I am going to be completely honest; my expectations for this
class before the semester started were pretty low. I knew that Colloquium was a
required class and I had heard rumors that it was a really boring class and was
just about the ‘boring’ environment that surrounds us. My experience came
nowhere close to my expectations. Colloquium was a class I thought I would dread
coming to every week, instead I really looked forward to my Tuesday morning
classes (and that’s saying a lot as it was at 8am!!) with Professor Borden,
especially when we went on field trips. I’m not sure if I loved it more than
the average student because I am not from Florida and so I really was learning
so many new things every class, or if it was because I got lucky with an
amazing professor and a great group of class mates, but nevertheless I have
really loved Colloquium and I am sad that it is over.
I think the thing I learnt that was the most meaningful was
my contribution to the environment surrounding me. Everyone knows about global
warming and recycling etc and how it impacts our world, however I never really
thought that me recycling, or me picking up a few bits of trash would make a
difference. How wrong was I?! If I take one thing away from this class it will
be that my actions DO have an impact. I really learnt this during people’s
service learning presentations and throughout the lectures and field trips
during the semester. Every little really does help. So that’s one thing that
has definitely hit home with me, and I am going to really try from now on to
take better care of the environment around me. After all, it is looking after
me too!
The parts I enjoyed the most were of course the field trips!
I loved learning about things first hand, and being able to touch, and
sometimes even taste, difference plants and species. It really helps me to
learn something if I can experience it, so this really helped me when it came
to the quizzes. I particularly enjoyed the Downtown Fort Myers field trip, just
because I really didn’t know anything about the history of Fort Myers and how
pretty it was down there, so it was a really educational, yet also, scenic and
enjoyable field trip. My least favorite part of the class was probably some of
the reading’s in the University Colloquium text book, just because at times
they would drag on and weren’t very easy to understand. However, all parts of a
class can’t be thrilling and exciting so it wasn’t bad at all!
What surprised me the most about this class was the
knowledge that our professor had. Professor Borden was absolutely amazing and I
loved hearing all the extra facts and stories she had to tell us. She is a
truly inspiring woman and is doing so much in the environment and with birds,
it was a real honor to be in her class. I also loved learning that she was a part
of designing the Uncommon Friends Fountain in Fort Myers, I thought that was
really cool. Professor Borden made the learning fun. I am sure that colloquium,
with the wrong teacher, could be a very tedious class. Not mine though! And I
really do owe that all to the fact that Professor Borden went the extra mile
every class to make it exciting, innovative and educational for us all.
Overall, I loved my Colloquium class experience! I learnt SO
SO much and love how I am now able to identify certain plants and animals when
walking around campus and the beach. I am definitely a more environmentally educated
and conscientious person after taking this class, and I would really like to
thank Professor Borden from the bottom of my heart for making my Colloquium
experience so awesome!!!
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