Reflections

• Please take the time to read our reflective essays, describing the many activities we did outside of the classroom environment.  These activities demonstrate our teacher’s efforts to assimilate us into the DU environment and aid our transfer experience.
• Reflection by: Elly Larson
  

  Photo from the Bell Tower

  As a transfer student at the University of Denver, I didn’t have many expectations for what my new college experience would be since my previous year was such a struggle. At my previous university, I had difficulties making connections with other students, finding passion in my classes, and feeling like I was at home. However, my first quarter at the University of Denver has exceeded any expectations I could have and this was partly due to my time in WRIT 1133.

              This writing class allowed me to form relationships with other transfer students (even when I personally felt like I didn’t need to meet more transfer students). While I felt like I wanted to connect with sophomores who have been at DU for a year already, I loved getting to meet more students with pasts similar to mine. I was excited to attend this class each day because I started forming friendships with some of the students and we were able to go on adventures together during class. One of my favorite moments was going to the bell tower that overlooks the entire campus.

              The bell tower on campus is something that is always heard, but few students get to see the inside. When we went to the tower as a class, my fear of heights did kick in. There are many flights of steps to climb up to reach the top of the tower and, to make it worse, these steps are placed on a narrow, spiral staircase. Since I have been working on getting over this fear, I pushed the anxious feeling in my stomach aside and climbed the steps with only a little amount of hesitation. Upon reaching the top, I was so happy that I decided to join the rest of the class to reach the overlooking views.

              Bells were chiming loudly in the background and I peered outside of the window to see the most gorgeous view of the campus. The leaves were changing on trees that seemed to go for miles and the towers of DU stood out among smaller buildings. Not to mention, the Colorado mountains formed a perfect background. It was truly a sight to see and the rest of the class and I enjoyed every moment.

  From seeing this extraordinary view, I realized that I finally felt at home at a university and it was a pivotal moment for me in my transfer experience. When I looked at the campus from the top of the bell tower, I only felt lucky that I was able to attend such a beautiful school and thankful that I was surrounded by so many other students who were going through the same adjustments that I was to DU. I’m so grateful that I was able to have this experience that not many students get from being in this transfer writing class!

   
• Reflection-By Nakeema Blake-Easton

              I am running out of time and feel like I cannot get anywhere. I am in a cycle where I write, decide I don’t like it and delete it all without a second thought. Glancing at the clock I realize that an hour has passed with nothing important being accomplished. After taking a break I get back to writing and finally a couple hours later I am finished. I have never written a literature review before, but I feel surprisingly confident in my work. I submit the assignment well before I have the chance to second guess myself.

              When the class first started, I remember being nervous about all the writing assignments and thinking how poorly I would perform on them. Now as the last assignments are rolling around, I feel very prepared and comfortable with the work. This is a major change for me because I have always disliked writing in academic settings and never felt comfortable enough. During this class I have learned that being comfortable during the writing process and not being too critical gives me the best results. One thing I learned that has been the biggest help is to get comfortable and when things are flowing during writing, don’t stop. If I keep going and look over what I’ve written after, I keep more of my own writing style and am not over correcting myself. I have never thought that I would learn much in an intro writing class and my writing would improve. Prior to transferring I took a writing &thinking course, it was interesting, and I loved the material, but I never had to write types of papers that I wasn’t familiar with. Looking back this did not benefit me much and I did not learn anything that I could continue to use.

              Overall this course has been my favorite and most positive experience at DU so far. I learned different things about my own writing and general writing tips. Taking a course with other transfer students took a lot of pressure off and gave us the chance to learn information that other classes wouldn’t take the time to talk about like registering for classes and how to find your advisors. Everyone is essentially in the same position and I felt that my transition to DU wouldn’t have been as smooth if I hadn’t had this course to see, first hand, there are plenty of other transfer students that have similar obstacles. I also liked that we had the opportunity to hear a senior transfer student’s story and were given tips on how to handle different issues like requesting transfer credits to fill in for a specific course and even studying abroad. This course was very useful to have as a transfer student and I hope that more transfer students get the chance to take classes that are specifically for them.

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• Reflection by Julia Barnett
  

          When my advisor brought it to my attention that there was a writing and research class specifically for transfer students, I wasn’t sure if I sign up for it or just choose a different section. Ultimately, when it came to my time to register, I ended up scheduling all my other classes around the transfer class. I decided to do this because it was a class with students who have also already been through the initial process of first-year experiences. The other people that would be in my class are more similar to me in compared to first-year students, who are experiencing college for the first time.

          Upon the first day of class, I was very happy with the small class size and the commonality of being with other transfer students. Professor April Chapman-Ludwig was very welcoming and right away I could tell that this class wasn’t going to be dull by any means. She kept it very interactive and fun; one of our first adventures was to the Anderson Academic Commons’ Special Collections and Archives. We ventured there and were split up into groups and given a few historic photos taken through the years and in different places of campus. We then had to go and recreate the photo to show the change, if there was any. I found this activity helpful in acquainting myself more with navigating the campus.

