Initially coming to Concordia, I had no idea what to expect. The institution said that it would “instill a love of education” and at the time, all I could think is “oh boy…”. I can’t claim that I was the most studious high school student.. In fact, I don’t recall one time that I had to actually sit down and study for an exam. Except for a select few teachers, I feel like I was never truly challenged in high school. That all changed once I came to Concordia.
Reflecting on the past three and a half years, I firmly believe that attending Concordia was one of the best decisions I have ever made. Initially, I carried over some of those non-existent “study habits” that I had in high school, which really kicked me in the ass my first semester of freshman year. I wasn’t used to not getting all A’s.. and so that actually made me quite mad with myself. That semester was extremely humbling in that I realized I wasn’t currently that good of a student. It’s all different now.
I believe that my capstone course (Neurochemistry) has fully incorporated what it means to be a good student. Instead of just listening to a professor speak and jotting down notes, I felt like I was fully engaged in discussion all the time. Because of this engagement, a lot was required of me. It took extensive research on topics out of class time. Not all of the research I did was mandatory, however. There were nights where I was genuinely curious about what was going on in our minds (and what a wondrous, yet confusing thing it is!). This course has thus taught me how to love my education. This curiosity will travel with me into my career as well. I aim to go into the dental practice with the hopes of becoming an oral surgeon someday. It is a high goal, but also one that is very feasible for me if I consistently am engaged like I was for this class.
Thankfully (actually, not always thankful), this was not my only class this semester. I was taking 2 other chemistry classes, our extremely demanding human anatomy and physiology course, and a 300-level history course on modern east-asia (which required grueling amounts of reading). I say thankfully because all of my classes (besides the history course) intertwined in content at one point or another. I feel that this intertwining was a result of having this capstone course. Whether the content was actually required of the course, or whether the content was brought up in Friday discussions, relevant perspectives of different cultures and what other people were educating themselves on were represented. This engagement from my fellow peers played a massive role on my self-actualization and understanding. I cannot begin to thank the professor, Dr. Julie Mach, and my fellow classmates enough for the benefits that they have unknowingly contributed to my education and my love for learning.
Overall, I am very glad capstone courses are required of the students here at Concordia. Although seeming like they require a lot of discipline and dedication to the coursework, which they do, it is extremely important to instilling what this college is all about.
Capping Off the Concordia Experience
