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Josh Powers

Professor Lauro

PDP 450

1/9/17

Reflective Essay

Personal Education Program

The first time I stepped foot on Bridgewater Colleges campus, I was a wide eyed anxious

eighteen-year-old eager to get out of my parents house and expand my knowledge. I could not

wait to meet new people, take new courses that I could choose, and live the real college

experience. I began college as an undecided major, and my first semester of classes were

automatically chosen for me by my advisor, Professor Lauro. She was very helpful when we

spoke about potential courses for majors I was interested in. The best piece of advice I received

was from her; she advised me to take a variety of courses in different majors to help decide

which area I wanted to major in. Because of this, my first semester consisted of PDP 150: Sites

Struggle, Spanish 101: Elements of Spanish 1, History 110: World History since 1500, Exercise

Science 105: Wellness, Communication 100: Oral communication, and English 110: Effective

Writing. My interterm semester was the first semester that I got to register for classes on my

own. This is where I applied Professor Lauros advice, I chose Fundamentals of Environmental

Chemistry. I chose this class because I was interested in doing activities outdoors, such as

hunting, fishing, and hiking. Environmental Chemistry dealt with pressing issues like pollution

and global warming, all of which impacted my outdoor hobbies. The second semester of my

freshman year was the first chance I got to explore my options for majors. My scheduled

covered some general education courses as well as another major course. My courses included
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Spanish 102: Elements of Spanish 2, Sociology 101: Principles of Sociology, Psychology 101:

General Psych, Math 110:College Algebra, and my new major exploration course, Exercise

Science 249: Nutrition Concepts. The reason I opted to try an exercise science course is because

I am an athlete. At the time, I was playing football, which involved a lot of workouts and

practices as well as coaching wrestling at the local middle school. Thus, the reason nutrition

played a major role in my life and interested me as a potential major. I was constantly running

around between classes, workouts, college practices, and middle school practices, so I had little

time to eat. I felt like this was the best class to satisfy that need and expand my knowledge at the

same time. Even though my freshman year consisted of mostly general education courses, I still

embraced every second of it. I was finally on my own and learning so much; I could not have

been any more pleased with how my year went. As my freshman year ended, my eagerness was

growing faster than ever. My college career was just beginning and so was my knowledge

expansion. I was still just as excited as my first day freshman year and ready for sophomore year

to begin.

Sophomore year got off to a great start. I had chosen my major as Environmental

Chemistry. I was overly excited to start sophomore year and to start taking classes in my major

field instead of general education courses. I only took one general education course that

semester which was Religion 220: New Testament. The other three classes I took were all

toward my major and included Math 120: Precalculus, Chemistry 161: General Chemistry, and

Biology 110: Principles of Biology. As excited as I was for this new adventure, it did not end up

going as well as I had planned. I was unhappy with the grades that I received and began looking

again for another major. Feeling down one day, I was walking through the Kline Campus Center

on my way to get lunch. I walked past this booth set up by the United States Marine Corps. I
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didnt think anything of it, and I went on to eat lunch. While I was eating lunch, I thought about

what I was going to do about my grades and what I was going to do with my life. I could no

longer see myself working as an environmental scientist, and I couldnt see myself sitting at a

desk pushing papers; I had no clue what to do. On my way out of the Kline Campus Center, I

decided to stop and ask some questions to the Marines at the booth. After about an hour of

talking, the Marine, Captain Orlando Ashworth, had inspired me, and I had found my true

calling. Captain Ashworth handed me an application to complete, and I had that fire lit in me

once again. The next step for me was to figure out what I was going to do about my grades. I

thought about it all Christmas break and spoke about my options with my family and made

several pro and con lists. Ultimately, I decided a business major would give me the best benefit.

