Isaac C Klein

Bob Thompson
CPRE 494
17 October 2019

Reflection: General Education

I have learned quite a bit in my general education electives from international communication,
social economical perspectives, and to speech communication. Each of these courses bring with them a
great perspective to bring into the engineering working environment. As a transfer student from
DMACC I had classes such as Macroeconomics, Speech, Mandarin 1 & 2, and as an ISU student I’ve had
Art History Classes for Asia and America. I’m going to reflect on each individually to think of the great
lessons I’ve learned, and how I view it as still applicable in the engineering field.

In Macroeconomics I often took a snooze and missed the value of the things I was learning at
the time. I vaguely remember this thing going up causing this thing to go down, and this thing going
down causing this thing to go up. The professor caught the most of my attention when he would show
charts on the board that progressed or digressed with time. I could then see how economics had an
impact for better or for worse on our current state of our country due to tendency’s in the past. I now
look at classes in VLSI Design that are heavily influenced by current economic trends in the
semiconductor industry. I viewed ideas like moors law and how it impacted pricing and brought
improvements of technology. I realize just how important economics are to any business and every
individual in the system. Macroeconomics taught a lot about resources and demand and the conflict of
the two. In the semiconductor Industry I can see things have gone smoothly with Moore’s Law for many
years. Technology is always improving, but now we are reaching the limitations of silicon. Due to all the
success from this idealism, there is much demand for what is next, but we currently lack the resources
to overcome those demands. With that perspective, I as an engineer will need to discover what is next
to bring stability to the business economy of whatever company I work for in the future.

In speech communication I sat quiet as a butterfly, trembling and shaking at the thought of
stepping up and giving a speech to an audience of 15. My confidence was not very high, and my delivery
brought stutters as I trembled with each sentence. Week by week, however this class not only prepared
me for the future coursework which would require much more similar embarrassing moments, but it
prepared me for the future when I stand before a client, boss, or crowd one day. This class provided me
with a cookie cutter technique to provide a well-organized speech on informative, instructional,
entertaining, and persuasive topics. Now I can more easily stand before a crowd with confidence on a
topic, that I have worked and studied hard for, making an impactful speech. This will especially be
necessary in the engineering industry for displaying and presenting findings to clients and crowds of all
types.

In Mandarin I not only learned a language, but I learned a perspective. Learning a language can
be very difficult and even more difficult to master. That’s a very important lesson to implement in both
educational and non-educational settings. For example, as an engineer working closely with
international employees and employers. In fact, many of my best friends are international students, and
they are some of the smartest people I know. However, the one area they feel the most discomfort is
when they need to give a speech or write a report. In their perspective English is a difficult second
language to them even though in my perspective they seem to speak flawlessly. They are very critical
about their understanding and ability to communicate in English, but they can do amazing things I could
never dream of doing in Mandarin. The fact they can attend advanced courses taught in English and
Isaac C Klein
Bob Thompson
CPRE 494
17 October 2019

come out with deep understanding simply amazes me. I could never imagine using Mandarin to that
level even if I had studied it my whole life. So a great perspective to take into the Engineering field is
language can be hard to master, even in technological terms and coding. So we need to work to be
more patient and understanding of each other in language barriers.

These were all perspectives I came into ISU as a transfer student having experienced. They
helped me to excel in my understanding, perspectives, and communication to get me to where I am
today. The remaining electives I took at Iowa State University added more Social political and
International perspective. Last spring, I decided to take and Asian art history which taught of the rise
and fall of many Asian kingdoms and dynasty’s, and the expansion of Hinduism, Buddhism, and then
Islam into the East. As a man of Christian faith it added to my perspective of other nations upbringings
and environment that leads to their own faith in their religions. It helps me to understand and
sympathize with their perspectives. Also the view point of Americas upbringing from the intense labor
of slaves and harsh discrimination of people upon color and gender, then seeing us progress to the
nation we are today. It is important we don’t forget the past, and We continue to keep and fight for
equality for ALL people in our modern day. Even looking back in the early 1900s where steel making
work was brutal for all aging men, and the work given to very young children. We should not forget that
America was built on sweat and blood of all Americans, and it ought to be protected for the sake of all of
America. This is a great perspective to take into the work environment, because when I struggle from
day to day solving problems, I can smile that I am improving the lives of Americans and the World each
day. Each day I work towards a brighter future. I can also understand and cooperate with my fellow
employees around me from the perspectives they lean on.

In summary, my various coursework of general electives has helped me to understand the

economic requirements I’m expected to meet in my workforce, it has given me the ability to confidently
speak about the works I have accomplished, and finally it has given me social, economic, and
international perspectives that I can consider when I work my job with clients, employees, and
employers.