Please write 4-5 sentences about yourself, including academic, career, and personal goals relevant to our course in human nature with a focus on death & dying.
Then please ask questions and/or comment on the posts of at least two of your classmates. Let's get to know each other.
My name is Emily McDonald and I am currently a junior majoring in nursing. I currently do not have a job, though I worked as a camp counselor for grade school children over the summer. Last spring when I was deciding what philosophy course to take, I decided to take death and dying because I find it an interesting topic. In high school, I took a similar course called Spirituality, and one of the larger topics covered was death, and the stages of death, grief, and challenges faced. Taking this course I look forward to going more in depth in the subject and being a nursing major I expect this course to prepare me for events I will encounter in my future career.
ReplyDeleteEmily, it seems like this course would be perfect for you pursuing a career in nursing. Working in a hospital, I'm sure this class will provide a great background for you.
DeleteEmily, with your background with these types of courses I am sure that you will have a solid understanding of the different aspects of death and will be able to use those in you future career
DeleteHello my name is Tonya Canafax. I am in my junior year of the nursing program. I am employed at the Cracker Barrel in Dry Ridge, but i hope to soon get a job that is more relevant to my field of study. I decided to take this particular course (other than the fact that it is required) because I felt that it would benefit me in my future career. In the medical field, death is inevitable; it is seen every day. It is my hope that this class will give me a better perspective and understanding of death and dying so that i may share what I have gained from this class to comfort and try to provide understanding to patients and their families when death occurs to them.
ReplyDeleteTonya, I love how you chose this course in order to help you advance further in your nursing career. Also, I just wanted to say thanks for telling me about where the Cracker Barrel was located; because I have always wanted to try it since I have never ate there before.
DeleteTonya, I can truly relate to your reasons for taking this class. As a pre-med major, I plan to be in a field that, as you said, inevitably encounters death frequently. Like you, my career goals was a major reason for my selecting this particular philosophy course. I too hope to be able to share what I learn about this topic with others in the future. Great post!
DeleteMy name is Chelsey Williams and I am a junior majoring in early childhood education. I was interested in taking this course because I feel like it is something everyone should be familiar with since it happens in everyone's life whether it be with family, friends, or even pets. Also this topic will help with my major. As a teacher there may be times when someone looses someone close to them. I hope that with this class I will be able to learn ways with how to help those students or even people in my personal life deal with a death of a loved one.
ReplyDeleteChelsey, I think it is great that you want to make a difference with students to help them understand death. When I was in third grade I lost a family member and with the help of my teacher it was a less confusing time for me.
DeleteChelsey, I love how you tied the topic of death & dying with our major. Unlike you, I didn't even think about it. So, I am glad that you shared that in your post because now I can do the same.
DeleteI think it is good that as teachers we will be able to comfort those students dealing with lost loved ones since we will have a better understanding of death and dying.
DeleteChelsey, the ability of a teacher to connect with their students is a very important quality. Considering teachers are often the only source of stability in a child's life the fact that a teacher could comfort a student in times of death is something I believe is very underappreciated.
DeleteHello my name is Emily Brandt. I am a junior in the nursing program. I just recently accepted a position at St. Elizabeth Hospital as a nursing assistant. I decided to take this course because it has to do with a topic that is going to be very prevalent with my career choice. With the knowledge I learn from this course I hope to make a difference with patients families who could be dealing with the death of a loved one. My personal goal is to confront my own feelings about the death that I have experienced within my family over the years and eventually be able to make my own decisions about my own death.
ReplyDeleteEmily, I think it is really smart to choose this class to help you with your career. When the unfortunate time arises and you have to approach a patient's family, it will be difficult to comfort the family. Hopefully this class helps you become a caring doctor (not saying you wouldn't be one if you didn't take the class) and hopefully you will be able to comfort families in those difficult times.
DeleteEmily, I think that this class will help you with your new job (congratulations by the way). I was taking biomedical ethics with Dr. Sherron at the start of my job at St. Elizabeth and it really applied to my time in the hospital. If you are ever at Fort Thomas let me know, but I assume you will be at the Edgewood location
DeleteHello my name is Rachael Woodworth and I am a Junior here at Thomas More. The career I am majoring in is early childhood education. The reason why I chose this major is because I love working with kids and really enjoy watching them choose different learning and playing styles throughout their educational experience. Luckily, I got to experience working closely with kids this summer as a teacher in a 2 1/2 year old classroom at a learning center called All About Kids. However, now that school is back in gear I am currently unemployed. I decided to take this course because I thought it sounded the most interesting out of the other 2 choices I had to choose from. Another reason why I decided to take this course is because I am interested to learn more about the concept of death and dying and how I can then use the knowledge I learn from this course to my every day life.