Not only would I learn valuable skills that I can use in my personal life to manage my familys

finances, but also a skill that I can potentially use in the Marine Corps. As an officer in the

Marine Corps, my duties would include managing hundreds of Marines and everything that

comes with that including ordering parts and equipment, dealing with paperwork, managing

people, etc. I felt that a business degree encompassed these areas the most. I came back strong

in the 2015 interterm semester; I was taking History 268 Civil War in the Shenandoah Valley,

another general education course. The only difference with this general education course is that I

choose it because I grew up in the Shenandoah Valley and was extremely interested in learning

the history of where I grew up and where I still live. Professor Longnecker taught this course,

and he couldnt have been better for the job. He was so passionate about this topic and he

explained everything very well. He also integrated many trips and activities to help the students

learn. It was during the interterm period that I went to speak with the head of the business

department, Professor Caldwell. She was incredibly helpful and just as eager for me to get
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started in a business major. Professor Caldwell gave me a plan of courses to take every semester

and got me into every class I needed in the 2015 Spring semester. The spring 2015 semester

courses included Math 140: Introduction to Statistics, Economics 200: Principles of

Macroeconomics, Business 201: Principles of Accounting 1, Art 201: Art History since 1400-

present, and Business 120: Survey of Business. For the first time in my college career, I was

confident in the course my life was taking and that what I was doing was right. My life was

heading down a road that I could be proud of and one that I have never been so excited to start.

The second semester of my sophomore year was full of ups and downs, but never once did I

question my decision like before. The United States Marine Corps gave me a goal and an

incentive to work towards, and I did everything in my power to ensure I was going to achieve

that goal. However, one course gave me a bit of trouble and hindered my performance,

Accounting. That was the hardest class I took that semester, and it proved to give me a fight. I

received the lowest grade I have ever received in college, a D+. I had a choice to make; I could

accept the grade and move on, which my friends told me to do, or I could retake the course. I

opted to retake the course because a D+ on my transcript would hinder my acceptance into the

Marine Corps Officer Program.

After a long summer break, I came back ready to take on Junior year. I began that year

taking Economics 210: Principles of Microeconomics, Business 350: Business Law, Business

310: Principles of Marketing, Business 300: Principles of Organizational Management, and once

again Business 201: Principles of Accounting 1. However, this semester I was more focused on

my academics because I was no longer playing football due to injury. I even improved my

accounting grade from a D+ to a B+. I couldnt have been any more pleased with my

performance in the Fall 2015 semester. One of the classes I most enjoyed was Professor
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Caldwells Principle of Organizational Management. That class presented me with a variety of

business related issues throughout many cases. I felt this would be a beneficial class that could

relate to any career course I took, especially in the Marine Corps. I have heard stories that my

brothers have told me from their experience in the Marine Corps, and thus the reason I was so

interested in this course. My Business 310 course sparked my interest in marketing and

ultimately lead to my decision to add it as a concentration. Professor Kline sparked my interest

and inspired me to take another step in my major. I was captivated by the way one could use a

variety of techniques to predict and manipulate consumers to get a desired action. So, I found

myself again altering my major halfway through my junior year only this time I was adding a

concentration. Spring 2016 took a big step for me because nearly all my classes were for my

major and concentration. I was taking Business 202: Principles of Accounting 2, Business 330:

Principles of Information Systems, Business 340: Management Science, Business 412:

Professional Selling, English 366: Studies Novel, and lastly, Exercise Science 135: Golf. The

two classes I took most interest in were Management Science and Professional Selling. One of

my favorite projects I encountered was in my Management Science class. We were given a case

study, and we had to diagnose the companys issues and create a plan that would work for that

company. The plan consisted of coming up with a competitive advantage, order qualifiers, order

winners, core competencies and an operation strategy. My groups case involved sustainable

lawn care and it can be seen in my final PowerPoint for class, (Supporting Item #1: Sustainable

Lawn Care). Through group dynamics, we found a solution to a problem and created a

presentation to communicate effectively with our audience. I also found my Professional Selling

class, taught by Professor Kline, to be very educational and entertaining. This was one of the

more fun classes that I have taken at Bridgewater. Professor Kline could relate the topics in the
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book to his real-life experiences. His method of teaching made it much easier to learn the course

material because we saw how it was applied instead of just learning the basic course material

straight out of the book. One way this was communicated to me was through our midterm paper;

the topic was the about technology and its impact on selling techniques. (Supporting Item #2:

Technological Impact on the Selling Process. The task of the paper was to research the

history,explain how technology has changed the selling process, and how it is currently

impacting the selling process. I found this research paper to be highly informative by seeing

how much technology has truly changed professional selling. From Gutenberg and his printing

press to Steve Jobs and the personal computer these technologies are constantly evolving. This

paper opened my eyes to how much the world around us has changed and evolved with the

times.

