Self-Reflection (through the lens of freshman seminar)

My first semester at Howard University has been an amazing experience. When looked at through the lens of freshman seminar, I can say that it has been interesting. Freshman seminar was not at all like I expected it to be. It was more of an African American studies course, and while I learned a lot, I learned nothing about Howard University or college life. When talking to junior and senior friends I discovered that freshman seminar used to teach freshman how to get around campus, obtain information, get library cards, and basic information that applies to college. The class used to get students acclimated to college life. It has been a full semester and I still do not know what a provost is or what the provost does. I did not learn how to get around D.C. or how to use the metro. In past years freshman seminar taught this. I would say that when observing my first semester of freshman year through the lens of freshman seminar, one could see that it was very difficult. Any information I needed I had to find myself, and after wasted time using the trial and error method I found where I needed to go to get things done. In a way, freshman seminar taught me to be more responsible and to take initiative when it comes to certain things.

            Even though freshman seminar was ineffective at teaching me about college life and what to expect from Howard, it was effective in teaching me more about African Americans, and how we have influenced so many things. However, I feel that if that is going to be the main goal of freshman seminar then the name of the course should be changed, and freshman should receive a African American cluster course credit. I also do  not like how we have to do so much work and it is only a pass or fail course. If we do good on quizzes and presentations that we devote 3-4 weeks to, we only get a P or an F. And then to make it more interesting if we receive a F, the grade lowers our GPA, but if I receive an A or 96% for example, it doesn’t help my GPA at all.

            Overall freshman seminar added a lot of confusion to my first semester, but it still taught me a lot. Even though it wasn’t things I wanted to learn about at the moment, I’m glad I now know them.