Introduction

Welcome back, Wildcats! As the team who brought you Wildcat Perspectives, the book used in UNIV 101: Introduction to General Education Experience, we are very excited to share this text with you.

We learned a lot from developing Wildcat Perspectives. To create this book, Wildcat Reflections, we started with reflecting on what we learned from our experience working together as an editing team in fall 2021. We scheduled a few meetings in spring 2022 in which we asked ourselves questions like, “What went well in creating our first book?” and “What didn’t work well?” and “What do we want to do differently as we create this next book?”

Our process of reflecting on creating a book together is like the process we are asking you to engage in as you make meaning of your own learning in your General Education (hereafter, “Gen Ed”) courses. What worked for you? What courses and experiences did you excel in and enjoy? When were the moments you struggled and why do you think those happened? What might you look back and describe as the moments that mattered most to you, and what will you identify as important to your own learning and growth?

The purpose of this book and the UNIV 301 General Education ePortfolio course is to provide you with the space to reflect on and make meaning of your Gen Ed program to date. It is a moment to pause and look back and to gain insights as you move forward. A theme that we revisit throughout your Gen Ed experience at the University of Arizona (hereafter, “UA”) is the idea that learning is a lifelong process. You have been learning before you arrived at the University and will continue to do so long after you graduate.

As you read the stories of your fellow Wildcats in this book, you will see that reflection occurs in many ways and through many different experiences. Our hope is that you can connect to the authors’ narratives and discover your own story of your learning. We will ask you to tell your story in a few ways, but the primary vehicle you will use to craft it will be your General Education ePortfolio. This is one of many tools you will use to identify evidence of your learning, reflect on why that learning mattered to you, and to curate all that information in a way that showcases what is salient to you and where you are headed next.

Part One of this book asks you to look back and consider what you have learned up to this moment in your Gen Ed courses and academic career at the UA. In Part Two, you will start to dig deeper and make connections between what you have learned and where you might be going next in your personal, academic, and professional career. In Part Three, we will ask you to synthesize the insights you have gained from reflecting by practicing communicating what you have learned for various audiences, such as your peers in this class, friends and family, as well as future colleagues.

We invite you to engage in active, ongoing reflection throughout this course. As you move through this book, we ask you to practice the habit of reflection and discover ways of reflecting on your experiences that work for you. The insights you gain from reflecting may surprise you — you will see how much you have learned and how you can apply that learning to your future endeavors.

About the authors

name: Devon Thomas

Devon grew up near Rochester, New York and currently works as the Course Director for UNIV 301 in the Office of General Education. In addition to her work, she likes baking desserts for her family, walking her dog Moe, and rock climbing with friends on Mount Lemmon. Learning from failure is necessary while rock climbing or when a dessert doesn’t turn out as expected; this knowledge has helped Devon build confidence to try new things at work and in life.

name: Thomas A. Murray

Tom Murray is the Course Director for UNIV 101 and Associate Professor of Practice with the W. A. Franke Honors College. When he is not focused on work, he spends time playing taiko with Odaiko Sonora and training for and running ultramarathons. Taiko performances and ultramarathons almost never go to plan and so require a significant amount of problem solving, a skill that Tom believes was finely honed in his own general education experience.

name: Sovay M. Hansen

Sovay Hansen is an Assistant Professor of Practice with the General Education program and the Honors College at the UA. She holds a PhD in English and German Studies. In addition to editing Wildcat Perspectives and Wildcat Reflections for the Office of General Education, Sovay teaches UNIV 101/301 and has also taught first-year English courses for which she has won teaching awards. Sovay grew up near the Rillito River in Tucson, went to college in the mossy forest of the Pacific Northwest, and lived on the canal in Berlin, Germany for a time. Sovay enjoys truly terrible and quality period dramas alike, cooking overly complicated dishes, hiking, and stressing over the small things.

name: Ryan Winet

Ryan Winet is Director of Communications for the Office of General Education. When he’s not directing communications or directly communicating, he spends his time with his family (two kids, two cats, a few plants), designs rides and attractions for an imaginary theme park, and reads as much poetry as he possibly can.