Currently, I am halfway through my senior year of college and I have never been so

excited for the future. I am working harder than ever in my classes, so I can be selected into the

Marine Corps Officer Candidate Course. First semester of this year was a great one; I received

one of the highest GPAs ever since I began college. My courses were the most interesting ones

yet because they were all in my major and emphasis. I took Business 320: Principles of Finance,

which turned out to be a lot easier than I expected. Thats impart to Professor McKnight and his

teaching methods that made finance not only a fun subject to learn, but also an exciting subject to

learn about. Once again, I had Professor Kline for not only another class, but two other classes.

Business 414W Consumer Behavior and Business 416W which were arguably the most

entertaining course I have taken yet. Professor Kline has always been able to grasp my attention,

which is the reason I have tried to take him every chance I got. In both of his classes that I was

in for the fall semester, he could relate these dry subjects to topics that interested his students. I
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have always found Professor Klines classes to be the most interesting because of his ability to

relate the textbooks information to a more modern topics. The last class I took in my Fall

semester of my senior year was Philosophy 320E Professional Ethics. I was very intimidated by

this class because of all the stories I have heard from fellow peers about how difficult it is and

the heavy workload that comes with it. It was arguably the hardest class I took that semester and

proved itself to be challenging, but not impossible. I was faced with a challenge and took it head

on and conquered it. Every time I felt down or struggling in that class, or any of my classes, I

thought of my end goal of being a United States Marine Officer and pushed through the pain and

suffering. Thus, I passed that class with a higher grade than I had expected, but I am glad that

class is over.

One last activity helped me round out my personal education experience and that was not

only joining the Bridgewater Wrestling Club, but being elected as the President two years in a

row. My junior year was my first year with the club and at that time, the club had no clear

president and the members were struggling with who was going to take it over. As I joined the

club, I was confronted by several of the members asking if I would consider leading the club. I

thought about it for a few days before giving them my final answer, which was yes. I was

thrown into this position without any prior knowledge of the duties, requirements, or any help

from the past presidents. I struggled and certainty took my bumps and bruises before fully

understanding what I had to do. After finally getting the hang of it, I found that I enjoyed being a

leader and president of the wrestling club. It gave me another aspect to fight for and stay

motivated for. I had lots of wrestling experience from high school and after taking my freshman

and sophomore year off to play football, I couldnt have been any more excited to step back onto

the wrestling mat as a member of the Bridgewater College Wrestling Club. Being the President
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of the wrestling club put me in a strong leadership position. I was responsible for several

management tasks including scheduling practices and meets, registering all wrestlers, order

equipment, etc. The club gave me a chance to exercise a lot of what I was learning in my

business classes. For example, I always kept a ledger to keep track of the account, I created

proposals for fund requests, and managed conflicts that arose. I gained a lot of experience that I

feel will prepare me for when I am leading in the Marine Corps and in charge of various duties

and Marines.

Engagement with Diverse Perspectives

Bridgewater College is unique in the way that not only do students take classes in their

major, but they also take general education and liberal arts courses. The most interesting course I

had the experience of taking was Art History 1400 present. Even though this class had nothing

to do with my major, I still found this course very interesting and engaging. I loved taking this

course and learning about the many different styles, themes, artists, and creations that occurred

during this period. It was amazing to be able to look at a painting or sculpture and date it based

on what materials were used. I found it very enlightening to see not only the materials evolve

through this time, but also the styles and eras of art. One of the most famous pieces I had the

pleasure of learning about was Leonardos The Last Supper, which I wrote about in my first

essay for that course (Supporting Item #3: Art Essay I). I was fascinated learning about the

different types of tempera and oil paints that Leonardo used, as well as the different canvases that

were used to paint on. One of the most interesting pieces of information I learned was how

every artist had their own methods, own techniques, and their own styles. Some of the variations

artists used were tempra paints, oil paints, canvas or fabric material, and even sculptures. Each

artist had a different idea of what made art a beautiful masterpiece. Some artists used techniques
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like stufmato, chiaroscuro, or foreshortening just to name a few. Countless times artist even

argued with each other over different paintings or sculptures as to whether or not it could be

considered art. Government officials even exiled artists because they created art that was

contrary to the governments beliefs. I found the entire Renaissance era to be fascinating

because of the new techniques, styles, methods, etc. to evolve and manifest during this time-

period and the different viewpoints each artist brought to the era. This course opened my eyes to

the fact that everyone has a different viewpoint on issues, but it doesnt always mean they are

right and it doesnt always mean I am right. I also learned it is okay to stick up for my beliefs,

but to also be open to others beliefs. It is when you completely ignore the other thoughts and

ideas that you become a closed-minded and ignorant person. Sometimes this even leads to

arguments, just like the case of Renaissance artist Caravaggio, and you end up having to flee the

country after a death sentence.

