Joseph Gurke

Professor Lydia Fisher

UNST 142G- Power and Imagination
9 June 2015
University Studies: Reflection on Inquiry
When I decided to attend Portland State University and did some research into the
curriculum, the University Studies program came as a great surprise to me. I wasnt sure
what to expect from it and I believed that it might just be a waste of my time. However, I
was pleasantly surprised when I found it to be one of the most influential aspects of my
freshman year in college. The FRINQ program expanded my expanded my understanding
and skills in all areas of the University Goals and created opportunities for professional
and personal connections both on-and-off-campus.
The FRINQ program expanded my inquiry and critical thinking skills through its
emphasis on making connections between different concepts and academic texts. Making
connections between different ideas can be an extremely hard feat to overcome as it
requires students to create original thoughts. A perfect example from this class was an
essay that we had to write relating In the Penal Colony by Franz Kafka to various other
sociological works that we had to read. Franz Kafka is known to produce works that are
extremely ambiguous, even to an experienced English major, and the opportunity to write
about one of his works was a challenge. I ended up receiving a great mark on this essay,
however, it took me a lot of time to develop an original thought and tested my endurance
and commitment to my education.

Another university goal highlighted by Portland State is communication. I would

have to say that this class expanded my thinking and skills in communication more than
any other university goal. We had to complete many different group projects in which we
wrote large papers and presented complex ideas to the class. This fact alone required that
we enhance our communication skills so that we could successfully complete
assignments as a group and make everything run smoothly. A great example of this was
urban transect assignment in which we had to, as a group, analyze the demographic
information associated with various zip codes in Portland and San Francisco. We had to
write a paper as a group and present the data that we had gathered. It was a struggle but
we fought through the problems that we had as a group to create a work environment that
was cohesive and efficient through communication with each other.
The diversity of the human experience was a goal that we explored the most
through our interactions with the Portland Art Museum and A Mercy by Toni Morrison.
The artwork that we had to analyze in the PAM was culturally significant and brought
with it a greater understanding of the experiences of humans throughout history and the
ways in which they express themselves. Likewise, A Mercy is a work that highlights the
trials and tribulations of slaves in colonial America, highlighting the discrimination that
humans felt in our very recent history. Through our art project, we had to connect a piece
of artwork with A Mercy in order to develop a greater understanding of what people go
through and how they express themselves and the situation they are in.
I found the university goal of ethics and social responsibility to be the most
personally impacting to myself. This class used various readings, discussion and projects
to develop our perception of ourselves in relation to others and our role in this world on a

global scale. I was extremely affected by an incident that occurred in a genderdiscrimination workshop held in our class that really made me think about my social
responsibility to others and the influence that I can have. I accidently referred to a
classmate of mine as he when they preferred the pronoun she. It was obvious that this
was a common mistake made, as their reaction was swift and unforgiving. However, I
learned from this incident and did not make the mistake again. Interestingly enough, this
student approached me on a different day and thanked me for calling her the right
pronoun. These small learning experiences are what this FRINQ is about and it really
made me understand the place that I have in this world and the perks of having a diverse
and ethical view of people in this world.
The mentor program was an extremely helpful perk to the FRINQ program that
allowed me to better connect with an informed and mature student at Portland State
University. It allowed me to make both a professional and personal connection with my
mentor that has really helped me develop as a person and stay informed on campus.
These kinds of connections are extremely important to me and I see myself maintaining
contact with my mentor throughout the rest of my college experience and maybe even
further in the future. Whenever I had a question that needed answering or someone to just
be there for me, my mentor always made himself available to me and provided with the
kind of guidance and sympathy that further developed my character. Likewise, the
community-based learning project allowed me to make professional connections within a
local organization of my choice that may open up new avenues for future employment or
opportunities to get involved in my community. It is one thing to present information
about an organization, but it is another thing to actually go and create a connection with

another person that is a part of it. I believe that the FRINQ program is extremely helpful
in regards to the ways in which is allows its students to make connections both on and
off-campus.