"Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate.  Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure."

These influential words of Nelson Mandela are something that I have always turned to when I am feeling at a loss or at a crossroad, especially in regards to my education.  There are times that I feel that I could give up and take the easy way out when things are tough or my course load feels unbearable.  At times like that, I remember these words and suddenly hope and determination begin to pulse through me again.

I am an aspiring Paterno Fellow in the College of Arts and Sciences at the Pennsylvania State University. Currently, I am double-majoring in Political Science, with a concentration on International Relations, and Mandarin Chinese.  Both of these majors require extremely vigorous classes and throughout this year there have been multiple occasions that I have stopped and asked myself "Why?".  When these doubts seep into my thoughts, I come back to the Nelson Mandela quote and remind myself to not give up or think I am taking on too much to handle.  I remind myself to not be afraid to push myself to the limit and find out what I am truly capable of becoming.

After graduation, I aspire to become a law student and then work as a lawyer in the field of international law.  These are big goals and they are not something that can be achieved with ease.  I sternly believe, however, that I have obtained the tools and qualities necessary to achieve such greatness.

The uses of rhetoric and civic life will stay with me for the rest of my years as a student and into my career as a lawyer.  During the course of my freshman year, I have learned many things-- some useful, some not-- but the way that I have learned to use language, rhetoric, and confidence in my writing and speaking methods is a big part of what will make my work shine for the rest of my life.

Link to Kirk Shields' e-Portfolio

Communication in Teamwork

Over the course of this group project that we have had to be continuously working on for the past couple of weeks, the importance of rhetoric and proper communication skills has become transparent.  In our day and age, technology is obviously one of our main sources of communication, maybe even more so sometimes than talking in person.  

My group established a Facebook page to communicate to each other throughout our time working together.  Although it was helpful, sometimes it was hard to contact someone in a speedy manner or sometimes things got a little bit confusing and we had a couple miscommunications that resulted in delays in our project.  Overall, I think it was pretty effective though, but not as effective as the time we spent actually together working face to face.  

Working together, actually in person all together, was always the most effective way for my group to be working.  We got the most accomplished then and we could actually hash out our differing opinions on what worked, what didn't work, what we liked, what we disliked, etc.  I am happy for the time we were allotted to get together and work in our recording room because I think face to face communication allows for the best possible discussion and work ethic between the group.  Although over time the computer has become an effective means of communication for our generation to work through, I do not think that it has the same benefits as working in person and I do not think it ever will be able to amount to that of live conversation.