University of Northern Iowa

Madisen Husome

University of Northern Iowa

Throughout my freshmen year here at the University of Northern Iowa, I have

learned many valuable things that will follow me throughout life. Of these lessons

learned, those learned in Cornerstone will continually impact my day-to-day life for

years to come. Speaking and writing are essential in our society, whether it is online or

in person. During this class, I have been able to open up more to new people, as well as

become much more confident in public speaking.

Initially, my attitude toward writing has always been not the best. I always dread

writing papers, and try to put them off as much as possible. Although I’m not a fan of

writing, of any type, I realized that it plays an extremely large role in my everyday life.

When it comes to emailing, texting, posting on social media, or just preparing for class, I

write everyday. As much as I use writing in a day-to-day basis, I believe that the amount

of time I spend writing will just grow as I grow older. As I continue my education, I’m

sure that the classes I will take will ensure that I will be writing papers, and taking notes

everyday. As I get a job of my own, I believe that although it may not be as prevalent in

my life (depending on my career, of course), the posting on social media, and texting

will still be a part of my life.

Writing strategies for my personal use are probably similar to most college

students; just leave enough time to get it done, and call it good. But in all seriousness, I

believe that a significant time should be set aside for writing purposes, and that is what I

do. After an assignment is given, I usually begin to write a few days after I know what is

expected of the assignment. To begin the entire process, depending on the assignment,

I look at databases to find common information among sources that support my

argument. As far as outlines, I usually don’t use them, and just start writing. I set aside

time for my writing when available with my hectic schedule, but again depending on the

paper, in one sitting I try to set aside at least three to four hours for writing. I like to leave

plenty of time to write, as well as enough time to check over the entire paper. Usually, I

choose to write at night, since I feel like there is nothing else I should be doing- or any

class I should be going to. I am able to focus to write at night better than during the day,

since I am used to being home and am able to sit down and use my free time to write. I

feel as though my writing strategies work, but like with many other things, I should work

on them to become more confident in my writing skills.

Over this year, I believe that my writing process has changed, but not in many

ways. Throughout high school, we had time to write during every class period, leaving

me with no outside work to do own my own. In college, I had to be prepared to work on

papers outside of class and make time for each paper and assignment outside of class,

while still being able to have two jobs.

As a writer, I have always believed that I was just average- not the best, not the

worst. Like anyone, I have my strengths and weaknesses. I usually feel as though I

procrastinate with all classes- but especially when it comes to writing. This is one major

weakness that I found myself working on this year. I also find myself struggling with

finding phrases that work better in papers that add to the information. I believe that this

is something that I have improved with since the beginning of the year. A strength that I

have regarding my writing skills would be simply being able to write and word my

papers as I write. I have been able to work these strengths in every paper I had to write

throughout the year, and I believe that I was able to improve on it as well.

I believe that this year, my best piece was the persuasive piece. I believe this

because this paper was just something that was easy for me to write about. I already

knew a little bit about the topic, and often find myself at the humane society. I liked this

paper, and since I could relate to the topic, I believe that I have the ability to speak on

the topic.

My attitude toward public speaking initially was extremely negative. I have always

been afraid of speaking in front of others, and was so nervous for this class, for this part

of it. As for strategies, I don’t have any specifically, but know what I think when

preparing to speak in front of others. I always am able to speak in front of others by

telling myself that everyone in the class also is giving a speech that they are dreading;

and, odds are, most of my classmates are distracted by other things happening.

My attitude toward presentations are is basically the same for public speaking,

but when it comes to presentations, I feel as though they are not as dreaded. As long as

I know the topic of the presentation well, then I am able to present the information

smoothly. Speaking plays an enormous role in my life, and mainly every person’s life.

Communication in today’s society varies in the types, but verbal communications will

always be essential for all businesses, teachers, employers, etc. Although the use of

verbal communication may decrease in the future with the introduction of more

technology, I believe that it will always continue to be an essential form of

communication.

