reflective essay

After being accepted into the Honors College here at Indianapolis University Indiana, I was immediately excited to see how my future would be shaped and supported by the program. Looking back four years later, I can see just how impactful the Honors College has been on not only my education, but my general life skills as well. The most life changing experience I have had in the Honors College was my study abroad trip to Costa Rica. With twelve other students and 3 facilitators, I was able to participate in cultural immersion through our homestays, community-based learning through the activities, and sustainability education through the actual class. All this combined with my honors work through contracts highlights my growth into a culturally aware and collaborative person who has built the skills needed to pursue a career as an American Sign Language interpreter.  

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While I was in Costa Rica, I had the opportunity to experience a home stay. Living with a host family allowed me to experience a little bit of their daily life and learn more about their family dynamics and culture. Other activities we did like making recycled art and learning the full process of ceramics from natural dirt in the backyard to beautiful clay structures, allowed me to connect directly to local traditions and sustainability practices.  

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One of the most impactful concepts we explored through the class and the trip was the concept of blue zones. This is where large groups of people all practice the same habits that increase lifespan such as only eating until 80% full, living with a purpose, having strong social connections, daily movement, and getting enough sleep. I not only practiced these habits while in Costa Rica but I have continued the implementation of them into my everyday life at home. The growth I experienced was unparalleled to anything else I have ever done. I learned skills such as adaptability through navigating an unfamiliar environment to me, cultural competencies through full immersion, and the understanding of global systems and sustainability practices. 

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This experience will directly support and improve my ability to be the best American Sign Language interpreter that I can be. Interpreting requires empathy and cultural awareness. Initially in Costa Rica I felt uncertain about my home stay but as I chatted with the family and learned more, my perspective shifted to understanding and compassion. This really emphasized the importance to respect people whose experience may be different than my own and to avoid assumptions. As an interpreter I will be working with individuals from diverse backgrounds daily. This honors experience helped me grow to be much more ready to approach my field.  

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My study abroad trip is evidence that my work achieves the IUI Honors College goal of participating in an engaged learning experience including international/cultural experiences, service, and experiential/applied learning. I traveled abroad and was able to become deeply involved with the culture in my time there. We did service activities while there as well. Lastly, we applied our learning beforehand through the class to the practices we got to experience and participate in while there.  

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​​​The second experience that helped me become ready to enter the field of interpreting and allowed me to learn leadership skills was my very first honors experience in the fall of my freshman year. I worked with another student on the “MythBreakers” podcast in Into to Psychology. We worked together all semester long to put together our final project. Through this experience I conducted research, worked with my partner on scripts, and we put together a final project. In order to be successful we had to learn the skills to have open communication to be able to divide the work which then held us accountable for the work we were responsible for. We worked together all semester and built collaborative skills as well to be able to be a successful team.  

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This will contribute to my ASL interpreting career because communication and teamwork is the core of the profession. This project helped me learn how to present information clearly and effectively which is of paramount importance when interpreting and adapting different communication styles for different audiences which is called register management in the field. Both working with my partner and presenting the information by way of podcast is evidence that my work achieves the IUI Honors College goal of developing strong communication, problem solving, and civic-minded skills.  

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Across my honors experiences I have developed a strong foundation in many skills such as accountability, collaboration, cultural awareness, critical thinking, and communication. These skills have not only helped me in my undergraduate experience but will continue to translate into my professional success. As I prepare to graduate from Indiana University Indianapolis, I can see that my honors experiences have shaped me into a well-rounded and capable professional. I am now confident in my ability to adapt to different situations I may find myself in and to communicate across differences to be able to work effectively in teams.