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Courtney Cole
Professor Rohan
16 November 2015
HONORS 1700
Honors Reflection
As the semester draws, or shall I say sprints to an end, its time to reflect. Well there was
move-in, Week of Welcome, my first essay followed by my fifth and sixth, meals in the dining
hall, the first football game, Family Weekend, and everything in between. But the real focus here
is my development through all of my stress, excitement, challenges, hard work, friendships,
opportunities, and experiences. Through my artifacts, I will reflect on my academic and personal
experiences as I approach the finish line of this semester.
I chose my altered book as my first artifact because it was an unfamiliar project and
exploratory learning adventure for me. I had never heard of an altered book and was immediately
fascinated by the creative and intellectual aspects that it possessed. The altered book challenged
me to embark and embrace my creative side while simultaneously encouraging me to think
critically about my identity and who I am as a person. The altered book was more than just
tearing apart pages and decorating them with what I saw fitit was my first real life example of
exploration. It was something new and unfamiliar like my experience in UHP. UHP for me was
uncharted territory: new, developed classes, new people, extensive experiences, requirements,
and on top of that a brand new environment at UNC Charlotte. But now I can say, like the altered
book, being in UHP has helped me settle into the university and college life by bringing me close
to people with similar mind-sets and interests, courses that relate to my learning style, abilities,
and interests. The altered book altered my experience by making me more open, understanding,

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and developed as a student, scholar, citizen, and person. It altered my old habits and perceptions
from before and crafted me into the individual that I am now.
I wish I could say that my development and growth was that simple, and overnight
process, and quick of the fingers, but I promise you it has been an ongoing process. Unlike high
school where you have assignments for each class and once theyre done it really seemed like
they were done; however, here in the college world there is always an assignment due. For
instance, during the time of my altered book I more than likely was working on web work for
math, a reflection for my LBST, a sociology forum and reading, Spanish homework, a draft for
English, and attempting to research clubs and organizations. My altered book for example
demonstrated the necessity for planning and time management. I had great time management in
high school; however, this was a whole new arena and great wouldnt cut it any more. The
altered book was a time consuming project that required sufficient time to plan visuals, write
explanations, separate pages, design the book, and prepare to present. This process is similar to
that of my day-to-day activities where Im attending class, spending time with friends, doing
homework, sometimes procrastinating, relaxing, attending meetings, and so on. I wish I could
say that I took a certain amount of time each day to work on my book, but between my activities
and procrastination, my execution was spread out. This is a prime example of how I should have
managed my time better to get the project done over a steady time rather than more of it at a later
date. Theres a time for everything and like the altered book, I realized that time management
wouldnt be as easy as it was in high school, I would now have to really monitor my time for my
activities, schedule, plan, and act like never before in order to reach my full potential.
My visual response to the Harvey B. Gantt Center for my Liberal Studies Class
demonstrates one of my interests and a new learning experience. As I stated in my artifact

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section, this was not my first art class; however, this was my first art class that required me to
think critically about artsomething I was not accustomed to. This class went beyond looking at
art and identifying the period to which it came from, this was about how art affected society. I
learned among many things that art can be legitimate and counterfeit and the only difference is
the artists true intention. I learned that art provides further insight into the past while
simultaneously explaining the present in order to prepare for and predict the future. These are
just a few of the things that I was privileged to learn in my class as well as analyzing each
museum and select art pieces as they relate to myself, my cultural and personal experiences, and
the outside world. This artifact and the lessons behind it are very similar to my time here at UNC
Charlotte. Sure I went to high school, took algebra and other classes, spent time with people
solely in my county, took Humanities, and was involved, but upon stepping onto this campus I
knew that this was a new level of growth. UNC Charlotte and the surrounding, were and still are,
unfamiliar to me considering Im an out-of-state student, algebra in college is on another level,
my art endeavors were more on reflection and application, I went from attending a school of
1,200 students and a class of 275 to a school of 28,000 and a class of 3,400 students, and now I
got involved in the beginning rather than the end of my time at school. Being here at UNC
Charlotte although unfamiliar and a little uncomfortable at first. Like my artifact and the class, I
wasnt completely familiar with art, I even attempted to take a film class and in the beginning
trying to explain how art made me feel and what I really saw in it was strange, but now over time
I have grown and developed into educated art connoisseur. Much like my experience at UNC
Charlotte, I have adjusted to the independence, the overwhelming amount of free time, the
challenging course work, the diverse environment, and the new friendships.

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I also would like to relate my visual response to an article by Leo Tolstoy titled Art and
Sincerity. Art as Tolstoy describes it is a means of intercourse between man and man it is the
transmission of the human experience from the producer to the viewer. My visual response, like
my reflection and experience thus far would serve as an art form. My visual response combined
elements of color, emphasis, and words to convey both my black experience and my experience
as a student thus far. Tolstoy further describes art as being legitimate art only if it is clear,
individual, and sincere. My reflection on my experience is reflective of art because it is clear
carefully explaining moments in my UHP and UNCC experience, individualbecause my
experience is individual to me, yes each of us have similar requirements and course; however,
my journey during all of this time is unique to me, and sincerebecause my motivation,
inspiration, and dedication is sincere regarding my pursuit to success.
For this first semester, my community service activities were Crisis Assistance Ministry.
Volunteering at Crisis and being involved in the home-help process, although something I
already knew but failed to acknowledge, not everybody is as fortunate as I am. By being there
and folding clothes for the program, we helped residents pay their bills and be able to afford their
homes and necessities. Not everybody is privileged enough to afford lavish things or even
sometimes the bare minimum. This experience taught me to have a greater appreciation for my
home, resources, and belongings, because there are those who go without on a daily basis.
If I could change one thing about this semester it would probably be my level of
involvement. This semester I managed to do the minimum requirements for my service projects,
but originally I intended to do at least two service projects each month on a Saturday; however, I
only ended up doing one a month. Next semester I am going to try and do more service projects
as well as try different service projects. I would like to volunteer at the Milton Road Boys and

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Girls Club since I volunteered with the Boys and Girls Club back home and would like to
continue my commitment to service here with their program as well.
My time spent in UHP during this first semester is just the beginning of my dedication to
scholar citizenship. I have bee actively participating in three honors courses that have challenged
my learning capabilities, critical thinking skills, and inquiry potential. I have continued my
commitment to service through Crisis Assistance Ministry. In the future I plan to continue my
involvement in UHP by becoming an Ambassador, continuing my commitment to service, and
further development in the program as a whole. I know that in the future I will have more
experiences that will further shape my experience here at UNC Charlotte. I am grateful for the
opportunities I have been afforded thus far and I am more than ready and prepared to continue
staking my claim.

Works Cited
Tolstoy, Leo. Art and Sincerity. What Is Art? Trans. Aylmer Maude. 1900.