Overall Reflection Essay: Skills Learned

There are many ways in which my liberal arts degree that I gained from the University of
Wisconsin-Oshkosh has impacted my future career plans. When I first arrived at UW-Oshkosh, I
was planning to obtain a degree in English and Economics and then later attend law school
before trying to find a job in the private sector; however, after taking a few courses I quickly
realized that this was not what interested me most. I instead decided to become a Political
Science Major in which I had the opportunity to take courses that not only built upon what I
already knew, but were of great interest to me. Thanks to my liberal education, I was exposed to
courses outside of my original declared major, which allowed me the flexibility to change
direction without falling behind, and will ultimately have a significant impact on my future
career.
Having had a somewhat unique experience, I initially was going to complete my four-
year degree in two and a half years. Because of this, many of my liberal arts courses were also
counted as some of my core courses for my political science degree. Most semesters I took
twenty-four credits, which forced me to be very focused on my future career because there was a
purpose to each course that I was taking as I spent a lot of time studying. In August of 2016, I
decided to uproot my life and accept an internship in Washington, DC to work for Speaker Paul
Ryan. The internship allowed me to utilize and build upon the skills that I had been harvesting
while at UW-Oshkosh, which is an experience I probably would not have taken advantage of had
it not been for my liberal arts degree, which consisted of many different essential learning
outcomes.
Aforementioned, there are many different learning outcomes encompassed in the
University of Wisconsin-Oshkoshs liberal education program, which has helped me to gain
invaluable skills. One of these learning outcomes is the knowledge of human cultures and the
physical and natural world. To address this learning outcome, I took many different general
education courses. One example is African American Studies 100, which exposed me to the
struggles of those around me and opened my eyes to a culture outside of my own. This was a
critical foundation for many of the political science courses that I would later take, as it prepared
me to be more open-minded when looking into policies that could impact different cultures in
different ways than it would impact me. Another course that I took to address this learning
outcome is Anthropology 101. This course, while focused on the physical and natural world,
taught me a great lessonthat being to ask questions frequently and realize that the world
around me is constantly changing. This was a crucial skill learned which I was able to apply to
all of my political science major courses. In the obvious sense, I applied what I learned in my
Anthropology course to topics discussed in my Science, Politics, and Policy course which
focused on science and policy. In a larger sense of what I learned, I applied the skill of asking
questions about the natural world to each of the political science courses that I later took, as a
significant part of understanding politics is asking questions about problems that you see in the
world around you.
Another learning outcome within the liberal education program at UWO is to gain
intellectual and practical skills. An example of one of these skills is written and oral
communication. During my first semester, I took Comms 111, which focused on speech-writing
and also how to present speeches under pressure. This course was very beneficial in achieving
the aforementioned learning outcome, as it enhanced my ability to write my thoughts and also
speak my thoughts. This course was paired with one of my initial political science coursesThe
Democratic Arena. Within this political science course, we often had to engage in verbal
arguments on various contemporary political issues. We would pick a stance on the issue and
defend our stance. The communications course really helped me to be able to excel in political
science course debate, as I was more aware of what it meant to develop a thoughtful and
effective argument.
Another essential learning outcome of the UW-Oshkosh general education program is to
learn responsibility as individuals and as communities. One of the sub-points of this learning
outcome is civic learninglocal and global. I took a public administration course as one of my
liberal arts courses, in which I was assigned to attend a hearing at the local courthouse in
Oshkosh. This was a very interesting experience and one that bared many fruits. This forced me
to engage in my community and recognize what was going on around me. This also helped to
enhance my understanding of the way in which the court systems work, which was beneficial
when I took Introduction to Law for my political science major. In Introduction to Law, we
delved into the court systems, and having the prior first-hand knowledge of this helped me to
better understand what was being discussed in class lecture. Another sub-point of this essential
learning outcome is ethical reasoning and action. I would note that this skill was developed in
each of the general education courses that I took during my time at UW-Oshkosh, and was
utilized in each of my political science courses that I would later take.
