Gretchen Cope

My experience in this course was unique compared to those in other classes, particularly related to the design of the course. Our class met two days per week for "lecture" where we learned various basic communication concepts, different ways of viewing communication and the ins and outs of project design. The third class meeting of the week was in recitation, where we were broken up into small-groups who became our mini organization throughout the entire semester. The concepts we learned in lecture translated seamlessly into our recitation meetings, where our groups put them into action, constructing a fictional organization, organizational problem, and a solution. Our group of five undergraduate communication students had few things in common other than our major and placement in this group; it was up to us to identify our personal strengths and weaknesses, ultimately working with them all to complete a major case-study final project. As the five of us navigated working in a group with strangers (the other members of the group) we simultaneously put ourselves into the shoes of fictional characters to solve an organizational problem we posed. Through this experience, I learned the importance of balancing personal goals with those of the group and of the need for straightforward communication, particularly in groups where people aren't familiar with one another. The lessons from this class (both those related to communication and group work) I imagine are applicable across various contexts and fields; I am confident I'll see them unfold in my future leadership endeavors.