Introduction:
Hi everyone, I’m Aeryel “Sunshine” Williams. I am a student leader at UCF, on
my tenth executive board this year serving as the President of the Caribbean
Students' Association. I am currently a Peer Advisor in the Office of
Interdisciplinary Studies, so most of you may have met me in the past two
years. I am also a photographer. One cool thing about me is that I served on
the 2011 Royal Homecoming Court! My areas of focus are Arts and Commerce with a
Leadership Studies Minor. But when I explain my major I say that I am focusing on
Photography, Marketing and Leadership Studies...because most will not
understand what the areas of study mean. I also have a double minor in
Marketing.
This week’s objectives:
- Understanding Interdisciplinartiy
- Integrating Areas
Reasons for being an Interdisciplinary
Studies Student: I believe that being in this major
makes a student better equipped in multiple areas and a more well rounded
individual. You are in this major, for one of three reasons. One, you
transferred to UCF and just want to use your credits and get done the fastest.
Two, you were in a different major and switched because the topic started to
bore you, it got too difficult, or you couldn’t finish the internships. Or third,
you are here because you genuinely have a sincere interest in multiple things
and want to gain fluency in them. This major is not a just a rescue major, it
is an opportunity to become a researcher, an entrepreneur and go on to graduate
school. Take advantage of everything this major has to offer!
Talking Points:
- What is your definition of integration?
- How have you integrated your areas of study with your minor?
- Have you integrated work or internships or volunteer activities with your areas of study and or minor?
- If you have not integrated your areas of study, why not?
- Why is it important to integrate your areas professionally, academically or personally? How will you benefit from it?
Example:
Leadership Studies Minor – use skills learned in coursework to serve on SGA
Cabinet.
Current News Story:
I found an article in the New York Times that I think exemplifies
Interdisciplinarity. It is titled “How
About Gardening or Golfing at the Mall?” focusing on repurposing mall that are
losing physical traffic. A lot of stores are becoming more convenient for
shoppers that hate the hassle of coming to the store by moving online. This
then leaves mall with less in store shopping. So to gain more attention and
retain customer flow malls are considering developing malls into town squares,
adding dog parks and natural water elements. This project will call on many
different fields to participate; accounting and budgeting, design firms,
construction workers, mall operators and architects. They will all have to work
together to create a revenue developing attracting, to get people back in the
malls.
Activity:
Reply as comment to
this post in the following manner. Answer three
talking points listed above. Also, find an article in a national newspaper that
has interdisciplinary qualities, and would call for experts in different fields
to approach and solve the problem together. Could you see yourself as an asset to
the project? Answer should be 125-175 words. Post article link at end of reply
to talking points. Also please respond to two other students.
Hi Sunshine
ReplyDeleteLet me be the first mentor to respond, I also have IDS as a major and have found that what that means to me is being able to diversify myself more in my career path. Rather than studing one discipline, Art, I have integrated 2 areas, art and health science, along with a minot marketing, to create a new niche in the job market for myself. I feel that it makes me a more versatile person, and a more rounded person in regards to my education.
As I said earlier I think professionally this will make me a more attractive candidate for a job position since I have knowledge in 3 areas, and am more flexible with the education I have acquired.
Flexibility is key, period. Stagnant candidates never get chosen.
DeleteNathan
DeleteI think you are right on the money when you say that your diversity "will make you a more attractive candidate." It is more competitive now than maybe ever before to get a job, and I think that given that harsh landscape only the strongest candidates will succeed. Your diversity should and will be considered a major strength.
Diversity is a major reason I chose IDS. I still do not exactly what career is right for me so this degree lets me experiment in many different fields. Over all, I think I made a great choice : )
ReplyDeleteIDS, in my opinion, with regard to being unsure about what it is you want "to do when you grow up" is a great platform form which to launch. You are able to get your feet wet in a few different areas to identify where your strengths and weaknesses may lay. Good luck.
DeleteJason, I fully agree with you on the "unsure of what you want to do," but we all know that is perfectly fine. It is better to admit it to ourselves than dive into something and find out it isn't what we want to do to late in the game. This way we have that large "platform" you speak of, yet are so specific into a discipline that it won't help us in the future if we take another route. It is very easy to see a large portion of students try to get themselves into a field and end up taking a tangent or just landing slightly outside that mark, and never using anything they learned in school. Specifics are things meant to be studied once you are settled into your job in my opinion.