ReplyDeleteI was the same way when it came to choosing this course, it sounded the most interesting and it would help with the future.
DeleteI agree with this course being the more interesting out of the other ones. This class will most definitely be able to help how to deal with certain situations involving death when it comes to experiencing it in everyday life and I am glad you chose to take this course to learn how to help yourself but also others.
DeleteHello my name is Brianna Crouch. I am a sophomore and an elementary education major. I decided to take this course because I know that as a teacher I may have a student dealing with the loss of a loved one and I want to know how to go about comforting this student. I have just recently lost a very close family member, so I am very interested in learning more about the concepts of death and dying. I hope that this course can give me a better understanding of death and dying and that I can make decisions regarding my own death when the time comes.
ReplyDeleteYou make a very valid point that as a future teacher we do have to deal with anything that happens in their lives. I also feel the same when it comes to making some sort of decision when my own death is near.
DeleteBrianna, I think it is great that you chose this course in order to help you become a better teacher and make an impact in your students' lives. Death happens all the time, and can be very unsettling and confusing for children. I think it is great that you want to be able to help them with what material you gain from this class. It will definitely make you a more successful teacher.
DeleteBrianna, it sounds like you'll make a great teacher someday with the concern for learning how to comfort those suffering loss. Especially at the elementary age, teachers make a big difference in the students education.
DeleteMy name is Diane Dole and I am a sophomore elementary education major here at Thomas More. I decided that I should take this course for two reasons, one being that it was a mandatory core requirement for my major and two it would be beneficial for the future. On rare occasions there are the unfortunate events of a parent passing away or even a grandparent, that the child was close to. So the teacher has to find a way to comfort the child, but still keep them focused on their studies. This course will hopefully help me with some questions that I have but also will help my future students with any questions about death that they may have for me. In this course I also hope that I will figure out what I want for me in-case of the unfortunate event that something would happen to me. Some questions I hope will be answered, but I know that I will probably be left with more questions to consider.
ReplyDeleteDiane, I think it is great that in an unfortunate event such as death occurs to one of your students to help them to continue on in their studies through a tough time. That attitude will make you a great teacher.
DeleteI agree that as teachers it is important to know how to deal with these situations. Knowing these things will help you become a great teacher to be able to be there for your students if something tragic happens. I also like how you connected it to having to find a way keep the students focused on their studies while still being able to comfort them.
DeleteDiane, I think your desire to help your students with their loses with the knowledge you gain from this class is great. When i was in the fifth grade, one of my classmates lost her mother. It was a very difficult time for her. My teachers reached out to her and were very supportive and comforting. Later she told them that they really had made a difference in her coping process and made things easier because she had people to talk to besides her family.
DeleteDiane, I was impressed by the way you tied in the subject matter of this class to your career goals. Going into elementary education, one would not think of death and dying initially as being relevant to this field. However, after I read your point about helping children deal with the process of losing a loved one it really opened my eyes as to how broad this class actually reaches. It truly is interdisciplinary in nature; seeing the reasons for your taking this class made this more apparent to me.
DeleteHi, I'm Aubrey Lewis. I'm a senior Business Administration major with a concentration in Operations Management. I took this class as a requirement, but I chose this class over other options because I've heard it helps you open your mind to different ways of thinking. I believe that it's important to hear someone else's point of view on topics, and that was a point that Dr. Cate brought up during our first class. I'm excited to expand on how I perceive situations by listening to what other people have to say. I haven't dealt with much death other than a couple grandparents, but it's unavoidable nonetheless. I hope to learn more about myself from this class and walk away with a better understanding of not only death, but what is to come after it.
ReplyDeleteAubrey, I agree with your outlook on the class. I also hope that throughout the semester I will learn about myself, and begin to form my own opinions on some of the major topics we will talk about. We are all at a point in our lives now where we need to be thinking for ourselves, and not just taking on the opinions and beliefs of those we trust (family, friends, etc.) It is very important to be open-minded, and to form our beliefs after we are fully informed.
DeleteAubrey, I also have not dealt with much death. I agree with you that I think this class will help me learn more about myself and what I want. I think it is an important class because I think it will enlighten us on how to cope and handle death when that time does come that we will have to deal with a loss.