The interterm of my Sophomore year, I had the pleasure of taking one of Professor

Longeneckers history courses. History of the Civil War in the Shenandoah Valley was the

course, and I only took it because my entire life I had lived in the Shenandoah Valley and had

this nagging feeling in me that I didnt truly know the history of my home. I learned so much

about my home from taking this course and I credit that to Professor Longeneckers passion for

the topic and integration of unique learning projects and trips. The hands-on field trips were my

favorite part and that is where I learned the most. We traveled to places like Port Republic,

Kernstown, and Winchester to see the battlefields. Typically, when one thinks of the Civil War in

the Shenandoah Valley, one thinks of famous battlefields like New Market and Cross Keys. I

personally had never studied the individual battles that we learned about during this course. We

also studied first-hand accounts from both sides of the war, which was very interesting as well.
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Through journal entries and other forms of written accounts, we were able to know exactly what

soldiers were thinking during battle. It amazed me how similar the opposite sides were and how

several journals that we read said that they did not even want to fight. They were only fighting

because it was what they were told to do. However, that was not the case for every soldier.

Many soldiers had a strong passion for the beliefs of the side they were fighting on. This showed

me that just because someone may look different than me or dress in a different fashion that we

may be more similar than I think. It reinforced the fact to not judge someone by the way they

look because you may not be so different after all. Overall,Bridgewater has prepared me for

engaging with other perspectives that I will encounter in the workplace. Not everyone will look

like me, or talk like me, or think like me. What I have learned is how to accept all that and

respect that other person for their thoughts and beliefs and still be able to work with them in a

professional manner.

Quite recently, I had a discussion with someone in the Bridgewater College Wrestling

Club about the election. He supported a candidate that I did not support and I supported a

candidate that he did not support. We had about an hour and a half long discussion debating

different political issues and where we stood on it. We were able to do this without being unruly

or having our debate turn into a full-blown argument. I believe this was the case because we are

both Bridgewater College students who have been exposed to diverse perspectives. Looking

back at it now, I know we are different individuals that have different perspectives on certain

issues. However, we are not that different after all. We are both wrestlers and have a lot of other

similar interests. Just because we had different viewpoints on the political issues happening, it

did not mean we couldnt be friends. We were able to accept each others different opinions and

compete together and remain friends.

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Ethics and Community Responsibility

In todays world, more and more attention is being shed on living in a safe and healthy

world. As a coach and athlete, a big topic concerning safety and health is prevention of

concussions. This is especially true when the body is developing like the middle school

wrestlers I coach at Wilbur S. Pence. Every year, we as coaches and athletes must sit down and

go through an information session about the signs of concussions, causes, treatments, and

prevention. In my Effective Writing class that I took freshman year, I wrote a research paper

exploring these traumatic brain injuries (Supporting Item # 4: Concussion Paper). This topic

concerned me a lot because not only have I been diagnosed with a concussion before, but I have

seen some brain-jarring hits in football and wrestling that resulted in concussions. During my

research, I discovered that many years ago concussions were thought of as basically just

headaches and athletes typically just played through them. Nowadays, research states otherwise,

and there is a strict protocol that must be followed to ensure the safety of the injured. The

protocol for these injuries is very extensive and takes every step possible to allow the person who

is hurt to be healed 100 percent before returning to play. If they return before they are fully

healed, they can be injured even worse, and it can even result in permanent damage.

Concussions have grown in severity since the time I was in high school, and the protocol

has become a lot stricter. A lot of time at the middle school, I am faced with ethical dilemmas. I

always encounter a young middle schooler who complains of a headache, and they say they may

have bumped their head. I must make the decision, if it is just a headache then they should keep

practicing, however if it is a concussion they should sit. As the coach, I examine them and

determine if it truly is a concussion or not. Most the time, I tell them to sit out because if I

suggest they keep practicing and they truly have a concussion and they get hurt worse, I can lose
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my job and face the possibility of getting sued. Concussions are something that should not be

played with and if there is even just a slight chance that a concussion has occurred, then it is best

to get checked out by a medical professional.

