Running head: EDUCATION REFLECTION ASSIGNMENT

HES 470 - Education Reflection Assignment

Marielle Counts
Fontbonne University

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Im one of those people who knew pretty early on what they wanted to do with their life,
stuck with it, and never looked back. Although I concede that I am a rare case, Im certainly glad
that I havent dealt with the uncertainty, anxiety, and switched majors of many of my peers. It
was late in my freshman year in high school that I finally realized that I wanted to seriously
pursue dietetics and nutrition as a career path, right around the time that I joined the track team.
I had always been an athlete, playing multiple sports all throughout grade school, but I mostly
participated for social reasons and showed no real proficiency or natural talent. However, I had
always displayed a distinct tenacity and determination, so what I lacked in skill I made up for in
hard work. Running, a sport in which competition against oneself is almost as important as
competition with others, lent itself very well to my ideologies, and I found that I only had to rely
on myself to improve. One way that I decided I could improve myself was through my diet. Up
until then, I had consumed a fairly typical adolescent diet - fries, cookies, soda, etc. But through
reading and research, I discovered that I could not only become healthier with different food
choices, but improve my athletic ability as well. As I dove deeper into this idea, I truly
discovered my passion for a healthy lifestyle, one that encompassed both food and physical
fitness. I traveled down that road and ended up where I am today: a holistic vegan runner who is
about to complete their undergrad in dietetics. And I cant wait to get out in the world, share my
experience with others, and help them make the same discoveries that I did.
To the undiscerning eye, it may seem that I have taken two separate sets of classes in
college: General Education requirements and Dietetics classes. But I believe that there should be
no distinction, as they are all intertwined. In the past few months, I have done some thinking
about what Ive learned so far in life and what more I want and need to learn. I recently read
something about the brain and something termed learning how to learn. The idea was that

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even if youre learning or doing something that has no real immediacy in your life - basket
weaving, for example - just the process of learning how to do it can improve your mental acuity,
simply because you are training new parts of your brain.
Although I got all my math requirements out of the way in high school via dual
enrollment at St. Louis University, I definitely think my Calculus I class is a good example of
training the brain. I doubt that I will ever be called upon to find a derivative through
differentiation in my career as a dietitian - but Im certainly glad I learned how to do it. It
without a doubt increased my mental capacity. And there are certainly other aspects of math and
calculations I will need to determine such things as body mass, daily caloric needs, and the like.
English composition and literature are two other areas that I had the pleasure of working
through during high school, but they are without a doubt critical to my future career. I have
always been a voracious reader, and I enjoy writing as well. These are two areas that, along with
the field of communication, I believe are indispensable to ones life in general. We will always
need to be able to interact with other. Writing and communication enable us to express ideas to
others, and reading exposes us not only to the views of others, but gives insight to why they think
and act the way they do. I plan to keep reading my entire life: fiction or nonfiction, every book
has something to offer in the way of broadening horizons.
History, philosophy and religion are other concentrations that help us to understand the
world in which we live in. As I work in the field as a dietitian, I will be exposed to many
different types of people. Knowing more about how they were raised, how they think, and what
they believe in not only enables me to more positively interact with them, but raises the quality
of my own life as well. The history class I took at Fontbonne, Collective Memory in American

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History was interesting not only because it taught me important historical information, but
because it gave me insight into American culture as well.
Science is one area that hardly anyone has trouble relating to the field of dietetics.
Chemistry, biochemistry, anatomy - one has to know the body in order to know how to feed the
body. Undoubtably, these classes will help me in many obvious ways related to the structure and
internal workings of the body. Social Sciences I am more wont to group with history and
English in the way it helps foster understanding. If I am going to attempt to tell people how to
eat, I need to be aware of the way their minds could be working against them, how society is
influencing them, and how government policies and economics are directing their choices.
Technology is another no-brainer as far as relevance is concerned. Any career path
nowadays will involve computers, electronic information processing, and very likely social
media as well. To be honest, I think I have learned more about technology on my own than I
have in the computer class I took at Fontbonne, but that is simply a boon of my generation - I
certainly acknowledge that the concepts taught in that basic class are useful and pertinent, and
must be made available to students.
Art can be a tricky subject to relate to most majors, but I believe it is necessary to all. My
fine arts requirement was met my freshman year in a class entitled Music Appreciation. It is
without a doubt one of the favorite classes Ive taken at Fontbonne. Art has always been
therapeutic to me, and I find joy in such activities as drawing, dancing, and listening to music. I
believe that this same art can be therapeutic to others as well. The process of eating can be a
stressful one for some people, and art can be a way to express and reconcile negative feelings
and emotions. Not only can I recommend art therapies to others, but in times of stress I can call

