Discern, Dissect and Digest
A Master's in Applied Arts and Sciences Portfolio
"Of all sad words of tongue or pen, the saddest are these, 'it might have been.'"
John Greenleaf Whittier
IGNITING A PASSION
Desiring to ignite a passion in myself to better understand and appreciate the world around me, I embarked on a mind-opening experience of renewal and discovery when I enrolled in the MAAS program at The University of North Carolina at Greensboro. My quest began by viewing our CONTEMPORARY WORLD and its complexities through new eyes, then a trip back in time IN SEARCH OF THE CHURCH through reforms and reformers. I developed a case study for encouraging young rural women to choose to pursue higher education using a SYSTEMS THINKING approach. I read the life stories of some amazing minds in SCIENCE THROUGH NOBEL LAUREATES. By intermingling the dynamic of food and culture, I reflected upon my own relationship with food and my family in FOOD AND FILM, then I wrote my own family story in CREATING FAMILY STORIES. I felt brave enough to conquer FEMINIST AUTHORS by crafting my own Independent Study course, and continuing to walk outside of my comfort zone, I wrote poetry in CREATIVE EXPRESSION: POETRY, and interviewed a Burmese immigrant in LITERATURE OF MIGRATION.
My MAAS quest has come to an end, but my renewed appetite for endless learning is just beginning and I cannot wait to see what unfolds.
-Cassy Slaven
