As I begin and conclude just one last blog, I reflect upon my beloved experiences in being enrolled at Concordia college Moorhead. I have done this a few times already, but this time I will write upon this with focus on the campus’ goals. The campus has five goals they declare essential to students, to instill a love for learning in students, to develop foundational skills and transferable intellectual capacities to them, to grow an understanding of (disciplinary, interdisciplinary and intercultural) perspectives and their connections, to cultivate an examined (cultural, ethical, physical and spiritual) self-understanding, and to ensure responsible participation in the world.
Let us begin with the first goal of the school, to instill a love for learning in students. I recall with deep love a nostalgic feeling now upon entering and leaving each class. To be fair it very much became a routine eventually, as any repeated action eventually does, but this was not the sole reason for my beloved feeling to dig deep. The environment is comfortable and encouraging in the liberal classrooms, I almost never felt uncomfortable to ask and answer questions. All in all, I very much love to learn, and I will continue to pursue it.
Next, let us continue with the second goal of the school, to develop foundational skills and transferable intellectual capacities to them. I do not know where to begin with this one, not because Concordia College lacks in this department at all, but because there are a wide myriad of potentially applicable skills that I could potentially list that I do not know where to really begin listing; though, I will try now. There were basic and transferable skills and applicable knowledge for sure, such as respect for science and lab equipment (I am a Neuroscience major myself), a deep dive into the abstracts for mathematics (as a math minor student), and perhaps a general sense of curiosity. However, there are also deep and foundational skills that I find myself one day reusing in my career such as a dedication and desire to lead others, a feeling of empowerment to speak up when things are not right (as I have done quite a few times), and so many more.
Next, let us continue with the third goal of the school, to grow an understanding of (disciplinary, interdisciplinary and intercultural) perspectives and their connections. As a minority in neurodivergence myself, I loved this core value of the campus, and continue to. In fact, I was even lucky enough to join our campus on a program that values diversity (I shall omit the name in case). Through this program, and through interaction with staff and students in various scenarios for various reasons I met a wide variety of kind and respectful perspectives on a wide variety of issues and topics. There seriously is no stereotypical cobber student in my student, there is almost always someone from a different country, a different cultural background, a different faith, a different person especially, from you. In the end, I really feel you cannot be a liberal campus without having liberal perspectives spread everywhere like jam on a sandwich.
Next, let us continue with the fourth goal of the school, to cultivate an examined (cultural, ethical, physical and spiritual) self-understanding. In the end, if I am understanding this value correctly, the development in the knowledge of my own sense of self and being; if I am not wrong in this interpretation, this one is a large strength of the school. All around school are very loving staff that have helped me when my sense of being felt confusing. I have laughed with them, grumbled in frustration about something small about my day with them, and even cried with them. They have comforted me deeply in many ways when the world felt off and made me feel extremely unsure about myself or a general situation. It may have felt uncomfortable in the moment since grieving really stinks at times, but I find myself far more emotionally, spiritually, culturally, and maybe even a bit physically understanding in myself in the long run. This was really good for me during a period of my life when myself, my world, and my sense of belonging amongst it was far more off to myself.
Finally, let us conclude with the final goal of the school, to ensure responsible participation in the world. Now, going in, I was plenty responsible and dedicated at the start of my education adventure so soon as June of freshman year. However, my very sense of what really is responsibility did actually feel scrambled. After all, I found myself confused and overwhelmed as to what I should do because what one kind of person says I must do will absolutely conflict against what another type of person would declare what I must do in order to be “responsible;” what it seriously means to be an adult despite the contradictions in demands. In the end, I felt myself quite confused in these social games until Concordia College gave me an organized and harmless four year long opportunity to independently practice alone what responsibility really means for myself. As a result of this gift, I found what works for me. I asked at least just enough questions to trusted aforementioned staff members I met with weekly, and explored the social rules I found interesting or off-putting in the many, many aspects of campus I still declare a safespace. Indeed, I do mean a safespace as Concordia College prides itself in building spaces for anyone to drop our masks and take steps back from them when the masks are hard to breathe in.
In the end, I felt myself become a more mentally organized and extra complex person in real time in my enrollment of Concordia College Moorhead. I may have had a few tough times, sure, but even those challenges served me value.
Thank you for sticking with me this one final time, readers. Thank you for reading my posts collectively in fact. As we say on campus, “It’s a great day to be a Cobber.”