DeleteMike D.
Right, you guys are on the right track. Being unsure leads you to explore and find yourself. And as you find yourself, you find w=hat makes you happy...and a career you find yourself happy in will never feel like a job.
DeleteI think the best way to explain integration is that it the combination of two or more things, in our case areas of study, in an order to make them one complete, fully realized whole.
ReplyDeleteThe ways that I have integrated my areas of study to my minor are sort of more the ways I intend to integrate them. My areas of study are Film and Sociology with a Marketing minor. I hope to take the knowledge I learn about society through sociology and utilize that to become a better marketer. Film could also be a key part of marketing down the line.
I feel that it is important to integrate my areas professionally, academically and personally because they have a natural fit that complement each other very well. It would be almost foolish not to integrate the things I have learned about society into any marketing work I encounter.
For my current article I selected an article from the New York Times about the new Apple operating system for Macs. I feel it is a decent example of integration because it highlights how Apple is integrating some of the better features of the iPad over to Macs. Here it is:
http://pogue.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/02/16/apples-mountain-lion-makes-the-mac-more-like-the-ipad/?hp
Mark
DeleteI think you have the right idea, and I also believe that Apple integrated the features of their IPad to Macs as well. It is a good example of integration, and shows how integration can be used to diversify as well as complement existing features while creating a whole new entity or area.
Mark
DeleteApple, in my opinion, defines what integration means in our generation. Though I'll always be a PC guy, I'll be the first to admit that Apple knows what they're doing. Now only if they could cut the prices of their laptops in half...
@Matt lol I totally agree
DeleteMark:
DeleteIt looks like you'll have a great foundation combining film, marketing and sociology. From a business approach, marketing and sociology, being able to identify and direct yourself, your product, whatever... to the target consumer is a great place to be.
I agree with Jason. Being a marketing minor myself, i think your background in sociology will benefit you in the types of films you create or direct or produce and then manage and target the market you hope to serve.
DeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteMark
ReplyDeleteI like how you have integrated your disciplines. It makes sense that sociology could help you become a better marketer, and also film in the future. I think it is smart to choose disciplines that can benefit one another because in the long run it will be helpful in your career. I liked your example of integration with Apple!
-Ashley Card
What is your definition of integration?
ReplyDeleteHow have you integrated your areas of study with your minor?
My definition of integration is being able to take two different things, bring them together, and make them work together. For example, nowadays, the internet is being integrated into televisions. Originally, the internet was meant for computers, but technology has allowed us to integrate it into our televisions. My major ares of study are Communication and Arts, and my minor is Hospitality Management. In my opinion, Communication and Hospitality Management are easy to integrate. My studies in Communication have provided me with the tools I need to succeed in any aspect of life, whether it be academics, work, or personal life. Hospitality Management has taught me about an entire industry, in which I need the proper communication skills to succeed. Therefore, it has been fairly to integrate those two areas of study. As for my Arts studies, I have yet to really integrate Art with the other two areas.
Devin McGhee
Devin,
DeleteI think you are spot on with your definition. Great example with internet and tv being integrated. That is something that is becoming more prevalent almost on a daily basis, be it with streaming technology or other things. Another great example of how the internet has integrated our lives is with school. Obviously we are in an online course and that is a prime example, but even beyond that. I am in a class where during live face to face sessions all of the students are logged onto the internet and answer polls and questions during the professors lectures. Its pretty crazy how far things have come.
Have you integrated work or internships or volunteer activities with your areas of study and or minor?
ReplyDeleteIf you have not integrated your areas of study, why not?
I have not integrated work or internships or volunteer activities with my areas of study and/or minor. Although I enjoy studying Communication, Arts, and Hospitality Management, that is not my true passion. My heart is in the fashion industry. So, instead of taking an internship, I have spent my time working in retail and fashion, and networking in the industry I truly want to prosper in. I have to start somewhere in order to succeed.
