Michael Carney Self Reflection

This fall semester I had freshman seminar on Tuesdays at 9:10. Every class was very full and we were expected to fill out a Mbongi which was 50 percent of our grade. At the beginning of the semester we expected new speakers each and every week. Usually the speakers talked about specific topics which informed us about certain topics. The topics were Learning, Wisdom, and The African World Experience, Abandonment, Dismemberment, and Reawakening: The History and Legacy of Howard University, The Eloquence of the Scribes, Practices of Freedom and Justice, Self Actualization, and Research and Methodology. After these topics we were put in groups for our final group projects. The project was about researching a particular topic and presenting it to the class. Our research question was: In what ways is knowledge generated by various fields of study used to develop solutions to human social problems and challenges? With this we used the “Cradle to prison Pipeline.” which we based our main research on. I believe the project was very hard itself and our group put in effort together to receive a great grade. In addition, we had to have a faculty interview which we spoke to a Howard University teacher and asked them specific questions related to our topic. This was mandatory for our final assignment and also contributed to our presentation. In addition, we traveled to New York which we learned about the African Burial Ground. We had a brief tour of the sight and pictures and videos of this discovery and the trip was very informative. When signing up for this class I knew ahead of time it was mandatory, however with this mind-set I thought this would be my least favorite class. Soon after each guest speaker, the trip to New York, and our final group projects I soon realized this class was a great necessity. To conclude I’m glad that Freshman Seminar was a mandatory class which better my perspective in a whole other level.