My Growth in the Loras Dispositions

Loras College values four dispositions which are implemented into each course
curriculum in order for students to embody them. They are active learning, reflective thinking,
ethical decision making, and responsible contributing. Beginning my college career at the
University of Northern Iowa and transferring to Loras halfway through my first year, I know that
I have grown immensely in all of these dispositions. The two that I have expanded the most
throughout my Loras College career are active learning and responsible contributing.
Active learners have a desire to learn. They want to understand their experiences further
and demonstrate curiosity in learning new things. When I first enrolled at Loras College, I had a
decent desire to learn, however my learning was quite constricted to the classroom. I liked
learning new things, but I did not display this want to learn outside of class. I was not concerned
with making sense of my experiences, and felt my learning was artificial. I was learning for the
sake of a good grade. Although I played the role of an active learner in the classroom, I did not
display a genuine desire to learn or a curiosity about the world. For example, when I was a firstyear at the University of Northern Iowa, I took an Intro to Psychology course along with 200
plus other college students. In class, I was amused with what the professor would lecture about,
sometimes, and actively took notes in order to ensure I did not miss any bits of information that
could possibly be on an exam. Id write down, word by word, what the professor would say, even
if I did not understand it. I did not raise my hand and ask questions regarding the material that
did not make sense to me, because as long as I memorized the material, Id be okay on the
multiple choice exams he distributed every two weeks. Part of my lack to make sense of the
material steamed from not wanting to raise my hand in front of more than 200 other students. At
this time of my life, I did not understand what it meant to sincerely want to learn and make sense
of things. This all changed when I transferred to Loras.

In looking at my growth from when I transferred to my current state as a senior English

Literature major along with Secondary Education, an overwhelming sense of gratitude toward
my school, Professors, faculty members, and students excites me. I now understand the value of
learning inside and outside of the classroom, and genuinely wanting to learn more about a variety
of topics. There are so many instances that could prove my growth in active learning, but Im
going to highlight just a few experiences that have strengthened my desire to learn and make
sense of my previous experiences. My sophomore year at Loras, I took the course Intro to Social
Welfare, as I was unsure of my major at the time and considered the possibility of social work.
This class was unlike any other course I had taken in the past. Most of our class time consisted of
interesting group discussion that would engage me and stick with me for the rest of the day. It
influenced my actions outside of the class and lead to interesting discussions with my friends. In
this class, the professors passionate teaching and our class conversation caused me to actively
learn more, ask questions, and further my learning outside of class. One day the class, along with
other courses, was involved in a simulation. We were grouped into families of different socioeconomic statuses and had to live a certain amount of time under trying conditions of not having
enough money to buy food for our children, not having access to a transportation to seek out a
job, and much more. This simulation resulted in a growth of my desire to actively learn. After
this experience, I wanted to learn more about the poverty line in the United States of America. I
remember discussing poverty with my peers from that class in the library the next night. We were
excited to get to class the next day to ask about what could be done to help others in need along
with other questions we had regarding the poverty line and more. This experience caused me to
think about my life and my own character and make sense of my purpose. This experience also
caused me to reflect on what I wanted to pursue as a major and career. I knew I wanted to be

involved in a field that provided service to society. It was around this time that I decided to be a
prospective teacher. This class introduced me to actively learning and thinking outside of the
classroom and relating course material to my own personal life to make sense of my experiences.
I also experienced a growth in active learning through my experiences outside of class.
Another example of my growth and display of active learning is in my extracurricular
activities. I was cast in the play Lend Me a Tenor in the fall of my sophomore year as an Italian
wife, Maria to one of the lead characters, Tito. The cast consisted of four actors and four
actresses of the highest talent. I remember knowing very little about the Italian culture but I did a
bit of research to find out how I could best present the character of Maria. I remember watching
several videos that demonstrated Italian hand gestures. In my past experiences in theatre, I never
would have thought to take the extra time to research and think about my characters outside of
rehearsal. I had a strong desire to learn more about my role. When I went to Italy the summer
after my junior year, I immersed into the Italian culture and looked back on my experiences
researching the culture and applied my knowledge throughout the trip.
My final example of my growth as an active learner is in my Literary Criticism course. In
this course, I was introduced to a variety of approaches to literary criticism. I remember leaving
those classes in rapid discussion with my peers regarding the material we had learned that day.
We were all so excited. One of the papers I wrote for that class was regarding feminist, modern
Irish poet, Eavan Bolands poem The Woman Turns Herself Into a Fish. I was encouraged to
submit this paper to be a part of the Loras Legacy Symposium later that year. My presentation
highlighted this paper discussing make-up and the notion of women in society wearing makeup
as a form of expression and a way to form their identity. I presented this feminist argument on
makeup in front of friends, students, and faculty. This experience was amazing because I got to
share something that typically remains within the walls of a classroom to individuals of different

