Class Reflection

Coming away from my Colloquium class, I am actually surprised with the amount of knowledge I have gained. I was hoping to learn more about the various plants and animals that are native to the area, but I honestly did not anticipate learning a whole lot more that what I already knew.

I found the field trips and campus walks especially helpful because we were able to experience what we were learning about first-hand. Surprisingly enough, they have also helped me with my experience at work. Being a Hospitality Management major, I would not have guessed that there would be much of a connection between this class and my work experience, but I was glad to find that I was wrong. I work at a resort on Fort Myers Beach, so I was interested in seeing what we would learn on our field trip to the surrounding area. Only about a week after our visit, I was approached by a guest who was holding the propagule of a red mangrove.  He wondered what kind of plant it might have come from, so I was excited to be able to explain my knowledge to him. This led to further conversation about the sea grapes which line the majority of the hotel’s property. I told him about how its grapes can actually make edible jelly, and he later commented to me about how great it is that there are employees who actually have a good knowledge about the plant life in the area. It turns out that cataloguing plants in the area he was visiting from was a hobby of his, so he greatly appreciated our conversation and earned bonus points for myself and the hotel.

I also thought it was great to be able to learn about the various species on our very own campus. I see the trees and plant-life all the time as I walk to class, but had never before had a very deep knowledge of what I was seeing. I knew what a slash pine was, but I had not realized what an interesting tree it was. It is very adapted for fire in that it has puzzle-like bark that flakes off and its pine cones burst when hot and spread seeds across the ground.

All in all, I found my experience in Colloquium class very rewarding and beneficial, and I am excited to move forward with the knowledge I have attained.

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