When preparing for an oral presentation for a class, I usually procrastinate, but

am able to start working on the project a few days after assigned. Since these projects

requires verbal explanation of a topic, I try to learn as much as I can about the topic so

the presentation goes smoothly. Brainstorming starts with choosing topics to pick from,

and choosing between what is the most important, what is the most interesting, and

what I could actually talk the most about. After choosing the topic and the subtopics of

the presentation, I set up the outline to organize my thoughts and have them all down

on paper. I like to set aside a few hours after finishing writing the presentation to

prepare for the speaking portion of the assignment. I first write out what I want to be on

the notecards, and then practice running through the notecards while timing myself to

make sure I have enough information to cover the time requirement. Personally, I feel

as though these strategies work well, and will continue to use these strategies for any

upcoming speaking assignments. Over the year, my public speaking has changed

immensely. At the beginning of the first semester, I had never given a speech (since

eighth grade speech class, where I gave one speech). I was extremely nervous

standing in front of the class. From then to now, I find it amazing how much more

comfortable I am speaking in front of everyone. It has been much easier to speak in

front of everyone, now that I have been able to get to know others, and make friends in

class.

As a speaker, I believe that I have grown to be much better than I used to be.

Although I have grown as a speaker, I still have many weaknesses as well. Something I

need to work on is not reading off of my notecards while speaking. Throughout the

semester, I feel I have been able to be more comfortable speaking, and haven’t had to

rely as much on my notecards. A strength that I have developed throughout the year

would be creating speech outline. At the beginning of the year, I had never made a

speech outline, and by the end of the semester I am proud of my ability to create an

outline that I’m confident with. My favorite oral presentation this semester was the

Millennial group presentation. Although we didn’t have that much in the moment oral

speaking, our video consisted of multiple presentations. This was the best, because it

allowed for creativity, and I’m very happy with how our group was able to come and

work together to create something that we were proud of.

The readings from the books directly impacted my knowledge of civility, as it

described many different ways that behavior should be conducted while speaking.

Activities like the listening activity taught civility when listening as it showed us how to

properly listen, and interact with someone while speaking. As far as presentations and

civility are connected, we were able to practice using civility properly through any verbal

presentation given; whether we were giving the speech, or we were listening.

This year has been ver influential for me, in more than a few ways. I learned so

much from Cornerstone alone, and am excited about the progress I’ve made in the past

two semesters. Something that I really learned this year is just basic test-taking abilities.

I was surprised to see how much I’ve used the tips given to us during class that day, but

when I’m taking a test I always think of tips like crossing out answers, writing with an

outline, etc. This short seminar alone has taught met be a better student by just being

more confident when going into a test. I took Cornerstone seriously, and thought of it as

a priority among my schedule. This class was definitely a learning opportunity, as this

class has prepared me for college better than any other class has this year; it has

touched on communications of all forms, public speaking, writing, just to name a few.

Grading based on effort alone is something that is difficult to do, but given the

chance I would give myself an A- for a grade. I always tried my hardest for all

assignments, and although I was not able to spend as much time as I had hoped on this

class, having two jobs was necessary for my life, and I wouldn’t change a thing. When

given an assignment, I always put all my effort in to researching and working on the

assignment until I was satisfied with it. Participation in class is where I think I lack the

most. I am a naturally shy person, and out of everything I could choose to work on,

class participation would be of utmost importance. I feel as though when in group

projects, I was always a main participant, and always put in effort to add my input and

get the group together. This semester has been extremely different than my first here at

UNI, but I feel as though one way is just my effort I have put into my classes. After the

first semester, I quickly learned what it takes to get good grades and put that effort into

my classes.

This first year at UNI has been essential to my learning and development. I am

much more comfortable speaking to others, and now know what is expected at a

college-level class. Cornerstone has taught me more than I had expected when it

comes to day-to-day life, and these lessons will not soon be forgotten. I am extremely

grateful for this class, and it making me open up and interact with my peers.