Aaron Bonert Portfolio Reflection When I began my college career at Loras College back in the fall of 2009 I thought

I had it all figured out, I didnt think there was much else out there for me to learn. I was able to read and write well, I had a basic understanding of two foreign languages, I was good with numbers, had a large group of close friends, and a great sense of humor. I knew I was an intelligent young man but looking back on my past four years of education here at Loras College, I cant help but feel that I sold myself more than a little short. I say that because looking back at all the experiences Ive had and knowledge Ive gained during my time at Loras College its odd to think that at one point in time I honestly thought I had hit my capacity for knowledge. Because of the liberal arts experience Ive had through Loras College Ive gained a quality education in a field that Im interested in, psychology, but more importantly Ive gained a better understanding of myself. Essentially I feel that Ive achieved, in some sense, the freedom of self that Herman Sinaiko was talking about in his description of liberal arts.

Liberal arts are the arts of freedom. Whose freedom? Your freedom. They are the freeing arts. Thats the interesting thing, because you dont think of yourself as particularly unfree. There are deeper levels of freedom than merely not being in bondage or debt. There are kinds of bondage which go deeper than chains. The bondage of being ignorant. Ignorant of what? The ignorance that keeps you in deepest bondage is the ignorance about yourself. Who you are. What you can do. What are your capacities, what are your limitations. What are the things that make you who and what you are. If you dont know, then you can be controlled by ideas that are not yours.

 Herman Sinaiko, The University of Chicago I feel that liberal arts schools, Loras College in particular, are able to give their students this freeing experience of truly knowing themselves because they require you to pursue a wellrounded education. Through various graduation requirements such as gen. eds., advanced gen. eds., and cluster courses students are required to take classes that dont necessarily pertain to their individual majors and otherwise would most likely never take. Because of these requirements I have gained valuable knowledge in areas such as sociology, ethics and philosophy, math, biology, criminal justice, and faith, as well as psychology. But more importantly than just factual information Ive learned how to incorporate lessons from one class to another and apply those lessons to the real world. This is because the requirements for graduation at Loras College are all geared toward creating active learners, reflective thinkers, ethical decision-makers, and responsible contributors. Of these four dispositions I feel that my success in meeting the meaning of what Mr. Sinaiko was talking about can really be seen through active learning and reflective thinking. An active learner is described as someone who wants to learn. They are curious about the world and seek to make sense of their experiences. The most noticeable changes in me that reflect my growth as an active learner are my abilities as a writer. This could be easily seen if you were to compare my first college research paper to the toulmin research paper I wrote for this class. Looking at my first research paper, on the downfalls of using Wikipedia as a research source, I see a writer who is just regurgitating the facts presented by the one source he bothered to look up, with no real personal opinion aside from the brief story about a prank he pulled on a rival high school. Compare that to the toulmin research paper I wrote for this class on torture, or anyone of my research papers since freshman year, and you will see a writer who is engaged

with the topic he is writing about, spent time researching the facts, and is able to discuss the research in an organized and logical manner. My writing ability is, in my opinion, the best example I have for my growth as an active learner because if I wasnt truly curious about the world and didnt want to learn more I wouldnt have been able to do as well as I did. I feel like my growth as an active learner is an indication of my success in meeting the meaning of Herman Sinaikos quote because through my growth as an active learner I have shown myself that I can research any topic I want and tie all the information I find about it into a coherent, well written, discussion. In that sense I have shown myself that I have an enormous capacity to learn about any topic I want to and truly understand what it is Im learning about. That is a type of freedom I never knew I was capable of when I first came to Loras College, and is a freedom that I am truly thankful for realizing. A reflective thinker is described as someone who displays insight. They are able to take into account their own dispositions and biases as they think creatively and critically. Examples that I could provide to support my growth as a reflective thinker might be the research study I helped conduct on the role of forgiveness in happiness and depression or my research proposal for a study on the effects music has on attention. But I feel the biggest indicator to my success, and growth, as a reflective thinker has been my experiences as a student life associate at Hillcrest Family Services. As a student life associate I work with troubled youths who have experienced various forms of trauma, such as physical, sexual, emotional, and drug abuse. Each day I come into work Im presented with a different problem to help my clients work through. Some days its a family member with bad news, other days its one of the other kids being a bully, and sadly some days its that a kid tried to hurt themselves. But no matter what I have to find a way to be there for that kid and provide the best care possible all while not letting the fact that I might be

annoyed with them or having a bad day myself be known. I am often times one of the first persons to hear about a personal issue from one of my clients, therefore I am in a position that requires me to think critically and creatively. If I dont pay attention to what my clients are saying and make it seem as though I dont care I run the risk of that client losing their trust in me and preventing them from feeling like they can come to me in the future. If I say the wrong thing, or give advice that isnt consistent with the goals they are working on in therapy, I run the risk of that client losing trust with other staff members or delaying their progress in treatment. My job at Hillcrest is the best example of my growth as a reflective thinker because it is the culmination of all my hard work at becoming one through my education at Loras College. I feel like my growth as a reflective thinker is an indication of my success in meeting the meaning of Herman Sinaikos quote because as a reflective thinker I have shown myself that I can think critically effectively and also leave my own personal biases out of the equation. In that sense I have shown myself what I can do with the knowledge Ive gained through my liberal arts experience because I have been able to effectively apply some of that knowledge to the real world. In conclusion, my experiences of education, both in the classroom and out, at Loras College have changed me into a man that is able to realize his potential to do anything. Through the emphasis that has been placed on becoming an active learner and reflective thinker at Loras College I have been able to increase the understanding of my own capabilities, learned the tools to teach myself, and been taught how to take all of this new found information and actually put it to use. Had it not been for the liberal arts education I received here at Loras I would be able to adapt so easily to new lessons and situations and realize the interconnectedness of my education.