Reflective Essay

During the fall term of Health, Happiness, and Human Rights, my class approached a
couple of controversial topics which fall under the University Studies (UNST) goals. These goals
include Communication, Critical Thinking, the Diversity of the Human Experience, and Ethics
and Social Responsibility. The class gave the students an opportunity to explore areas beneath
those goals. Our opinions and contributions were important to add to those goals as a class to
provide useful input. I focused on the communication goal of the University Studies goals during
my Henrietta Lacks essay, which let me voice my opinion on a controversial matter. I wrote
about how animal testing is unethical and how testing on humans is also unethical in the most
common manners used for experimentation. Another way my communication skills improved
during the course is when we had to do our Food Availability Survey presentation. We were
given the task to go into a neighborhood and examine the food options, environment, availability,
and the neighborhood as a community. This was a different assignment compared to our previous
ones because we had a presentation at the end. The presentation helped with my communication
skills because not only did I have to communicate with my group to organize everything, I had to
make sure my information would come across clear and concisely to my audience when
presenting. This project aided my fellow classmates in understanding Portland and the Diversity
of the Human Experience. Every University Studies goal was met during the fall term of Health,
Happiness, and Human Rights in some way or another depending on the project or assignment at
hand. My opinions of my own social responsibility for my community have gradually changed
and I am more aware because of this class.