backgrounds, majors, and interests. This experience demonstrated my growth in active learning,
because I took my life experiences with the use of cosmetics and societal pressure to look
beautiful and wanted to actively research and learn more about it outside of the classroom. The
Legacy Symposium is just one of the many opportunities Loras creates for students to share their
work and talents with the greater community and demonstrate themselves as active learners.
The other disposition that I have grown in is responsible contributing. Responsible
contributors share their talents with others in a way that is sensitive to cultural differences and
respects a larger global environment. Before I attended Loras, I was not as involved in my
hometown community as I should have been. Part of this is due to the fact that I discovered and
developed many of my passions and talents at Loras. I was also not exposed to very many
different cultural backgrounds before I came to Loras. The first experience that led me to my
growth in responsible contributing was in my Catholic Traditions course, Hope, Heart, and
Humanity.
Hope, Heart, and Humanity was a wonderful experience for me because I not only had
conversations that engaged me in critical thinking and self-reflection, but I ventured outside of
the classroom to practice responsible contributing. Our class took a trip to Hills and Dales one
evening and interacted with indiviuals with special needs. The experience took me out of my
comfort zone and led me to realize the importance of sharing my abilities and gifts with others in
a diverse setting in order to make a difference. I interacted with a resident named Chad. He was
roughly 40 years old. I made a connection with him as soon as I shared my green marker with
him when we were decorating Christmas ornaments. I found that by using my gifts of positivity
and humor, I was able to connect with Chad and create a friendly experience that I know I will
never forget. I had never worked with or really visited any places that housed individuals with

disabilities, so this experience helped me grow in responsible contributing. Another instance that
allowed me to expand my responsible contributing was in my Shakespeare After 1600 class.
My Shakespeare course, similar to my Catholic Traditions course, not only yielded
engaging discussions and activities in class, but allow for several opportunities outside the class
to practice responsible contribution. My class was split up into groups of students that went out
into different elementary schools after-school programs. My group went to Marshall Elementary
School and taught the kids about Shakespeare and a couple of his works. We would explain the
plot of plays like Hamlet and Twelfth Night, discussed concepts like tragedy, revenge, and love,
and had a ton of fun with it. We had the kids act out Twelfth Night and they had a blast. The
majority of these kids were considered to be low socio-economic status, and came from a much
different background than I. I had worked with children beforeI babysat kids, and hosted the
occasional cheer camp, but I had never experienced something quite like this. I grew in many
ways. I learned how to use my talents and knowledge to come up with creative activities for the
kids to help them not only learn, but to create relationships with the kids. This experience helped
me grow further in my responsible contributing. The final experience that helped me to grow in
the disposition of responsible contribution was my service trip to Honduras.
I went to Flores, Honduras in the spring of my junior year. In Honduras, a group of
Duhawks worked at building a wall and fence in the mornings outside our base for security
purposes and visited APUFRAM's girls' and boys' schools in the evenings. These girls and boys
lived at their school because their parents or families were deceased or could not afford to raise
them. We did all sorts of fun things with the kids. From watching the kids' excitement at the
Easter egg hunt we made for them to Father Joensen's dance moves around the camp fire on our
final day, there were so many moments to be remembered and thankful for. Although we spent
just a few hours with these kids, I know a lot of Loras students created relationships that

positively affected all involved. Just seeing the different way in which those in Honduras live
their day to day lives caused me to question a lot of what I do in my day to day life. This service
trip got me thinking and questioning a lot more than I had anticipated. I cannot think of a better
way I could've spent my spring break and would go back in a heartbeat. I had never gone on a
service trip before, and I know that I grew so much as a student of Catholic faith through this
experience. I was in a diverse and foreign environment in which I had to use my gifts to make a
positive impact in the lives of the children I encountered. This service trip made a huge impact in
my responsible contribution to others.
The two dispositions Loras values for their students to uphold that I grew the most in
throughout my college experience are active learning and responsible contributing. From my
many experiences in classes outside my major, classes for my major, and activities outside the
classroom, Ive grown vastly to embody the dispositions Loras values most.