Over the course of creating this portfolio, from selecting artifacts to putting everything onto a website, I got the chance to see just how much I have grown over the course of my undergraduate coursework. I have grown as a writer, a researcher, a student, and most importantly, as a thinker. I cannot help but conclude that honors courses had a definite hand in that growth.
The goals of the honors program are built around skills associated with critical thinking, community involvement, communication, and diversity awareness. With courses centered around core goals like these, it is no surprise that I saw myself grow as a thinker. In the honors program, my critical thinking skills have been challenged not only through the demands of the coursework itself, but also by having peers in a variety of majors outside of my own. Honors courses also made me realize just how much I can do for my community, and how much I have already done either for course requirements or on my own. I got the chance to practice my written and verbal communication skills in innovative ways I might not have encountered outside of the program. Honors coursework also made me engage with diversity through a very practical and personal lens, including being exposed to diverse perspectives and reflecting on experiences with diversity in my academic life. While reading through my old work was painful at times because of all the things I would do differently now, it still feels good to see up close and personal just how much I have developed my academic skills against the measuring stick of the core honors goals.
A lot has changed for me even over the course of creating this portfolio. I am now towards the end of my student teaching, having designed and taught my own materials, I have moved into a new place, and I’ve gotten married. I really feel as though I am coming into my own, academically and personally, and creating this portfolio has contributed to that feeling of forward motion. It feels like a fitting way to end this period of my life and scholastic career.