Earlier this semester I went to see Jeannette Walls when she came to Ball State. I found the presentation she had very motivating and good for students. There were a few things that I really enjoyed about her presentation. First, it really helped reinforce the story that we had to read before coming to Ball State this year as freshmen. It also helped to show that even though I may be going through problems, there is always someone who has had it worse and still made it. Jeannette Walls’ story is a very important story because it can connect with almost any person and teach them something important.
By having Jeannette come in to present and talk to the students here at Ball State, the university really backed up the importance of the freshman reader. Normally, I would have just read the book and considered it as a good story with some really good life lessons. Honestly, this is how I treated the whole freshman reader process. After seeing Jeannette Walls in person, I quickly changed my thinking of the story. I finally saw it as someone’s experiences that they had to deal with. This also built the idea that, even through all those hardships, Jeanette kept going and eventually ended up as what the world calls successful. I believe she is successful for a completely different reason, for overcoming those hardships not getting a good well-paying job.
Seeing Jeannette Walls really brought my life into perspective for me. I realize how good of a life I have had, and how lucky I really am. Jeannette Walls shared some stories from her past that were not in her book and elaborated on some that were, which showed even more of the reality of her life. Even in reflecting upon her visit, I still am learning from her and her life.
What makes this story so perfect for a freshman reader is that it can reach almost everyone in some way. Jeannette Walls is not blaming the upper class for her poverty as a child and therefore upper class people can relate and are not offended by the work. It gives people like this a new perspective of how life is for others and how they could lose their life of luxury fairly quick. It helps motivate those people who are in Jeannette’s position and gives them hope that things can change for them. The middle class also benefits from her book because it shows them that it is possible for people that are having even more trouble than to end up with a good life. Finally, this book is very good for college students specifically for a few good reasons. The most important thing that Jeannette Walls’ book can teach students is to appreciate the differences of others. I feel like this is very important because it helps to suppress some fights that could happen later on during the semester. It also teaches students that they do not need to get everything that pops up in their head, in a sense of buying things. These are a least two things I pulled from her story and lecture.
There are a couple things that I think would have made the lecture a little better, even though it was very good as it was. Jeannette Walls said during her lecture that once she had her mother come to one her talks and I thought that would have been pretty neat to see. I really would like to know exactly what Jeannette’s parents were like just because I cannot actually understand how they could be the way they were in the book. Another thing I did not like about the lecture is that it Jeannette was talking to too many of us, but I understand the problems with splitting it up. Overall, the whole lecture was very eye opening and helpful.
Cultural Event 2
CAP Lectures
In the CAP program here at Ball State there is a day every year that they devote to lectures from people all over the country and the world. This year I attended quite a few of these lectures. I found this day to be very interesting and helpful. I learned a lot from the many architects, landscape architects, and urban planners that spoke that day. Of these lectures I attended, I believe the one from Jeff Bone was my favorite. I also attended lectures by Richard Moake, Robin Randall, Richard Fetz, and Cynthia Bowen. It was a very busy and information packed day, but I thought it was a perfect thing to show what students like me could strive toward.
The lecture that Jeff Bone had did not push his main topic too hard and this is why I liked it the best. He spent most of his time talking about projects he has done and then tied them together a little. What I got out of his lecture was that architects do not only design for people with money, they have somewhat of a duty to serve the community by designing buildings in general. His firm, Landon Bone Baker Architects, has designed housing for quite a few different types of struggling people, such as orphans, seniors, and even single mothers. One building that his firm worked on they did not even design. They ended up keeping the same building because it was a very nice older building. Instead they did what Jeff Bone called rehabing, they designed furniture and the rooms inside so that it did not look as worn down or old on the inside. Another thing that I learned from this lecture is that an architect, or any designer, needs to spend time to get to know their client. There were many times in which Jeff Bone’s firm interacted and talked with those who would benefit from the project.
I had a little trouble connecting with some of the other lectures because they pushed their topics a little harder and I therefore did not get as much information to take in. However, I still learned a great deal from the other lecturers. For example, Richard Moake’s lecture was about learning about the client. One of the most important things that I learned from Moake is that clients can pass along information about what they want without even speaking. A designer needs to also pay attention to a client’s body language, to learn what the person actually wants. This body language can even show things that the client does not quite know that they want, but a good listener can find these things out.
Another lecture I listened to was by Robin Randall. Randall talked about designing schools and how her firm learned what was best for the kids by observing them. She talked about three different schools her firm had designed and how they went about the process of designing them. This is very similar to the lesson that Cynthia Bowen was teaching in her lecture. Bowen’s firm is an international firm that works in places as far away as the Middle East. She spoke about her experience as a very important architect and consultant on a project that was in Saudi Arabia. One thing that I learned from Bowen is that a designer needs to pay attention to the culture of the area in which one is designing. Different parts of the world have different design thoughts, just like they have different traditions and beliefs. Designers need to pay respect to all of these things and try to work with them. Finally, I went to a lecture by Richard Fetz. I honestly had trouble understanding his lecture because it was geared more toward those that are already designers out in the job market. He was talking about managing costs for buildings, something that takes a while to understand and I did not really too much out of his lecture.