And finally, another learning outcome of the UW-Oshkosh liberal arts education program
is integrated, synthesized, and advanced learning. This is the ability to apply new skills to new
settings and problems. This is a skill that I began developing the day that I set foot into UW-
Oshkosh, as each course began to build upon the other. At one point, I was taking a Global
Civilizations course which was touching on topics that applied to a Political Science course
which I was taking at the same time. Being able to stack knowledge and apply what I have
learned in one course to another is a crucial skill which will carry into each of my future
endeavors post-UW-Oshkosh.
Aside from the political skills obtained through Major Political Science courses, it was
skills learned in basic liberal arts courses like writing and critical thinking that were most applied
during my time as an intern for the Speaker. The majority of my initial liberal arts courses were
focused around what it means to think criticallywhich, at the time, I found these to be the most
mundane and tedious courses; however, what I did not realize is that it was the aforementioned
courses that laid the foundation which allowed me to excel in my political science major courses.
Many of the skills that I developed in both my general courses and Political Science Courses are
related to the essential learning outcomes of a UW-Oshkosh liberal arts education.
Aforementioned, by studying performing arts and humanities, I learned about human cultures
and the physical and natural world. The courses within this learning outcome helped me to gain
crucial observation skills and made me realize that asking questions is an essential aspect of life
which will allow me to continue growing in my endeavors. From the intellectual and practical
skills learning outcome, I gained the skills of creative thinking, teamwork, and written and oral
communication. As I previously mentioned, the communications course that I took early in my
career at UW-Oshkosh laid the foundation for all courses to come as I knew how to formulate
and defend an argument. This also helped me to gain the skill of good written communication
skills, as I needed to first write my argument before defending it verbally. Also, many of my
courses stressed group work, whichalthough no one is a huge fan of group projects, it helped
me to learn what it means to depend on others and also to have others depend on me. This was a
significant skill to learn which will carry into my workplace as an adult. As for the learning
outcome of responsibility and individuals and communities, I learned about sustainability,
intercultural knowledge, and how to interact with diverse communities. I gained these skills by
taking courses which delved into communities other than my own, and learned about their
historical troubles and why our country is currently facing the issues that it is in terms of race.
The courses that helped me to develop this skill were probably some of the most engaging and
eye-opening courses that I took during my time at UW-Oshkosh. And finally, the last learning
outcomeintegrated, synthesized, and advanced learning. Within this learning outcome, I
gained the skills to apply what I have learned/what I am currently learning to new situations and
new problems. This will be especially beneficial in my line of political work, as every day brings
about a new problem or issue which needs to be dealt with case-by-case. Ultimately, it was the
aggregate of the aforementioned skills which laid the foundation which helped me to do well in
my internship, and also led to a full-time position.
Nearing the end of my internship, I was offered a full-time Staff Assistant position in the
Speakers office in Washington, DC. During the internship, it became clear to me what my future
career goals actually were, and also what it would take to make those goals tangible. While my
career on the Hill has already begun, I was able to foster my goals while interning. I spent a lot
of my time writing memos for policy staff, which was great exposure to the kind of career that I
had learned about in political science courses at UW-Oshkosh. During the period of my
internship as well as the first few months of my official job, I have realized that I have a
significant interest in policy and that the areas I am most interested in are Homeland Security and
Immigration Reform. I have been fortunate enough to work very closely with high level Hill
policy staffers who are experts in both of these areas, which has helped me to begin developing
my five-year career goals. Within the next five years, I hope to have moved from Staff Assistant
to Legislative Assistant to a Legislative Director who recommends votes to their boss. Another
path that would be of great interest to me would be of great interest to me would be to become
involved in floor procedures. I find the formalities of working on the floor to be very fascinating,
as I love the minutiae found in the rules. However, regardless of which path that my future takes,
I am grateful for my experiences at the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh, and especially my
time spent within the Political Science Department, as it has had a significant impact on my
future career.