When I was first exploring different majors, I took several classes in the environmental

science field. Over the course of one interterm, I took Chemistry 120: Fundamentals of

Environmental Chemistry. I found this course very informational because several topics that we

discussed about current issues involved the environment. We explored several topics such as

water pollution, air pollution, ethanol, and water treatment processes. The class took trips to the

Harrisonburg Water Treatment Plant and the Harrisonburg Sewage Treatment Plant. I really did

not know how much pollution was actually in our water until visiting these two different plants.

At the sewage treatment plant, I saw more garbage being filtered out of the river than I could

have ever imagined. I also learned that there are standards that the water has to be at before

returning it into the river, and Harrisonburg Sewage Treatment Plant actually puts the water back

into the river at a higher quality than required. Because of this class, my perspective on the

environment has changed drastically. I am an avid outdoorsman, but I never really gave thought

to how wasteful I was. I didnt throw garbage out the window or anything that severe like I have

seen others do, but I wasnt exactly the most environmentally friendly. For example, when I

went fishing I wouldnt always pick up old fishing line or used sinkers or hooks. Ever since I

took this class, all that has changed. I go out of my way most of the time now to pick up trash

and litter that I stumble upon. Just last week, I was hiking with my girlfriend, and I was carrying

our backpack that had our layers and water in it. By the time we finished our hike, my backpack

was full of old beer cans, plastic water bottles, cigarette butts, and other various pieces of trash. I

feel like it is now my civic duty to clean up litter that I discover while I am outdoors. If
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everyone had taken this class, they would realize how much damage they are doing to the

wildlife and environment when littering. My girlfriend now packs trash bags with her

everywhere we go because she knows that we will ultimately end up bringing trash back with us.

To me, its not just about cleaning up trash, it is about protecting the wildlife and environment

that I enjoy spending so much time in. It is about doing the right thing in order to preserve this

world for the next generation. I feel by doing the little things, like picking up litter, that I can

help ensure that the next generation gets to experience the outdoors like I have.

Global Perspective and Intercultural Competencies

Throughout my time at Bridgewater College, as a requirement, I had to take several

classes that were not pertinent to my major. One course that I took that stands out to me was my

PDP 150 class, Sites of Struggle. Throughout the course of one semester, we discussed various

topics and how they impacted different regions throughout the world. Two of the recurring

themes were struggle and opportunity, which we examined in different countries. I have always

believed that if someone wanted something bad enough, then they would do everything in their

power to achieve that goal. However, this course opened my eyes to how difficult this can be. I

had the pleasure of working with Skyline Literacy, through my PDP course, and interviewing a

woman from El Salvador named Sonia Yanes. She was living in poverty in El Salvador and

struggling to take care of her family. We discussed how bad her working conditions were and

how little they were paid. Sonia elaborated by telling me that they had no safety guidelines, no

precautions were taken, and the only thing that mattered was producing the product. What made

that even worse was the poor pay that couldnt even suffice for her family. Thats when Sonia

set the goal to come to the United States of America. She found herself working to get her
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citizenship at Skyline Literacy only a few years later. One of the most difficult things I

experienced from this interview was Sonias broken English. English was not her strong suit, but

every time she showed up to class, she improved on her English and her American knowledge so

she could pass that test and achieve the American dream. This class made me realize how well

we have it in the United States. Individuals living in poverty were willing to do whatever it took,

whether it be taking a night class to earn a citizenship or moving hundreds of thousands of miles

away to a foreign land to improve their familys quality of life. My interview with Sonia Yanes

can be summed up in my final paper for the PDP 150 course. (Supporting Item #5: final exam

paper for PDP 150). I dissect Sonias interview and compare it to a similar article that I read

that semester. The article dealt with how people take advantage of opportunities presented to

them, and in this case, it dealt with prisoners who were taking classes to gain a better quality of

life.

This class opened my eyes up to how well we have life in the United States and how

poorly other countries have it. Part of me had always known that other countries didnt live as

good as we do, but it wasnt till this course, during my freshman year, that I was exposed to it.

