Throughout my years at Concordia BREWing (becoming responsibly engaged in the world) has been emphasized. In my capstone class, neurochemistry, we were supposed to tie everything together and finish learning how to BREW and fulfill Concordia’s goals for liberal learning which are:
- Instill a love for learning
- Develop foundational skills and transferable intellectual capacities
- Develop an understanding of disciplinary, interdisciplinary and intercultural perspectives and their connections
- Cultivate an examined cultural, ethical, physical and spiritual self-understanding
- Encourage responsible participation in the world
So, did this happen? Yes. For me the capstone experience (as well as the rest of my education) has helped me BREW and fulfill all of these goals of liberal learning.
First, the love for learning. Although at various points through my education I have been extremely frustrated with the seemingly endless homework and studying, I somehow still like learning and want to continue learning new things in the future.
Next there is developing foundational skills and transferable intellectual capacities. I think I have successfully accomplished this. Throughout my classes I have learned a lot, and I will be able to apply a good portion to whatever I end up doing in life. As for neurochemistry, a good portion of this class was learning about research, discussions, teaching others, and working in groups. This (along with all the science) will be very valuable and easily transferable to whatever I do in the future.
Developing and understanding of disciplinary, interdisciplinary and intercultural perspectives and their connections is the next goal for liberal learning. Throughout my education, I have been exposed to a lot of different cultures and perspectives. I have also been exposed to a wide variety of different disciplines (everything from art, to religion, to physics). I have learned about an extremely large range of disciplines and throughout all these classes applying our knowledge to various disciplines. For neurochemistry specifically, I have also learned about a wide range of topics. For example, we have had discussions on: chemistry, biology, psychology, death and dying, medicine, and ethics. It has been a fun and educational experience and it has helped me learn to apply disciplinary and interdisciplinary knowledge.
Next is cultivating an examined cultural, ethical, physical and spiritual self-understanding. I think I have also accomplished this goal. Throughout my education I have been exposed to many cultural and spiritual perspectives and this has helped me develop my own examined understanding. In neurochemistry especially we have discussed ethics and morality in the context of disease. Having these discussions has helped me to develop the skills to discuss complicated ethical issues with a wide variety of people and helped me further develop an ethical self-understanding.
Finally we get back to BREW, encouraging responsible participation in the world. Being a responsible participant in the world can be interpreted in many different ways. I understand it as committing to never stop educating myself and to apply my education for the benefit other people and the environment. It is also a commitment to uphold my values and fight for what I think is right.
Overall, I have learned a lot throughout neurochemistry and in the rest of my college classes. There have been times it has been though and I thought I could never make it through, but overall I am glad I came to Concordia. Although I initially thought it was just a cheesy orientation slogan I will admit that I have fully embraced BREWing. I think it is everyone’s responsibility to be lifelong learners and to be responsibly engaged in the world, and I would like to thank Concordia and this capstone class for helping me each these goals.
