Honors ePortfolio
Display of Honors contracts, projects, and reflections
Table of Contents
I. Showcase 1: Annotations of HON-H 200 Artifacts
II. Showcase 2: Example of honors contract and completed project
III. Showcase 3: Connection of psychology and criminal justice through honors projects
HON-H 496:
Showcase 1
January-May 2025
"I am . . ."
I am determined in academics by focusing on my schoolwork and bettering myself through education. I am ambitious in my career advancement and have worked multiple jobs to build my resume and experience. I am family-oriented, but I value my time alone as well. I am always looking for opportunities to advance my understanding of other cultures by studying abroad and talking to various people from different backgrounds.
Annotation: I agree with everything in this "I am" statement. I still feel as though everything I wrote applies to me as a senior.
Reflection:
This assignment was very beneficial for me. It allowed me to think about what I can be currently rather than worrying about my future. It felt like a release to talk about the things I feel proud of instead of focusing on my insecurities.
Annotation: I agree with everything in this "I am" statement. I still feel as though everything I wrote applies to me as a senior. I also still agree with my summary and reflection in that it is nice to be able to discuss and express the things about myself I am proud of rather than constantly focusing on what I am struggling with or not achieving.
"I want to become . . ."
I want to become someone my family can be proud of. I want to become a graduate of the class of 2025 at IUPUI. I would also like to further my education by going to law school. I want to be a successful student in each school I am in, including international institutions. I also want to be a successful employee in my current and future jobs. I want to continue getting above-average grades as I know I can. I value education and intelligence, which I find most pride in.
I want to remember my goals and follow through on them.
I want to expand on my patience and self-discipline to help better myself. Patience will eventually help me in my career and everyday life. Self-discipline will help me become a better person for myself and those I surround myself with. I want to develop my self-confidence and leadership skills, as these are qualities I have attempted to pursue in college that could use more work. Self-confidence can help me in nearly every aspect of my life, especially with advancing in school and career goals. Leadership skills will help me in my career and building relationships with others.
I want to continue maturing in the same way I have been since my first week at IUPUI. Since beginning college, I have spent a significant amount of time thinking of my values and what I genuinely care about in my life, rather than what is expected of me and retaining old relationships that were not beneficial to my growth. This has helped me mature and develop better relationships with peers and renew relationships I held previously that are more beneficial to who I am as a person. I want to become better at recognizing the value of others so I can be as proud of them as I hope they are of me.
Reflection:
I really enjoyed this assignment as well. As opposed to the reflection in the "I am . . ." statement, this statement was looking forward. This one also felt very releasing to actually write down my hopes for the future and the things I value in myself that I would like to build.
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Annotation: The only thing I changed in my "I want to become" statement is that I wanted to complete a Master's program. Other than that I still agree with everything I wrote and feel it still applies to my future. I changed my summary from being honors focused to focusing on academics in general. I still agree with my reflection 100%, so I would not change anything.
Journey Map
Reflection:
I enjoyed this project. It allowed me to look back on important milestones in my life and reflect on the good things that have happened to me. I was also able to remember the parts of college I was excited and proud about. This also allowed me to look ahead to the future and what I would like my life to look like.
Annotation:
The only thing I would change about this map now is that I no longer plan to apply for a master's program. I would like to take my LSAT to apply and hopefully get into law school somewhere. ​
HON-H 496:
Showcase 2
Honors Contract for PSY-B 346
Title: Theories of Personality: Relational-Cultural Theory
I am choosing to do my honors contract in PSY-B 346 Theories of Personality. This course discusses the study of human personality throughout history and provide insight into the various theories that have been developed.
In this honors experience, I will research a topic from the textbook we will not be covering in class. For this, I chose the relational-cultural theory. I will use personal outside research to find new information that is both interesting and relevant to the subject. To do this research, I will find scholarly sources using the library website that relate to relational-cultural theory. I will choose about five sources to use in my final product, which will be submitted to Dr. Rand. These will be used throughout the presentation I create to expand on my own words. I will work with Dr. Rand to develop a presentation that will expand on the textbook examples and information on the relational-cultural theory. I will then submit and present my final product to Dr. Rand at the end of the semester.
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​Approximate Schedule:
September 11: Submit honors contract for approval
September 16-20: Meet with Dr. Rand to finetune details of project and topic
September 23-27: Begin researching sources
October 1-11: Compile sources
October 14-18: Meet with Dr. Rand to discuss sources and how to apply them
October 23-31: Make outline for presentation and how to use sources
November 1-15: Create presentation rough draft
November 18-26: Meet with Dr. Rand to show rough draft and discuss
December 2-13: Revise presentation for submission
December 16: Turn in the final project
Engaged Learning Experience(s):
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Research: This honors experience will allow me to participate in the engaged learning outcome of research by researching the relational-cultural theory. I will do research with both my provided textbook and outside sources.
Profiles of Learning for Undergraduate Success Skill(s):
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Communication: I will use communication to set up meetings with Dr. Rand and discuss the details of my project.
Summary:
This honors project allowed me to expand on textbook material that would not be covered in class. I provided the slide show I made over that topic below.
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Reflection:
For this project, I chose a topic that was included in a chapter in the textbook we were using for the course. The topic I chose could not be something covered in class. I chose this topic because it is one of the only psychological theories I have heard of that was made by women about women. I did outside research guided by information I learned in the textbook. I then created an outline of subtopics I wanted to cover. I created the slide show using this outline and research.
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HON-H 496:
Showcase 3
Introduction:
Throughout my undergraduate career, I have used my class work and honors projects to expand my knowledge and experience in tying criminal justice to psychology. Through this process, I discovered my love for discussing and researching the criminal justice system and its elements. I was able to gain experiences and research those aspects, which I plan to continue in my last semester at IU Indianapolis.
Substance Abuse in the Prison System:
For my first artifact, I have chosen to show a research paper I completed in the fall semester of 2024. This was in accordance with an honor's contract for the course PSY-B 396, or Alcoholism & Drug Abuse. This project allowed me to research and further understand the workings of the justice system, specifically how substance use disorders are treater within it. I was able to expand my skill of research while gaining knowledge on criminal justice as well.
Juvenile Court: Public Defenders and Prosecutors
For my final artifact, I have chosen to show a reflection on a project I completed in the spring semester of 2024. This project was done for the course SPEA-J 205, or Juvenile Justice. Along with this paper, I recorded interviews with both a public defender and prosecutor working in the juvenile division of the Marion county justice system. This project also allowed me to gain real-world experience in research. It helped me dive deeper into the workings of the American justice system by moving to the courts component of criminal justice.
Urban versus Rural Policing:
For my second artifact, I have chosen to show the reflection paper and electronic versions of journals I completed in the fall semester of 2023. This was completed as a project for the course SPEA-J 202, or Criminal Justice Data Methods and Research. This project allowed me to refine my research skills using real-world experience and observation. I took notes and followed up with journals on each experience. This allowed me to gain more knowledge on the policing section of criminal justice.
Reflection:
At the beginning of my college career, I believed I wanted a career in psychology and science. Since then, I have found a deep appreciation for how psychology can be included in many fields, my favorite being criminal justice. Along this journey of research and projects, I was able to find more passions and paths for my future. Following the project I provided as my third artifact, I began thinking and looking into the idea of law school as an option for myself. I had never before considered that I might be capable or wanting of going into law. However, after being able to observe and experience a day as a juvenile public defender, it opened my eyes to many new possibilities. I saw how psychology could benefit a future career in law and the connections between the two. These projects as well as my general school work gave me many things beyond just knowledge and expanding skills, they gave me hope, excitement for my future, and ambition as well.
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