DeleteAubrey, I totally agree with you on hearing someone else s perspective on a topic as i believe that one can only learn from his or other actions. I cant wait to hear what you say and hope to learn about myself also
DeleteMy name is Brent Emerson, and I am a senior Psychology major with a Biology minor. I took this class because I loved Biomedical Ethics and I work in a hospital and see death all the time. I am interested in pursuing a graduate degree in public health with a concentration in health education/international health. I hope that I can continue to be a part of the healthcare system and I believe this class with help me prepare for the future
ReplyDeleteBrent, I think you will definitely be able to contribute to conversations in class, seeing as you have dealt with death regularly in your work environment. You might be able to see certain topics in a different light than those of us who have not experienced death (other than family members). This class will be helpful for all of us who are pursuing a career in healthcare because unfortunately, death is something we will inevitably encounter along the way.
DeleteLooking forward to your insight in class because you have a lot of experience in this topic already. We will all learn a lot from you.
DeleteMy name is Robbie Due and I am a sophomore History major and am thinking about getting a minor in political science. I am interested in joining the national park service as a park ranger. Over the summer I volunteered at the Taft Historical Site. I took this class, at first, because it is a requirement and it fit in my schedule. Now I am also taking this class because three people I knew passed away this summer (two family, one family friend) and while this class may not provide answers I hope it presents new ideas about death and how to cope.
ReplyDeleteRobbie, I think its really brave of you to take this class with the hope of finding ways to cope with loss. Your spirit to consider death in different ways is admirable.
DeleteSorry to hear about your loss Robbie. I hope through this course that you are able to find or figure out whatever it is you may need going forward. Just remember, We will be there with you along the way as we try to make sense of it all.
DeleteMy name is Meghan McMahon and I am a senior Chemistry major. I've previously worked in a pharmacy and I want to pursue Pharmacy school following TMC. Working in the health industry, I thought this class could be a great segway to learning more about end of life experiences for different peoples. Suicide was an unfortunate reality at my high school and learning how to cope with death has always been something I've wondered about. Hopefully this class can provide some insight on that.
ReplyDeleteMeghan, I agree with you that I think this class will be helpful in learning how to cope with death and to also help others who have had a loss of a loved one. I also think that taking this class will benefit you in the future with wanting to work in the health industry.
DeleteMeghan, I like how you pointed out learning about end of life experiences for different peoples, because with the increasingly diversifying United States, different people and different cultures definitely view death and end of life experiences differently. Working in the health industry could lead to having to deal with people from many walks of life and backgrounds, and knowing different perspectives on the emotional topic of death could be very valuable.
DeleteMy name is Alex Henn and I am a Junior Nursing Major. Like many of us I was brought to this class due to my major's requirements; however, there is no doubt of the relevancy of this course not only to Nurses but everyone and anything. I have never worked in a hospital, but I have volunteered at Hospice and the ability to cope and to sympathize with patients and families of those dying is a skill that to obtain would be of great significance. I hope that through this class I gain a better understanding of death not in terms of its terminating nature bur rather how it affects those around us.
ReplyDeleteAlex, I think it is really awesome that you donate you time to help out at Hospice. I can imagine that is can be difficult to help patients and families cope as they go through such difficult times. Once again, I hope that you are able to get whatever it is you may need out of this class!
DeleteAlex I think it's awesome you volunteer at hospice and help those families. Look forward to hearing about your experiences if you choose to share them during class. I'm sure you learned a lot during those tough times.
DeleteHello everyone, my name is Victoria McCarty (I go by Tori). I am a Junior, majoring in Nursing. I am a member of the track and cross country teams at TMC, and I am really involved with organizations on campus. After completing my BSN, I aspire to join the Navy as a Nurse. With this career choice, I will surely encounter death on the job. I have not dealt with very much death in my life so far, other than great grandparents and a few acquaintances throughout high school. I am hoping that this class will aid in my preparation to handle death mentally and emotionally in my future. My faith (which will surely be discussed throughout the course of the class), is what I always fall back on when dealing with any sort of loss, and I believe that no death goes without reason. I look forward to the discussions we will have as a class. I hope we can all work together and uncover things about ourselves we didn't know before.
ReplyDeleteTori, I like how you said "my faith is what I always fall back on when dealing with any sort of loss" because it shows that even in times as difficult as death, you still trust what you believe in and it shows that your faith can not be broken. I admire that in a person, regardless of what religion they choose to practice.
DeleteMy name is Katelyn Beatrice. I am a sophomore majoring in Spanish and Education. I am currently working at Furniture Fair in the office, and I also am a member on the golf team. My goals are to become a high school Spanish teacher. I want to not only be able to teach Spanish to the students, but to also help them if they are going through difficult times. I think this course has potential to help me succeed in helping some of the students depending on what their individual situation is, for example a loss of a loved one. Everyone is going to have deal with death at some point in their lifetime, and I think it is important to learn how to cope with a loss as well as sympathize with others who have had a loss.