Poverty is something that consumes a lot of people in the world, even if we dont see it.

However, opportunity is everywhere and if someone wants something badly enough, then they

will do anything they can to accomplish their dreams. This is easily seen in Sonia Yaness case,

and I was extremely blessed to be able to hear her story and to have this experience. This class

and Sonia Yanes reinforced what I believed and what I have always been told since I was a child.

If you want something badly enough, you will work harder than ever, sacrifice everything, and

do whatever it takes to achieve that goal.

After I graduate my goal is join the elite ranks of the United States Marine Corps as a
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officer. Most people when I explain to them my goals after college they assume that it is just

about protecting our country. Others also assume that the only reason I am joining the Marine

Corps is because I dont know what to do with my life after graduation. However, the true

reason I want to join the United States Marine Corps is to help the world as a whole and people

like Sonia Yanes. I know I may not be able to make a huge difference as one person, but when I

am leading Americas finest fighting force then maybe we can make a small difference.

Countries like Afghanistan are being overrun by terrorists everyday. If I can be a part of

liberating that country or rescuing a village or town it would give me a great sense of pride for

fulfilling my civic duty. I want to do everything in my power to help others and I feel the United

States Marine Corps is the best way I can contribute to that.

Experiential and Service Learning

Freshman year at Bridgewater College, I got the chance to volunteer at the local middle

school. I was a volunteer assistant wrestling coach which I found to be a very rewarding

position. I logged between 15 and 20 hours per week depending on the match and practice

schedule. My duties included processing paperwork, supervising students, teaching wrestling

moves and techniques, scheduling meets, etc. At the end of my first year of volunteer work, I

had about 200 hours logged and gained a lot of valuable experience. My end of the year review

with the Athletic Director was exceptional and led to me being asked to come on staff as a full

time Assistant Wrestling Coach. I gladly accepted and am now in my fourth year as a wrestling

coach. Being a business major, I took a lot of management classes which I discovered I could

apply in my coaching position. One of the most common management practices I experienced

was conflict resolution. More times than I can count, two of my middle schoolers would get into
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an argument or fight at practice. Because of my management classes, I knew exactly how to

handle and resolve the situation. Of course, this is a more mild case of conflict resolution than

the sexual harassment cases and employment discrepancies cases that we discussed in class.

However, those practices were still effective in the mild cases I saw as a coach. I also

experienced case studies like this in my professional ethics class. One dealt with a soccer player

who was notorious for playing dirty. It was called A Case Study in Soccer Ethics and the

recurring theme was this: Is there such a thing as ethical standards in sports? (Supporting Item

#6: A Case Study in Soccer Ethics). Here one can see how I worked through the case using a

13-step process to evaluate the people involved, the issue, and a solution. I believe that this 13-

step process that I learned can be applied to all conflicts that I have encountered as a wrestling

coach. Recently, I had two wrestlers who got into a fist fight after a wrestling meet. One

wrestler was teasing the other wrestler because he won his match and the other wrestler did not.

I applied the practices of V-A-L-U-E-S-C to work through this conflict. First the V stage is to

view all the facts, so I took everything I knew about the case from my own point of view and

others first hand point of view. Next I applied the A stage, so I asked the kids questions

separately to get a full of understanding of what they did and why. The L stage was to list

everyone involved, so I knew of the two kids who physically fought were involved. However, in

the A stage, I discovered more kids were teasing the kid who lost, thus I listed them down as

well. The U stage came next, which is using the principles and theories I learned in class to see

what the ethical conflict was. Finally, came the E stage which is to express my decision and a

way to resolve the issue. The S stage is to support that E and the C is to criticize that E. Now,

obviously, I did not sit there with the kids and do it exactly like this. I had to modify it to the

situation and use terms that my audience would know. I felt very confident applying these
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methods to this situation after taking this course, and I feel that I was able to resolve the conflict

effectively.

I felt that my experiences in coaching wrestling helped solidify a lot of what I was

learning in my classes. I was able to apply management and professional ethics methods directly

into the sport that I am so passionate about. Never would I have thought that I would be able to

apply actual knowledge that I am learning in college into my favorite sport. Here I am doing it,

and I feel that not only am I a better coach because of it, but I am becoming a better student as

well.