Jeannette Walls Lecture
Earlier this semester I went to see Jeannette Walls when she came to Ball State. I found the presentation she had very motivating and good for students. There were a few things that I really enjoyed about her presentation. First, it really helped reinforce the story that we had to read before coming to Ball State this year as freshmen. It also helped to show that even though I may be going through problems, there is always someone who has had it worse and still made it. Jeannette Walls’ story is a very important story because it can connect with almost any person and teach them something important.
By having Jeannette come in to present and talk to the students here at Ball State, the university really backed up the importance of the freshman reader. Normally, I would have just read the book and considered it as a good story with some really good life lessons. Honestly, this is how I treated the whole freshman reader process. After seeing Jeannette Walls in person, I quickly changed my thinking of the story. I finally saw it as someone’s experiences that they had to deal with. This also built the idea that, even through all those hardships, Jeanette kept going and eventually ended up as what the world calls successful. I believe she is successful for a completely different reason, for overcoming those hardships not getting a good well-paying job.
Seeing Jeannette Walls really brought my life into perspective for me. I realize how good of a life I have had, and how lucky I really am. Jeannette Walls shared some stories from her past that were not in her book and elaborated on some that were, which showed even more of the reality of her life. Even in reflecting upon her visit, I still am learning from her and her life.
What makes this story so perfect for a freshman reader is that it can reach almost everyone in some way. Jeannette Walls is not blaming the upper class for her poverty as a child and therefore upper class people can relate and are not offended by the work. It gives people like this a new perspective of how life is for others and how they could lose their life of luxury fairly quick. It helps motivate those people who are in Jeannette’s position and gives them hope that things can change for them. The middle class also benefits from her book because it shows them that it is possible for people that are having even more trouble than to end up with a good life. Finally, this book is very good for college students specifically for a few good reasons. The most important thing that Jeannette Walls’ book can teach students is to appreciate the differences of others. I feel like this is very important because it helps to suppress some fights that could happen later on during the semester. It also teaches students that they do not need to get everything that pops up in their head, in a sense of buying things. These are a least two things I pulled from her story and lecture.
There are a couple things that I think would have made the lecture a little better, even though it was very good as it was. Jeannette Walls said during her lecture that once she had her mother come to one her talks and I thought that would have been pretty neat to see. I really would like to know exactly what Jeannette’s parents were like just because I cannot actually understand how they could be the way they were in the book. Another thing I did not like about the lecture is that it Jeannette was talking to too many of us, but I understand the problems with splitting it up. Overall, the whole lecture was very eye opening and helpful.
Cultural Event 2
CAP Lectures
In the CAP program here at Ball State there is a day every year that they devote to lectures from people all over the country and the world. This year I attended quite a few of these lectures. I found this day to be very interesting and helpful. I learned a lot from the many architects, landscape architects, and urban planners that spoke that day. Of these lectures I attended, I believe the one from Jeff Bone was my favorite. I also attended lectures by Richard Moake, Robin Randall, Richard Fetz, and Cynthia Bowen. It was a very busy and information packed day, but I thought it was a perfect thing to show what students like me could strive toward.
The lecture that Jeff Bone had did not push his main topic too hard and this is why I liked it the best. He spent most of his time talking about projects he has done and then tied them together a little. What I got out of his lecture was that architects do not only design for people with money, they have somewhat of a duty to serve the community by designing buildings in general. His firm, Landon Bone Baker Architects, has designed housing for quite a few different types of struggling people, such as orphans, seniors, and even single mothers. One building that his firm worked on they did not even design. They ended up keeping the same building because it was a very nice older building. Instead they did what Jeff Bone called rehabing, they designed furniture and the rooms inside so that it did not look as worn down or old on the inside. Another thing that I learned from this lecture is that an architect, or any designer, needs to spend time to get to know their client. There were many times in which Jeff Bone’s firm interacted and talked with those who would benefit from the project.
I had a little trouble connecting with some of the other lectures because they pushed their topics a little harder and I therefore did not get as much information to take in. However, I still learned a great deal from the other lecturers. For example, Richard Moake’s lecture was about learning about the client. One of the most important things that I learned from Moake is that clients can pass along information about what they want without even speaking. A designer needs to also pay attention to a client’s body language, to learn what the person actually wants. This body language can even show things that the client does not quite know that they want, but a good listener can find these things out.
Another lecture I listened to was by Robin Randall. Randall talked about designing schools and how her firm learned what was best for the kids by observing them. She talked about three different schools her firm had designed and how they went about the process of designing them. This is very similar to the lesson that Cynthia Bowen was teaching in her lecture. Bowen’s firm is an international firm that works in places as far away as the Middle East. She spoke about her experience as a very important architect and consultant on a project that was in Saudi Arabia. One thing that I learned from Bowen is that a designer needs to pay attention to the culture of the area in which one is designing. Different parts of the world have different design thoughts, just like they have different traditions and beliefs. Designers need to pay respect to all of these things and try to work with them. Finally, I went to a lecture by Richard Fetz. I honestly had trouble understanding his lecture because it was geared more toward those that are already designers out in the job market. He was talking about managing costs for buildings, something that takes a while to understand and I did not really too much out of his lecture.