Rowan Boyer’s Portfolio

About Me: Hello, my name is Rowan Boyer. I am an Honors Liberal Arts major making my way to the end of my journey at Berkshire Community College. I enjoy visual arts, creative work, and climbing the academic ladder. My major has aided me in attaining a stronger growth mindset, a wider array of skills, and a new outlook on life through the following categories. In the future, I will major in psychology and hopefully become a therapist one day.

Contact Information: rowantreesboyer@gmail.com

Writing Samples:

1.The Development of Liberal Arts_ Presentation Script and Outline

The Development of Liberal Arts: Presentation Script and Outline showcases my presence as an Honors Scholar at BCC. My addition to the team has led me to work on multiple extra projects to deeper develop connections to my classes. This is the script and outline for my video presentation on the history and misconceptions of liberal arts. I go over what the liberal arts academic path meant within different time periods and the central themes that present themselves throughout. This is just one of the many examples of the possibilities and deep dives one can take through participating as an Honors Scholar.

2.Rowan Boyer’s Capstone Project

Continuing to showcase the partnership between my liberal arts journey and I is my capstone project. As I am coming towards the end of my Berkshire Community College path, I have been forced to reflect on what I have learned and how I have grown. This capstone project reflects the different intelligences I have added to my tool belt since joining the BCC community. The intelligences come from this semester’s assigned reading and I chose to add a creative aspect in order to share my artistic side. I am proud of all that I have accomplished thus far and feel as though this project perfectly sums up how far I have come.

3.Rowan Boyer’s Space Flight Proposal (2)

I chose to submit my Space Flight Proposal to diversify my writing skills and styles, as well as present my love for learning outside of classes. My proposal has made it into the finals of a very special opportunity. BCC was granted the chance to submit student proposal experiments regarding the effects of microgravity to NASA. The chosen proposal will be taken from paper to reality as it is brought to the International Space Station. I chose to experiment with the effects microgravity has on ethylene production (a hormone related to plant ‘shoot and root’ growth and the aging of most common fruit). Growing food in space is the future, so any information added to make the process easier is very important. I made it to the second place spot, but still would love to be a part of those discoveries if given another chance.

4.White-tailed Deer Lab

My lab on deer management both showcases my ability to write a more essay-based piece and my tendency to make my writing creative when given the chance. This fact based lab is garnished with creative and personal touches that make it feel like my style. With a list of various pieces of information to add, like how the deer management system works, how data on the species is taken, and more, I was able to bring out a dramatic yet light-hearted nature to the topic.

5.Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire Research Paper (2)

This was a particularly beneficial project. In this project we were asked to write an essay not just on a historical event after 1500, but rather the reasons why the event happened. Thinking critically and putting the pieces together was necessary to succeed and this essay is put together neat as a puzzle. I dissect the root causes for the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire and explain how those causes revolutionized factory safety for years to come.

6.Billy Budd_ Written for the Breadbox (1)

Billy Budd: Written for the Breadbox is an analysis of Herman Melville’s Billy Budd, Sailor and Jana Laiz’s Billy Budd in the Breadbox: The Story of Herman Melville and Eleanor. I have had the amazing ability to work under Jana Laiz at the Arrowhead Museum. I learn about Herman Melville and use his writing and past home as inspiration for my own pieces. While I mainly focus on creative writing while meeting with Jana, in this project I took time to analyze why Herman Melville might have written his last book, Billy Budd, Sailor. There are many theories made about this book and I wanted to add to the list. Again, I had to critically think to succeed in this paper. I linked the true history of Melville using information from Laiz’s biography and Melville’s own writing. This paper showcases my new experience as a Melville Fellow, the skills and new knowledge it has helped me to gain, and my critical thinking skills.

Critical Skills: I have gained a variety of useful skills during my time at BCC, critical to take into future education and career objectives. This summary of critical skills is based off of the Expected Program Outcomes for a liberal arts major and is only a snippet of all the ways I have grown.

Information Literacy

Moodle
- For all of my courses I had to learn to use Moodle. Every professor has a different type of organization and with each new class came a deeper understanding of digital technology.
HON-298F Honors Colloquium: Conspiracy Theories In American History
1. Another part of this skill is effectively finding and using a broad range of resources. In most of my classes I was able to work on this, but I’ll use my conspiracy theories course as an example. We were asked to write a research paper and before doing the bulk of the writing, were asked to create a bibliography. This bibliography was to have sources of all kinds, from videos, movies, books, peer reviewed journals, etc. as long as they were reliable. This project aided me in seeking out reliability and variety to develop grander perspectives.