Devin McGhee
Devin,
DeleteI have never actually integrated my areas of study into my work life. I have worked in a movie theater, a food store, NBA city, phone based tech support on an Apple account, and support with computers in person. I suppose one could say that working in a variety of different areas could be considered practice in discipline of Communications which is one of my majors, but that would be indirect. Physical science is also a field that I suppose I just haven't been able to jump into, although I wish I could. So I suppose I agree with you on the fact that most recently I have enjoyed working on and around computers yet they are not what I want to study.
Mike DiPasquale
Why is it important to integrate your areas professionally, academically or personally? How will you benefit from it?
ReplyDeleteIntegration is important because it allows an individual to be multifaceted and versatile. Being versatile can be beneficial in your professional life, academic life, and personal life. For example, think of an employer. When interviewing prospects for a new-hire, they tend to look for a well-rounded individual. You don't want someone who can get the job done quickly, but is unable to get along with other employees. But, if you have a prospect who can get the job done efficiently AND get along with other employees, that is most likely who the employer will choose. So, integration is extremely important in any aspect of life.
Devin McGhee
Devin
DeleteYou do have a good handle on what integration is and as you have stated above in your 3 responses appear to have a direction you intend to focus your interdisciplinarity in.
You have also learned how to integrate your areas in the real world and put them into practice making you the well-rounded person you mentioned. I also feel that being multifacted and versatile is an important facet in life and in regards to a career.
Devin
DeleteI wholeheartedly agree that versatility is key in todays professional landscape. I think there are a lot of factors that go into what makes an applicant hirable, but versatility is definitely high on the list of essentials.
Devin
DeleteYou give some very good examples on integration. I'm sure you'll be able to integrate your areas of study into your passion for fashion. Even if you don't, like you said, proving to a potential employers that you have these other disciplines under your belt may put you ahead of your competition.
My view of integration is that of more than one person, idea, process, etc… coming together in a way that the separate contributions are indistinguishable; that all assembled elements operate as one unit. Personally, I very rarely integrate my areas of study with my minor in a professional capacity, though I do identify a future need for that integration. My areas of study being public affairs and behavioral sciences (I mis-spoke at the beginning of this course replacing behavioral sciences with political science), at this moment rarely align with my music minor. Being in the early phases of my production career I find myself more focused on pumping out tangible work product rather than working on improving any public affairs issue. Behavioral sciences has no functional use in what I am doing at the moment, unless of course I were to treat my clients like case studies and manipulate their desire and need for my services. Kidding. Though I don’t consistently integrate my areas of study with my minor, if I were ever to decide to return to teaching music, the integration of the three would be greatly beneficial.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2012/02/19/world/middleeast/AP-ML-Iran-Oil.html?_r=1&hp
Iran Cuts off Oil to Britain and France: Well, where do I even begin? There is the obvious diplomacy and political affair issue. The contentious back and forth between Iran and some western European nations has been less than pleasant for the past few months, with constant threat from Iran regarding the cutting off of its supply of oil to these nations stemming from the heavy EU sanctions. The politicians in Iran and the EU are going to have to play nice to fix this one.
There is also the financial fallout that will, with no doubt, be felt in the EU and likely all over the world. Investors will likely scramble due to market and supply insecurity. This will probably, again, raise the price of a barrel of oil and subsequently a gallon of gasoline.
The volatility of the Middle East and the world supply of oil raise the energy question again. This highlights the need and demand for a stable supply of energy that is not petroleum based. That’s not necessarily a personal position of mine, rather a verifiable fact. We will all buy gasoline as long as we can afford it.
Politics, finance and energy. I see my contribution to these issues being astonishingly sparse, if present at all. I guess I got into the wrong business.
Jason
DeleteI like you have areas that I could integrate if I choose to yet it is more beneficial to me for a career to be able to say I have 3 areas of study...or 2 areas and a minor.
I choose interdisciplinary studies so that I wouldnt be narrowed by one discipline in my career choices.
I agree with your opinion of the Middle East and that we need to all focus our education on diplomacy, or energy or similar areas since this will determine the future of any jobs.
What can I say, it is what it is....ha ha...
Good take on the present financial fallout and world energy situation.