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upon my creative side to find relief. Im also quite pleased to be able to more thoroughly
appreciate the music that I love!
A brilliant example demonstrating the importance of all the liberal arts is Dr. Martin
Luther Kings American Dream speech. Dr. King drew from science, technology, psychology,
sociology, government, history, philosophy, religion, literature, and art in order to pull in his
audience and express his ideas. In this address, Dr. King outlines and expands three major things
that must be done in order to achieve the reality of the American Dream, that all men are
created equal ; already he is drawing on critical American history for the speechs topic. In
discussing the three things that must happen - developing a world perspective, getting rid of the
notion that there are superior and inferior races, and eliminating segregation - he uses the liberal
arts to keep the audience engaged and illustrate his points (King, 1998, disc 4).
Science and technology are used to support his ideas on a global perspective; seeing as
the jet age has already made the world geographically one, it only follows that it become one
in terms of brotherhood as well (King, 1998, disc 4). Great pieces of literature (including works
from Donne, Shakespeare, and Poe) are quoted several times to provide an eloquent connection
to the ideas of his speech. Religion and philosophy appear throughout the address to appeal to
the audiences moral side, especially those of Judeo-Christian heritage - Christs exhortation to
love your enemies provides a powerful justification for Kings own doctrine of nonviolence.
The value of Dr. Kings ability to draw so prolifically from the liberal arts lies in the
liberal arts inherent power to promote understanding. It is one thing to hear someone say that
skin color doesnt indicate worth, but it is another thing entirely to hear someone say, Were I so
tall as to reach the pole or to grasp the ocean at a span, I must be measured by my soul and the
mind is the standard of the man. It goes without saying that the second phrase is much more

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likely to stick in someones mind (King, 1998, disc 4). Likewise, when Dr. King speaks of the
American government and its principles of democracy, and of passing legislation for Civil
Rights, and of the fact that our country was built on the principles of equality, he is giving
examples that each American in the audience can relate to. Making connections and promoting
understanding is one of the great assets that the liberal arts provide - but one must have a basic
knowledge of them in order to benefit from this asset.
Many people scoff at so called Gen-Ed requirements, and relish the thought of getting
them out of the way. They are bound and determined to take their majors required courses, get
their diploma, and get out of school as quickly as possible. I think this is not only a sad way to
look at things, but a dangerous way as well. A liberal arts education prepares me not only for my
work in the field of dietetics, but for my work in the field of life as well. Art, history, literature they all form a base of knowledge on which to build upon. The dietetics profession requires a
very specific skill set. We learn the exact chemical processes by which the body metabolizes
food, what foods are best for the body under certain conditions, and how to use sociological and
psychological methods to persuade people to eat the foods that are good for them. This is quite
different from what a lawyer will learn, or a physicist, or a writer. However, these specific
pieces of knowledge are useless if they are not placed on a solid foundation provided by the
liberal arts.
This liberal arts perspective will help me to better reach other people as well. In my work
as a dietician, I will likely see people from all walks of life, people who may be quite different
from me. But that doesnt intimidate me. I know that sociology and psychology will help me
understand how they think and act, philosophy and religion will help me understand their beliefs,
literature and communication will help me to interact with them - and the list goes on. The

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bottom line here is understanding. I cannot teach people, I cannot hope to reach them or connect
with them at all if I dont first understand them. This is the key that a liberal arts perspective
provides. Everyone responds to information differently and has a different perspective on things
- the classes Ive taken in the liberal arts will help me to see things through the eyes of the people
I am trying to reach.
Of course, I can by no means say that I have done everything necessary to completely
solidify my liberal arts foundation. On the contrary, I believe it requires a life-long process of
learning. As a dietitian, I will be required to complete continuing education requirements in
order to keep my certification as an RD. There are no requirements to keep learning about
philosophy, economics, and art, but I plan to do so anyway. I intend to keep broadening my
horizons for as long as I can, and by doing so I will enrich not only my life, but the lives of all
the people I encounter.

References
King, M.L. (1998). The American dream (disc 4). On A Knock at Midnight: Original
Recordings of Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr. [CD]. New York: Intellectual Properties
Management, Inc.

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