Dear Beth,

When I first read the description for this section of ENGL 3210 on the English
Departments website, I admit I was anxious about what the class would
entail. The class, however, was a requirement for my major and I was
encouraged to complete the course sooner rather than later. My trepidation
only grew after the first few class sessionsparticularly when I found out we
would have to conduct an interview at some point in the semester. I was
anxious about the interview and many other parts of the course because of
my social anxiety, but that just led me to realize what a good topic social
anxiety in university culture would be.
From there, everything snapped into place. Im not saying I havent
experienced problems along the way, because I certainly have. The first
minor issue I encountered, for example, was with my field noteshow do you
go out and observe social anxiety on a college campus? I solved this issue by
conducting my field observations online, looking at Marquette Counseling
Centers webpage as well as those of several other colleges. I experienced
several other problems throughout the semester, but fortunately, these
problems have been easily fixable, and all of the individual components of
the project came together to form an interesting research project.
In this portfolio, I am including:

Final Research Paper The final research paper, the first item
included in my final portfolio, is the culmination of my work on this
project. It includes my motivation for research, my methods, my
findings, my proposal for change, and all appendixes that accompany
my research.
Research Grant Proposal The research grant proposal is the
second item included in my portfolio. It is a mock-up of an actual grant
proposal, containing much of the same information. This, also, is a
summary of the research I conducted throughout the semester.
Research Poster I included a scaled-down version of the research
poster I presented at our classs poster fair. The poster includes a
summary of the work I conducted throughout the semester, including
my methods, my findings, and most of my proposals for change.
Research Paper Initial Draft Because it so drastically changed
from the first draft to the final paper, I decided to include the first draft
of my final paper as my final choice item. My final paper began as a
jumbled mess, disorganized and unorderly. I rearranged the entire
layout of the paper as well as reworked the minutia of the content.
Pictures This final item is arbitrary, something I decided would be a
fun way to conclude this project. Throughout the course of the

semester, Ive taken many pictures relating to my projectmost of

which I did not get to useand I decided to include them all here.
Throughout the semester, Ive worked hard to gather information relating to
my topic. I actively listen to every discussion we have and try to contribute
to the discussion when I feel I have something valuable to say. More
importantly, I spend a lot of time outside of class writing and revising each
assignment, both before and after you return them with feedback. I have
made improvements on every draft because Ive been sure to incorporate
the revisions youve suggested, the changes my peer group has suggested,
and even additional changes Ive noticed in my own editing sessions.
Since the midterm portfolio, I have made more of an effort to speak up in
class. While we were all presenting our posters to each other, for example, I
gave feedback on every poster. Outside of class I have even spoken with
other class members, asking about their projects.
Just in this one semester, I have seen my writing improve. One of the things I
most loved about this project is the variability in the assignments. Each new
assignment was different from the previous, and it is all different than the
work I do in other courses.
I have developed new strengths. For example, I established a consisted yet
light-hearted tone that engages the readers interest. One of my biggest
strengths, however, is the content itself. I am very passionate about this
subject and it is something that interests me personally, and I believe it
shows in my writing.
At this point, I believe the next step in my research is to communicate my
findings in an attempt to utilize my proposals for change. My colleague
Breanna Klugiewicz and I came up with similar proposals, and we are
planning on communicating them to the Counseling Center because we
believe we have ideas that would be easy to enact and would help the
Marquette community.
Overall, I am very proud of the research I conducted this semester. The
project was valuable for me, personally, and it will hopefully be of value to
the Marquette community as well.

Thank you for the interesting and valuable experience,

Emily Hainsworth