While my pathway program has come to the end, it seems that the appropriate time for reflection has come. From a ignorant Asian student to today’s comfortable adaptation for American academic life, I’ve grown a lot and harvested much from this one semester’ INTO program. Specifically, the PROV 504 helps me get used to the American life by teaching me to make use of the resources like library supports, workshop lectures, writing tutors, etc. It is reasonable to suspect that without the PROV 504, I will get more difficulties in adjusting myself of the new learning style. Besides, the EAP 508 helps me improve my English skills not only in the accent and academic writing, but also in providing effective ways to adjust my new campus life in the U.S. For example, the GCLP series specifies affective strategies for me to build up sense of belonging in a new surrounding, to set up schedule for English writing, and, to write an English paper within the academic standards. Frankly speaking, the two INTO courses improve my confidence in future abroad study, and, save me energy for better study without taking too much time to search for academic resources at GMU.
More important, the combination of Seminar in Arts Management and Board of Director Management has brought me a better understanding of the Arts Management discipline. While the initial imagination is abstract and poetical, the really learning experience has outlined me a more concrete and realistic arts world. Arts managers are people who have both arts knowledge as well as management skills. To be a good arts manager, I need to be armed with the skills of coordinating people, engaging communities, planning artistic programming, managing finances, develop marketing, etc. Not to mention the courage and high skills in contacting a totally strange arts organization. The experiences of observing Strathmore’s board meeting and interviewing GALA’s founder and directors are my biggest collections for this semester that they bring me more confidence in contacting arts organizations and more understanding of the American nonprofit sector. Such deeper understanding of arts management has informed me the importance of making best use of my abroad time and my energy so as to get best learning consequence for my arts management study.
While the four courses have brought me a lot, however, they also remind me of the personal weaknesses. For example, the inaccurate English accent always impedes my communication with Native Americans. Moreover, my weak academic writing is another barrier to my future development. For these considerations, one of the major tasks for my spring semester is to well practice and improve my English. The earlier I master the English, the more I harvest the abroad study. Besides, lacking the common knowledge and understanding of the American arts world is another dimension that hinders my progression in classes. Without understanding the American arts world, I can hardly take part in the class discussions or have effective conversations with my American classmates. So, my goal for this winter vocation is a through understanding of the American arts world by reading books and reviewing important websites. As the two goals are achieved smoothly, my seeking for volunteer activities and internships in my following semester will also be much easier.