Jason
DeleteYou hit it on the head. You may not know how you want to integrate you areas of study right now, but you can still take the ones that are working and use them the best you can. Employers may not have a need for one or two of your disciplines but simply showing them that you have a passion for these other areas of study surely would make you stand out.
Mark,
ReplyDeleteI love that you integrate your IDS subjects into all areas of your life. I think this will give you an upper hand when looking for jobs. If you can correctly explain how your areas work together to benefit over all goal, the IDS degree will have a great impact. I believe it is all about you describe it.
Devin,
Communications is also one of my areas. It is very easy to integrate it with most other areas because communication is eminent in the success of anything. The Arts can be integrated through creativity. It opens your mind to thinking outside the box which can be alluring to companies who are always looking for new ideas.
Jason,
ReplyDeleteEven though you may not integrate your music area with your others, it is good to have that knowledge. This can open many outlets for you. You are not limited to one path which is a luxury in today's society.
What is your definition of integration?
ReplyDeleteMy definition of integration is combining multiple disciplines and applying them as a whole. In other words it is like looking at a problem from different points of views but instead of using them separately you use them together and apply what you know. It is kind of like the concept of thinking outside the box, instead of limiting your self to a specific view or discipline, you use multiple views or disciplines and you use them to build off of each other. A good example of this is how Bruce Lee integrated many different concepts from different fighting styles and created his on philosophy on fighting. He said you should take what is useful to you and apply it in your own way.
- Michael Bishop
Mike
DeleteI agree with your definition of Integration, and I consider is 3 parts of a puzzle that when completed makes the whole picture.
I also like the example and comparison to Brudce Lee, he definitely integrated his methods and concepts of style in his fighting.
Nice comparison
How have you integrated your areas of study with your minor?
ReplyDeleteMy two areas of study are Art and Computer Science and my minor is Sociology. I found sociology to be very helpful when it comes to these to areas of study since I want to be a graphic designer. Studying sociology has helped me to get a better understanding of our society, so it has helped to a get a better understanding of my clients and many potential target audiences for my work.
-Michael Bishop
Michael,
DeleteI definitely agree with you about the fact that Sociology should be a good minor. It sounds like it has a great opportunity for understanding society as a whole. This being said it makes sense that it should make most fields/disciplines easier to comprehend or manipulate if you will. Good luck with your Art major as well, it is a degree that I wish I had talents in.
Mike
DeleteTo me the integration of the disciplines whether you focus on them as a group or individually as areas of study, the idea is to be able to use them to create a market place for yourself within an area of more than one discipline, which we as IDS students have done.
Why is it important to integrate your areas professionally, academically or personally? How will you benefit from it?
ReplyDeleteIt is important to integrate my areas of studies because it helps me not limit my self with perception of one discipline. If I didn’t study sociology wouldn’t have known just how complex our society is and the many different views that we as a society can view a subject. This is very important as an artist, because the point of art is to convey a message and if I only limited myself to one view I would be limiting how well my message can be conveyed. Academically integrating an artistic perspective on how I look at my classes has really helped me a lot through out my academic career. For example I once had to write a paper on a poem and the poem I chose was “this poem was intentionally left blank” and I at the time I was pretty bad at writing so I thought of an artistic solution, I turned in a paper that said “this paper was intentionally left blank” and I got an A on it (luckily my professor was very open minded).
-Michael Bishop
Mike,
DeleteYou hit it right on the head, to be able to integrate your areas, so that you have the ability to create your own niche within these areas. To be creative and work outside the normal discipline box.
How have you integrated your areas of study with your minor?
