Assignment 1 : "Self advocacy"

As a college student, you need to find time to study and complete your assignments. However, the rest of your life continues as if you have not just gotten busier.

For example, a student, Tammy, was pursuing her master's degree. Because her husband had supported her when she earned her bachelor's degree, she thought that circumstances would be the same during her master's degree; however, it did not
happen that way. She still did all the cooking, all the grocery shopping, and she was having trouble trying to finish her homework with the kids running around.

Finally, frustrated, she blew up at her husband. After she calmed down and they really talked to each other, her husband shared that he thought that because she had already earned a degree, she knew what to do and would not need any help. Tammy shared that it was because her husband supported her by taking over some of the things Tammy normally did that she was able to complete her first degree.

Families (support systems) may not intuitively know what the college student needs. Tammy was self-advocating, having the "I need" conversation with her husband. In her case, she needed a quiet area to study four times a week for two hours, help with the kids during study time, and some help with cooking and cleaning when projects were due. She found that by sharing what she needed, her family (support system) understood her needs and were better able to meet them.

What are your needs? For Part 1 of this assignment, you are going to have an "I need" conversation with your support system (family, friends, whoever will be there to support you). This involves the following steps:

First, write a list of the main points you want to cover in your conversation - what is it that you really need to make this college journey a positive experience? You want to explain what you are doing, why you are doing it, and what you need from this person.

Second, point out the "win-win" in the situation - how does your support person "win" when they help you to meet your needs while you are a college student? Also, be ready to answer questions your support person may have for you.

Third, during the "I need" conversation, pay attention to the verbal and nonverbal cues your partner is giving you. Be able to interpret those signals appropriately so you have a productive and meaningful conversation.

After having your "I need" conversation, for Part 2 of this assignment you will write a paper about your experience. Your written assignment is to address the following points, using at least 750 words:

1. Provide your "I need...." list. Explain the points you wanted to cover in the conversation.

2. Recap your "I need..." conversation. With whom did you have the conversation? Did you cover your main points? Why or why not?

3. Reflect on your emotions. How were you feeling during the conversation?

4. Analyze your support person's response. How did the person respond to your conversation?

5. Anticipated results: Do you believe you will get what you need? Why or why not?

6. If you were to have the "I need" conversation with a second person, would you change anything given your experience with the first conversation? Why or why not?

Use Microsoft Word to prepare your assignment.

Assignment 2 : "Good Failure"

Read the article Why Failure is Good for Success.

Your assignment is to write and deliver a speech in which you take a position on whether failure is truly good for success.

Use Microsoft Word to prepare your essay. Submit both the essay (a Word document) and the speech (an MP4 file) through the dropbox in the assignment page.

Writing the Speech:

· Paragraph one is your introduction. It should introduce the topic and contain the thesis statement which contains your position on the topic.

· Paragraphs 2-4 are the supporting paragraphs for your thesis. They should support your thesis statement, have topic sentences that relate to the thesis statement, and contain additional information that further supports the thesis.

You should use personal experiences from your life that demonstrate how you have failed, what you have learned from failure, and how you bounced back after failure.

· In this paper, you must incorporate one paraphrase from the article and cite it in text and on the Reference page properly using APA citations. This paraphrase must be highlighted in yellow.

· In this paper, you must also incorporate one short, direct quote from the article and cite it in text properly using APA citations. This direct quote must be highlighted in blue.

· The final paragraph is the conclusion. It should connect to the introductory paragraph and summarize the main points of the paper.

· Sources/References: List the author, title of article and source information. Refer to the Pocket Keys for Writers to help you prepare your source list.

Recording the Speech:

You will need to make sure you have the hardware (i.e. a webcam on your computer, or a cell phone that can take videos). If you need to download an app to make videos, try screencastomatic.com which is a free app that includes a tutorial on how to record videos.

You will save the video recording as an MP4 file. If you are using a Mac, you will need to make sure your file is converted to an MP4 file (search the internet for file conversion apps that can help you convert video formats into MP4).

Delivering the Speech:

Practice delivering your speech so that you are not just reading from the essay. You will want to make eye contact with the webcam so that your viewer feels you are addressing him/her. Note that it is easy to edit your video file in screencastomatic.com - you can watch the tutorial to see how to remove a segment from the recording.

For your delivery of this speech, focus on eye contact and speaking with conviction (use some inflection in your voice rather than reading in a monotone).