SheerinStafford

12/01/2014
CIS110
Ms.Reynolds
PortfolioReflection
Inthemidstofthissemester,Ibecameveryillandyetstillmanagedtosuccessfully
partakeinmyCommunications110classattheUniversityofKentucky.Inthisclasswehadtwo
majorassignments,theexploringcultureessayandtheportrayingculturespeech.
WhenIwaswritingmyexploringcultureessay,Ilearnedsomuchabouteducatorsat
largeuniversitiesandhowstereotypesandtheirjobsaffecttheirpersonalandprofessionallives.
NotonlydidIlearnabouttheculturebutIlearnedhowtotreatotherculturesandhowtobe
respectfuloftheircustomsandwaysofliving.Thoughtheyaredifferenttomine,itwas
interestingtoseehowthepeopleofmycultureinteract.Duetothelargesizeofthecampus,
thereislotsofrivalrybetweenthecollegesandmajors,butmanyofthefacultydontletthatget
tothem.Thoughtoseehowmycultureinteracts,Ihadtolearntoholdinterviewsthatwere
professional,tothepoint,andaskedwhatIneedtobeansweredinordertowriteawell
structuredpaper.
Thenextassignmentwastheportrayingculturespeech,andtocompletethisassignment
successfully,Ineededtobeabletoexaminepopcultureartifactsandbeabletousethemtoback
upandsupportmypointsandinformationthatIwastoberelayingtotheclassinmyspeech.
Learningtoanalyzepopcultureartifacts,reallyaidesinthediscoveryofnewsourcesoutsideof

literarysources,andhelpsintheunderstandingofhowstereotypesfitintothemediaand
popcultureinoursociety.
Inthebeginningofthissemester,IwasveryscepticalabouttakingthisclassbecauseI
alreadyknewhowtogivepresentationsandhowtowriteaneffectivepaper,butIwaswrong.I
havelearnedsomuchfromthisclass,fromAPAcitationformattorespectfullyobservingand
learningaboutanewculturethatIhadnopreviousknowledgeabout.Thenwhenitcameto
speeches,Ilearnedhowtomakeaneffectiveoutlinethatwouldhelpmebetterprepareformy
speechandhelpmetodeliverawellthoughtout,informativeandattentiongettingpresentation.
Goingonfromthisclass,IampositiveIwilltakethethingsIhavelearnedandapplythemtomy
everydaylife,especiallythosethingsaboutotherculturesthatIamnotapartof.Sociallythiswill
makememoreroundedandsensitivetothosecultures,andhelpmetohaveabetter
understandingofwhattheydoasasociety.Academically,thiscommunicationsclasshasreally
helpedmebecomeabetterandmoreconfidentwriter,whichwillhelpmesucceedinthefuture
withanyotherclassesthatrequiremetowriteascientificallystructuredpaper.Goingforward
professionally,thisclasshashelpedmeunderstandtheinterviewingprocessandtheprocessfor
collectingtheadequateamountofinformationneededtoformawellroundedargumentwhile
havinglotsofsupportingevidence.Thisclasshasbetterpreparedmeformycareerinmedicine
forthatreasonbecauseIknowIwillneedtohavethemostinformationpossiblebeforemakinga
correctdiagnoses.