          Another adventure we took as a class was to the Colorado History Center. We went there to report observations of strangers that were also enjoying the museum. This was an interactive way to practice how to properly take observational field notes that would later aid us all in writing our autoethnographies. Two other students and I really enjoyed trying on the Broncos barrels they had in the Colorado A-Z exhibit and encouraged visitors to try on.

          As for the structure of the class, I really enjoyed how each of our main assignments contributed to our final autoethnography paper. It was very neat to delve deeper into a subculture I was part of. I ended up learning a little more about my specific subculture of pheasant hunting, which I chose because it was regional to my roots of South Dakota. It made it easier to write in the end, because a lot of the information came from assignments we had turned in earlier in the quarter. Ultimately, I very much enjoyed this class and Professor Chapman and made friends through it as well. I am very happy I was encouraged to sign up for it and would encourage other transfer students to take it into consideration.

   
• Reflection by: Kiki Shoemate
  

  Summer prior to transferring to DU

  Reflection by: Kiki Shoemate

  Attend University of Denver has been one of the best opportunities that fell into my hands. Although it was tough at first and I almost decided to transfer to another school but staying here was probably the best decision I could have made. I lived in the transfer house for a year and that was the best. I met a lot of fun, cool, and genuine people that now I can call my close friends. Attending April Chapman’s writing class which is dedicated to only transfer students was such a valuable experience and I cannot explain how much I’ll miss this class. We went on many different outings, which made the whole class closer. Being in this class made me feel I was a part of a little family. Thinking back to my favorite moment I would have to say was the last outing we went on which was brunch at Luciles. This is a little restaurant walking distance from DU. A housemate of mine Katherine and a girl from class Elly used the little scooters (birds) to get there. The experience was so fun. The food at Luciles is tasteful. I had the Pain Perdu. It consisted of French toast, fruit and your choice of eggs.  On the way back, Katherine hit a stub on the ground and almost fell off the bird. Such a funny moment I hadn’t laughed so hard in a long time. It’s times like these that I value the most and I will miss dearly.  
• Colorado History Museum Selfie
  

  Reflection: Colorado History Museum

  By Katherine Davis

  Transferring to DU was the best decision I ever made. Coming from Penn State and then taking a year and a half off to work and “figure out my life,” I was nervous to start school again. I was excited to find out that I would be living in the transfer house with 28 other people that were in similar circumstances. However, starting over was still taunting.

  When I arrived on move-in day, I immediately connected with almost everyone in the TLC house. My roommates were so welcoming, and everybody felt comfortable talking about the reason they transferred. Instantly, I felt at home. It was unlike any community that I had been a part of.

  On the first day of classes, I realized that my writing and research class was with all transfer students. It was so nice getting to meet more transfer students that were not living in the house. After a few classes, everyone in the class got to know each other as more than just classmates.

  One of my favorite memories was a field trip we took to the Colorado History Museum. We were looking at artifacts and observations of other visitors in the museum. It started with a classmate and I deciding to drive downtown. We invited two other students from our class. We planned to meet in the parking lot at 11:00 am in order to make a quick Starbucks run and get to the museum by noon. Not to our surprise, one of the students overslept and said he was bringing a “plus one.” Finally, we got a hold of him and found out his “plus one” was just another girl in our class. We didn’t end up getting to the museum until 12:15. We were so worried we were going to miss the assignment for the day and have to come another time. Fortunately, we only missed the intro and were able to complete the assignment. We went to different exhibits and watched as other families and individuals interacted with each other and the artifacts. My friend and I joked about how we felt like stalkers for writing down descriptions of people and things they were saying. We even took a group selfie.

  After the museum, our awesome professor, April, treated us to Torchy’s Tacos. We stuffed our faces with all kinds of tacos, queso, and guacamole. That day was the first day that everyone got to know each other on a more personal level. It made the quarter amazing to have people that were transfers like me and also learning about DU together.

  Throughout the quarter, we shared stories and went on lots of field trips together. At the end of the quarter, we wrote letters to future transfer students. Providing a platform for future transfers was rewarding. It allowed us to give the next transfer students the information that we wished we had known during our transition. My time at DU so far has been incredible and I’ve made so many friends. Taking a class with all transfers has been by far my most positive experience. I learned so much about myself and skills for my future here at Denver and in life.

   
• Reflection by: Jessica Hudson
  

  I think one of the most meaningful moments for me that I got from this transfer-specific writing class was one of the times we were in the nest discussing our transfer experiences in addition to what it was like to experience things like transfer orientation or coming to this university. This experience was undoubtedly one of the first moments that I felt truly at home at DU. Being a transfer student, especially as a commuter, there is a sense of isolation. There is some unspoken expectation that you are supposed to know something more than the incoming freshman, but there is also a division from every other student because you are not on the ‘traditional’ path of choosing and staying at your university. It something as simple as the slight change in how people look at you when they realize you are a transfer – like there is something wrong or unacceptable about not being new and not quite being seasoned as a pio. Beyond that, there isn’t even a true sense of familiarity around other transfer students. We all come from different experiences and have dramatically contrasting backgrounds, especially having come from one university and entering a completely different one. For some, this is an overwhelming experience of a more expansive class, for others, there is almost a claustrophobic feeling of entering a smaller campus. Then as a commuter, I barely even had the opportunity to connect with other students in general, let alone the transfers. At that point there were physical barriers of space that made connecting with others a daunting task as opposed to something easy. When it comes down to it, even though we are all transfers, we are essentially all so different that there is little that ties us together otherwise.

