the show’s traditional graphics choices to better emphasize the impact of the attacks and hone in on particular first responders. They use three dimensional monitor graphics of a book without glossy photographs to emphasize the story of a family of firefighters. The producers integrate audio from emergency dispatch calls over stills from the attacks, with subtitles beginning and ending to draw attention to the calls’ timeline, ending with a loss of life.

Monior graphic in 60 Minutes special

Use of captions in 60 Minutes special

In focusing on the technical storytelling choices made by the show’s producers, I wrote about the work that I do as a news producer and what I can apply after watching a project like this one. My experience in news production allowed me to recognize the work put in by the production team that underscores and amplifies the messages delivered in interviews and videos from 9/11. This work, of graphics, captions, well-timed photographs, should be invisible when done correctly.

My familiarity with the process allowed me to pick out and appreciate particular elements, and I have since been able to apply them to my own work. I have started to produce entirely standing newscasts that look more like 60 Minutes than the shows I had done in the past, and I have applied the storytelling techniques of an impactful monitor graphic done masterfully by the special’s production team.

Page updated

Report abuse