ReplyDeleteWell, this question is pretty simple. With a major area of Engineering Science and Computer Science, along with a Digital Media minor, I'd have trouble saying that I'd never integrated my studies before. The analysis and problem solving skills that are taught through the Civil Engineering program at UCF are phenomenal tools that I can use with many 3D modeling/Audio/Video/Image/Program editing suites to attain a very unique result, only furthered by the programming and math skills that encompass the Computer Science major area. Why is it important to integrate your areas professionally, academically or personally? Personally it is important, simply because I feel a need to integrate a heavily science/logical view of the world with a more creative view. When I hear a nice sound outside or see some interesting color on something, I'll ponder how to reproduce the sound digitally rather than analogically, and I'll wonder how the color would look if the paint particles reflected every other color of the spectrum instead of absorbing them. The idea that red paint is soaking up every color except red is still crazy to me. My twin brother also just recently graduated and had a Co-op position at L3 in research park as an IT student. While there, he told me that L3 actually employed students specifically for 3D modelling and such for their simulators. This leads to another talking point:
How will you benefit from it? From what I've seen at job fairs and expos at campus recently, many engineering corporations are looking for individuals who have skill in CAD programs or modelling. One of my favorite programs to use at the moment is Autodesk Maya, an incredibly fun 3D modeler, actually used to make many high budget films and effects. Thanks to my 3 years of engineering, I have plenty of experience with CAD software, not to mention that I use Solidworks outside of class to make components of some models. Simply by trying to approach my interests outside of school has already given me skills that could really benefit me in the job market.
Erik
DeleteSounds like you are on top of IDS, you have a good grasp of being able to integrate your areas, and as you said your 3 years in engineering appears to have paid off in the softwear knowledge you have obtained.
I have found that IDS allows me to create my own niche in the career arena, since I have knowledge in more than one discipline which is the norm.
Good luck on your adventure into your education and with finding the job you strive to achieve.
How have you integrated your areas of study with your minor?
ReplyDeleteMy minor is Information Technology, so it very handily integrates my Areas of study (Digital Media & Computer Engineering). I have been working with computers since I was very young, and the creative spark has been burning ever since. I’ve designed web sites for my High School, explored and set up computer networks with my friends and family, as well as hobbies such as animation and digital design. Throughout my professional careers I’ve been utilizing knowledge I’ve gained in these areas to further enhance my primary IT Support job roles. For example, when users that I support are trying to embed video into presentations, modify web sites, or develop any types of multimedia content, they look to me, rather than our main help desk simply because of my comfort level with the technology and how easy it is for me to get them on the right course.
Shaun
DeleteSounds like you are in the right field, it is amazing how we happen to have the inner knowledge of the area we want to focus on. Technology definitely seems to be your creative area, and based on what you have presented you love doing it as well.
Have you integrated work or internships or volunteer activities with your areas of study and or minor?
ReplyDeleteI have integrated work into both of my Areas of Study and my minor. When I was in the Digital Media program at Valencia, we made a number of short films, and spent a lot of time editing. In doing this I got “the bug” to want to keep editing things. I specifically was able to use this as an opportunity to edit a promotional video for my employer at the time, Firedog (Circuit City), in order to showcase the home theater installation side of the business. One of our managers had decided it would be a good idea to film an installation from start to finish, and I can tell you the stock footage they took was pretty boring. It was several hours of running cable, crawling in and out of the attic, and mounting electronics. I trimmed the several hours down to a couple minutes of fun, added some music (“Who let the dogs out?” as a Firedog, it was inevitable…) to liven it up, and it became a hit with the whole team.
Shaun
DeleteYou have a definite handle on being able to integrate your areas and minor. It sounds like you are a hands on person, which helps with your creative nature. The fact that you could take a several hour long stock video and create a shorter version which is impressive shows your ability to analyse, create and alter the problem using what you have learned in your areas of study and minor.
Great job.
Why is it important to integrate your areas professionally, academically or personally? How will you benefit from it?
ReplyDeleteI had my first computer in middle school, and spent the next few years playing games, learning how the games were made, “modding” them, and exploring new ways to play them. I started playing computer games via direct telephone connection with friends before the Internet became popular for gaming. When I was slightly older, I started exploring with Flash animations, web design, video editing, content delivery, and was introduced to the hardware side of things. From there, my creativity was really able to start to bloom. If it wasn’t for my complete exposure to the technologies as a teenager, and without the freedom to explore the technology for fun, I surely wouldn’t have realized the potential that computers bring. If I wasn’t exposed to computers at an early age, I likely wouldn’t have gone to a Computer Academy High School, and would likely not be in this class or career field today.
Shaun
DeleteI agree that being able to creat and integrate your love for your passion is necessary. Since it allowed you to start at an early age and grow witht the technology.
