Personal Narrative: My Experience As A Liberal Arts Education

I came to the University of Wisconsin Oshkosh because I wanted to obtain a degree in nursing. While sitting through freshman orientation, I learned that my time here would focus not only on preparing me to be a nurse but also on providing me with a liberal arts education. Initially this did not excite me, as I did not see the use in focusing my time here on themes such as sustainability, civic knowledge, and intercultural competence. I had thought to accomplish this, I would need to take unnecessary courses to fill a checkbox. Halfway through my education, I still do not know how to be a nurse, but I do know that my initial feelings about receiving a liberal arts education were wrong. Through reflecting on my experiences with liberal arts, I realize that every course I have taken has provided me with knowledge and skills essential to being an informed global citizen. However, I also realized that two specific courses stuck out to me as being particularly valuable. These courses were my Honors Seminar on food and my Honors Ethics course. I believe these courses were the most useful because they not only focused on providing me with knowledge of the …show more content…
William Cronon, a historian and professor, also shares a similar belief that liberal education should focus on creating certain types of people, instead of just required courses that teach a certain topic. In his essay, “Only Connect…,” Cronon details ten qualities he believes embody the spirit of a liberal arts education. Many of the qualities he lists are consistent with my belief that a liberal arts education should instill the skills necessary to be a lifelong learner. They are also consistent with the many skills the two courses I chose to reflect on fostered in me, and this is why I believe these two courses were the