  I think having discussion about ‘the unknown’ that we all faced broke that barrier a little and created a space where we could all be lost together. It was a moment of feeling so isolated, but with a lens of realization that you are no longer… alone. These types of discussions created a space in which we could all come together and connect over what was difficult, what was isolatory, what we all felt would have been nice to know. Ultimately, it was a moment that created a sensation of connectivity because it became clear that we were not alone, there were others that understood. There were plenty of fun and insightful moments throughout the class – even uniquely unforgettable experiences like the bell tower trip. Further, having the opportunity to learn with other transfer students allowed for a learning curve that not only taught us content from the class, but valuable skills that enabled us to be more familiar with the campus and how the academic system works at DU. In other words, this class created an opportunity to connect with other students on campus and feel like it is possible to find a place in this foreign space; thusly, the most meaningful experience for me was having that moment to connect over our frustrations. Because when it comes down to it, those connections with others could be made anywhere with anyone once you find your place, but this was a unique space that made the struggles of being a transfer feel less like something only you personally would face and made it something that was a relatable moment.

   

• Erik Jungjohann

  WRIT 1133 was a very interesting class, the class itself is much more than just a writing class. The class went on a trip to the History Colorado Center, visited the DU bell tower, had brunch at Lucile's, and had many classes in the Loft of the library. My personal favorite experience was attending the DU bell tower. I’ve lived in Colorado for many years, and I’ve always driven past the bell tower; everytime I wonder what it is like to stand at the top and look at the mountains and city. It was so cool to finally go to the top of the bell tower and look at the mountains and the city. It gave me a better appreciation for the city I’ve lived in for many years.

   

  The second thing I enjoyed about WRIT 1133 was the number of different writing pieces we had to complete. Before this class, I’ve never written a vignette or a literature review or conducted a formal interview. This class really challenged me since I’ve never really been a good writer but after this class, I can say that I’m a little bit better than before. Being a transfer student, WRIT 1133 really helped me transition into the DU community. The class helped me understand where everything is on the campus, helped me understand the advising and registering process, and introduced me to fellow transfer students. If you’re a transfer student looking at all the different classes, I recommend checking out WRIT 1133.
• Reflection- Margaret Bassett
  

  As a new transfer student at the University of Denver, I had no idea what to expect of the classes I would be taking my first quarter. At my previous college, my classes were for the most part very small with a large writing class. So I was relieved when I walked into Writ 1133 and saw that the class was small and not a lecture like my previous writing classes. Another interesting aspect of this class was that it is composed of mainly transfer students. It was so nice to meet other transfer students at DU. After a few classes, I realized that this was not your average writing course and that we were going to go on field trips and spend time with each other not just inside of a classroom. I give this class some credit for my very smooth transition.

  One of my favorite days in this class was when we went to the history museum. What I liked so much about this field trip was that it was off campus allowing me to see parts of Denver that I had never been to before. We were given time to explore the museum and make observations. Most of us formed small groups allowing us to get to know our classmates better. After the trip, we went to Torchy’s tacos. These tacos might just be the best in Denver.
  This class and our teacher April made the first quarter transfer experience easy. Our teacher also brought in other transfer students to talk to us about everything a new student might need from how to appeal credits to study abroad. Even though I don't enjoy writing research papers this class was my favorite class of the fall quarter.
• Reflection- Crystal Mancilla
  

  I had a very enjoyable experience with this writing class; from the cool little projects we did at the beginning of the quarter, to the big assignments due at the end. Two memorable moments were the museum and the bell tower trips. Both were unique in that I had not been to a museum in Denver and it was my first time climbing up the bell tower. I will say the bell tower is not for everyone as the spiral staircases can make you dizzy.

  But nonetheless, learning about the history that is on the walls of the bell tower was really interesting. And what can I say about the history museum? I learned so many new things that were jaw-dropping. The Mesa Verde history was the most impactful exhibit for me along with the Japanese-American exhibit. And getting extra credit just for finding a specific exhibit and then taking a selfie was pretty awesome as well.

  Being able to meet transfer students was a blast. It was very fun learning their experience at other universities and what they think about DU. It was great knowing that this class was not like any regular rhetorical analysis writing class. This class had very interesting content and honestly had to be the best one I know of. Having these experiences within the class have helped me think about social groups and clubs in a different way. We are all different but come together ready to share our stories and learn new ones.