In the future your desire for new ideas will create a desire to push the bar even further in your learning, and striving to move forward in the area of your passion.
This truly seems to be where you have found your niche.
Shaun
DeleteYou areas of study do seem to compliment one another very well. Not many can say that they stuck to what they said when someone asked them as a kid "What do you want to be when you grow up?" It sounds like you've had an ongoing desire to work in the technology/media industry and I hope you have success in whatever career you choose to take on.
That's so awesome that you were able to find your passion at such a young age and it lead you to IDS. You have been fine tuning your skills for years and I think you will be very successful personally and professionally.
DeleteWhat is your dream job title?
Sunshine,
DeleteI couldn't think of one, but I posed the question to my girlfriend and she coined "Director of Digital Consulting"... That sounds pretty good to me!
Topic 2 Interdisciplinary: Three Talking Points
ReplyDelete1. This quote beautifully described interdisciplinary Integration:
“ To the young mind everything is individual, stands by itself. By and by, it finds how to join two things and see in them one nature; then three, then three thousand...discovering roots running underground whereby contrary and remote things cohere and flower out from one stem...”
“The astronomer discovers that geometry, a pure abstraction of the human mind, is the measure of planetary motion. The chemist finds proportions and intelligible method throughout matter, and science is nothing but the finding of analogy, identy, in the most remote parts” ... Emerson
2. My Minor is in Multi Cultural Anthropology. Anthropology, by definition, is the study of human beings and their ancestors through time and space and in relation to physical character, environmental and social relations, and culture, a theology dealing with the origin, nature, and destiny of human beings. My area of studies:
Humanities: Religious Studies, encompassed a wide range of spiritually illuminating and creative subject matter, such as ancient and modern languages, literature, history, philosophy, religion, and visual and performing arts such as music and theater.
This Minor and Area of Study is a careful integration of knowledge with my interests, passions and talents necessary to achieve my desired goals to travel while addressing humanitarian, cultural, and conservation issues ...
3. I have integrated work, internships and volunteer activities with both my area of Study Humanities: Religious Studies and my Minor in Multicultural Anthropology by Volunteering in Costa Rica, Central America Organizing a variety of activities for the children, and assist with their school work. develop music and dance, jewelry making, yoga and arts & crafts work shops, orphanage and childcare placements, in shelters, community centers and childcare facilities in impoverished housing areas, always working alongside severely underprivileged children.
Volunteering at the North East Florida Community Action Agency serving as Vice Chair of Client Advisory Board. NEFCAA Provides Federal Programs for Low Income Families. Energy Assistance , Youth Work Programs etc. Volunteer: Resources Coordinator for several local religious organizations
News Article
The Peruvian mahogany traders, by means of illegal encroachment into remote Amazon territories, and low flying helicopters from nearby oil and gas projects, are forcibly displacing the indigenous people from their forest homes,” Rampant poaching is believed to have disturbed the tribe, which led them to believe that all outsiders are a threat to their existence.
The Univers News : published Saturday Feb 4th 2012
Article : Mashco-Piro Photo Release:
Uncontacted Amazon Tribe Had Killed Photographer’s Guide;
Peru Issues Warning...
By Amrutha Gayathri
http://www.theuniversnews.com/mashco-piro-photo-release-uncontacted-amazon-tribe-had-killed-photographers-guide-peru-issues-warning/
Selva - Vida sin Fronteras: By Amrutha Gayathri Published February 2, 2012
http://selvavidasinfronteras.wordpress.com/2012/02/02/the-amazon-pink-dolphins-voice-mashco-piro-photo-release-uncontacted-amazon-tribe-had-killed-photographers-guide-peru-issues-warning/
Conservation biology
Cultural Anthropology: Minor
Applied Anthropology
Environmentalists
Archaeology
Ethnology
Environmental Science
Human Ecology
Laura
DeleteI thought the quote was brillant, and it is amazing all you have accomplished so far in your educational journey. It appears you have found your passion in your choice of studies and have had the opportunity to see them interact in the travel and work you have done so far.
Good luck in your future goals and I hope you continue to follow your passion.