ReplyDeleteKatelyn, with your future career as a Spanish teacher, I am sure learning about death and dying from many different perspectives will help you especially if you teach culture of Spanish speaking countries as they tend to view death and the passing of loved ones differently from how we do here in the United States.
DeleteMy name is Kristin Klocke. I am a sophomore Biology major with a Spanish minor. I currently work at Riverbend Music Center and am a receptionist at St. Joseph Church. I plan to go on to medical school after I graduate and I hope to become a cardiothoracic surgeon. Obviously, any career in the medical field has a high potential for dealing with death and dying and I hope that from this class I can gain insights into how to better cope with death, especially death of a patient, so I can also sympathize better with their family. I also volunteered in St. Elizabeth's Emergency Department last semester and although there were only 1 or 2 deaths while I was there, many people were suffering from near-death experiences or were diagnosed with chronic conditions. Knowing how to better approach these situations is something else I would like to gain from this class, especially since I have had very few experiences with death, as no one very close to me has passed away. This is my first philosophy class ever as well, so I also hope to learn more about philosophical thinking and about myself.
ReplyDeleteKristin, as a cardio surgeon, it seems this class is perfect for you. I would think it would be interesting especially if you are ever involved in transplants down the line. Determining when and if you are able to declare someone a donor would be a difficult situation.
DeleteHi my name is Craig Schutzman. I am a junior Biology major on a Pre-Medicine track. I work at Riverbend Music Center, McDonald's, and at Thomas More as a tutor and a work study for the Biology Department. I am also very involved around campus as the president of the Biology Club, a Campus Ministry Servant Scholar, as well as an active volunteer in the Emergency Department at Saint Elizabeth. After Thomas More, I hope to continue onto medical school with the ultimate goal of becoming an ER/ICU physician. As Kristin mentioned, any career in the medical field, especially the ICU, has a high potential for dealing with death and dying. So I too hope to gain a better understanding of what death is and how to deal with it appropriately. I feel that this class really will help with this by providing different ways of looking at death and dying while all the while making us more comfortable with it. This is my first philosophy class as well so I am very interested in learning more about the way others and myself think about such things.
ReplyDeleteCraig, I definitely agree that this class seems perfect for you if you are planning to work in an ICU. The ability to have a better understanding of what death means is necessary to work in an environment in which death is always present. I also agree that this class is great for offering multiple ways of looking at death while attempting to become more comfortable with it.
DeleteMy name is Craig Hyson. I am a senior Business Management major. I work at Cincinnati Metropolitan Housing Authority in the real estate and development department. I played two years of baseball at Wright State University and then transferred to Thomas More for my last two years of school and baseball. I graduate this December. A career goal is to work in real estate and in the front office for a baseball team. A goal of mine in this class is to learn how to handle different end of life decisions so I can go home and have the appropriate conversations with my family. I want to learn also what I would like at the end of my life and how to handle that situation.
ReplyDeleteMy name is Cody Stephens. I am a junior pre-med biology major. After graduating from Thomas More, I plan to go to medical school and ultimately hope to specialize in neurosurgery. For me, this class does satisfy a core requirement, but is also very relevant to my personal career goals. As a physician, especially in neurosurgery, it will no doubt become necessary to have experience in thinking about the experience of death and dying. When I saw this class on the course schedule, I knew this was the philosophy class for me. Being my first philosophy class, I hope to also gain a good understanding of the workings of the discipline in general. Additionally, I hope that this class will clear up and help me to establish a coherent thought/belief process about the subject of death and dying. Being 20 years old, I can honestly say that this has not been at the forefront of my mind, so having this class will be an important part of this.
ReplyDeleteCody, I too would have to say that only being 20 years old the thought of death hasn't really entered into my mind. It's something that's just unpleasant to think about so you just avoid it. However if you do that you end up at the end of life wondering what the point of life and death is. That is why I think this class is so valuable. It forces you to think about death and what it means to die. It is definitely a lot better to do that at the age of 20 while in good health than on your deathbed.
DeleteMy name is Tyler Thompson. I am a junior philosophy major with a theology minor. After graduating I plan to enter into a seminary to study to become a priest. I am taking this class because death and dying is something that a priest has to deal with on a regular basis. This class would particularly help in understanding the views of family members of those who are dying who don't necessarily hold the same views or beliefs as I do. Personally I have had very few experiences with death. I have been fortunate enough to not have any close family members die so I don't have the most experience with dealing with such a loss.
ReplyDeleteHello my name is Caleb Lloyd. I am a senior Finance and Marketing major. After graduation i plan to continue to work for my current employer Fidelity investments. I am taking this class to fill my philosophy requirement. I have no experience with death and plan on keeping it that way.
ReplyDelete