1. Given what you know about the topic so far, please reflect on the heritage and values of the Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur in the context of your own values and belief system.
Based on my own values and beliefs, the Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur were women who were passionate, caring, faithful and leaders. The Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur were all women who became part of the covenant because of their vocation to dedicating their life to God. They were very passionate and faithful toward their religion and vocation. They were also very caring towards all the people they encountered wherever they went. Being caring also included honoring the dignity and sacredness of every person. Like that time when Sister Dorothy protected one of her students who couldn’t speak English as well and got bullied by the other students. She was able to protect him from the others and also help him with his English. Due to their passion in what they loved to do for God and also their passion to help others, has made them leaders in the eyes of everyone else.
2. What opportunities have you had so far at NDNU to develop relationships that honor the dignity and sacredness of each person? Why is this so important?
The opportunity I had so far here at NDNU to develop relationships that honor the dignity or sacredness of each person, was getting the chance to become friends with the people I’m now friends with. This is important, because making friends here in college is a really important part of the journey here. Friends are always there for you when you’re sad, upset or even excited about something. Friends are also there to motivate you and give you different opinions. Another important thing is that these people are able to give me their full trust, they are able to tell me things that other people don’t know about them and by telling me, they are trusting me not to tell anyone and that honors their dignity and sacredness as a person. Having trust in someone is one of the most important aspects.
3. During your time here as a member of the NDNU campus community so far, have you been challenged to assess your own ethical positions in any way? In what ways, if any, have these ethical considerations involved issues of justice or peace? In what ways, if any, have they caused you to change the way you think about your own future career choices?
No, during my time here at NDNU so far I haven't been challenged with my own ethical positions. Although it has only been one semester, I'm sure down the line I will at some point come across a situation where it will challenge my ethical position about something. But even if it challenges my ethical views on something it won't ever change my future career goals. I have always wanted to become a doctor and studying Biology here makes me more dedicated to become one because being in college can be tough. But as time goes by, it'll just increase my passion towards my future career.
4. Have you, in the context of any class this first semester, had opportunities to apply classroom learning to address community or social problems? If so, did this make your classroom learning more engaging? Please explain.
Yes, in my English Composition class we had the chance to pick our own topic about something to present on as a final presentation. One group decided to talk about a social and community problem, feminism. It was very engaging and the one thing that everyone probably took from this presentation was about the cons of feminism because one of the group members stated examples in today’s society that related to feminism. My group decided to do it about poverty and wealth around the world, and this really brought the discussion open about how poverty and wealth is very much different in other continents and countries compared to the United States. Everyone was able to discuss about how they felt regarding the poverty of third world countries and the things that could be done. I think doing presentations on topics that are an issue in society today made classroom learning more engaging.
5. How do you personally define diversity? What have you learned so far this semester about the challenges and rewards of embracing diversity as a gift? Is embracing diversity of value to the human community?
To me, diversity is being in a community where everyone is different. Being different can include having many people come from different places from the world, being of different ethnicities, or even being someone with different ideas. Diversity means being different and it’s always good. So far in this semester, some things I have learned about the challenging aspects of a diverse community is that everyone always has different opinions on things and sometimes getting feedback from certain people has put me in a spot where their criticism is too forward and sometimes hurtful. Although there are challenges to a diverse community, there are also rewards and good things. A good thing about a diverse community is that you’re able to meet a bunch of new people who maybe come from different parts of the world or they are of different ethnicity. And due to this, I’m able to learn so much more about everyone that I befriend. Another good thing about diversity is the amount of different opinions that make you see things in a new way. These opinions can help me understand things in an easier way, or these opinions can be about things that I have never heard about before. But embracing a diverse community is very important because I see this as a value for the human community because wherever you go there can always be diversity.
6. In what ways, if any, have you had opportunities so far this semester to build a sense of community with others? Who were the "others"? Were they students? Teachers? Mentors? Coaches? NDNU staff? Were they campus partners who met through community engagement activities?
I have opportunities so far this semester to build a sense of community with others in my classroom area. In my English class my professor loves to tell us that our class is a form of a discourse community where we are able to exchange ideas and opinions that other people can learn from. But not only does forming this discourse community happen between students, but it also includes our teachers and other mentors. They most especially give us new ideas and ideas that we can easily understand and empathize with. I also had another chance to develop a sense of community with others during my Call To Action Day with the kids from Ravenswood. We were able to become their friends and learn together with them about the San Francisco Bay marine life.
7. Have you had opportunities this semester to develop spiritual or ethical leadership in working toward a more just society? What specifically were those skills? How do you see yourself applying those skills during the remainder of your four years at NDNU and/or during your life and career after college?
During the Social Justice Speaker Series, Rose Jacobs-Gibson encourages us to work more towards a more just society when she talked about youth gun violence and how she was proactive about the correction facility. Those skills being passionate about what we love and to spread awareness. I see myself applying both those skills during my life and career after college. My future goal is to become a Pediatrician, and ever since I was younger I was always glued to that dream. Now as I grow older and I find that I love working with kids and helping others, the job of being a pediatrician really embraces the passion for what I love to do. Not only do I get to work with little kids and help them when they’re sick or need a routine check up, at the same time I’m spreading awareness about sickness to the parents of the children I see or to others like in a conference. Applying these two skills in my life now and later on will be very important for me in regards to my career in the future.
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