2. Scientific Literacy

- - ENV-101 Conservation of Natural Resources I
    - Conservation of Natural Resources is a perfect example of scientific literacy. In this course we did physical lab work as well as lectures. Every week we were asked to contemplate environmental problems. In this class I learned so much about how to live sustainably, how to identify different species, and interpret scientific data.
  - BIO-175 Brain, Mind & Behavior: An Introduction to Biopsychology
    - This introduction to biopsychology has been another aid in developing scientific literacy. This class, too, asked me to contemplate tough issues and analyze/interpret environmental and psychological aspects of the world. Our module based discussion forums helped us to use our analyses and come up with solutions or bring reality/real world examples into our lessons.

3. Critical, Creative, and Strategic Thinking

- LAR-285 Liberal Arts Capstone
  - There is no better example for these skills. My liberal arts capstone has been the leading course in framing my mind to critically, creatively, and strategically think. This is another one of those skills that I have seen come up in every course throughout my BCC journey, but the reflection aspect of liberal arts has made it the most meaningful. I have realized that reflection is the key to thinking critically and creating strategic and innovative solutions. My capstone project shows how reflection (pulling things apart and putting them back together in a way that makes sense) is a great way to work on critical thinking and gives the chance to use the information strategically and creatively in my future endeavors.

4. Quantitative Reasoning

- MAT-123 Elementary Statistics
  - Elementary statistics is the only class that truly checks all of the boxes in this expected program outcome. Statistics was a math form I was unfamiliar with, but has been the most helpful in terms of taking my lessons into the real world. I learned countless new vocab words and worked consistently on word problems. I have since used these words post-class and have connected the science of it all to other course work. I learned to analyze data, graphs, tables, and equations and subsequently, interpret them using complex real world examples.

5. Written and Oral Communication

- ENG-101 Composition I
  - I use Composition 1 as an example for the expected program outcome as it was the first class that showed me just how in-depth written communication can get. With a very strict grading policy, this class forced me to be precise and persuasive in my arguments, stay true to clear formatting, and effectively use evidence. All of my courses have continued improving this skill.
- HON-275 Honors Independent Study: Melville Fellowship
  - In this course I was able to work on the more creative side of written communication. Using Herman Melville’s writing and home as inspiration, I have been able to create so many new stories and worlds that I will be able to share orally at readouts and board meetings. I have been mastering my communications skills in the process of being a Melville Fellow.
- COM-104 Introduction to Interpersonal Communication
  - Intro to interpersonal communication gave me insight for real world situations, with one project being to interview someone close to me. I was able to analyze why people communicated in certain ways, how different communication tactics are used, and have now been able to utilize them in real relationships.

6. Global Awareness and Historical Context

- HIS-122 World History Since 1500
  - This course has been the most straightforward in teaching global and historical awareness. Weekly, I read about historical events/movements/cultures and how the world in which we live has become what it is today. I critically think about causes and effects/roots of historical decisions and demonstrate my knowledge of the subjects through research papers, quizzes, and discussion forums.
- HON-298F Honors Colloquium: Conspiracy Theories In American History
  - Learning about conspiracy theories has given me a greater understanding of human psychology. This is especially important to me because of my career goals. Conspiracy theories work through this world in mysterious ways and the more we learn about their historical origins and potential future impacts the better we can serve/help theorists, as well as others, in need.

Partial Resume:

Work Experience

Aug-Present 2023 Baby-Sitter

Alford, MA

Personal Home

BCC Sophomore Undergraduate

3-5 Hrs/Week

Total Hours: 13

Jun 2022-2023 Co-Teacher + Counselor

Great Barrington, MA

Muddy Brook Elementary School

Grade 12

3 Hrs/Week + 30 Hrs/Week

Total Hours: 80 + 520

Education

Jun 2020-Present Berkshire Community College

Pittsfield, MA

Grade Undergraduate

Volunteer Service

Jan 2023 – May 2023 Tutor

Great Barrington, MA

Monument Mountain Regional High School

Grade 12

3 Hrs/Week

Total Hours: 60

Skills/Academic Achievement

Dec 15-Present Melville Fellowship

Sophomore Undergraduate

2-3 Hrs/Week

Total Hours: 20

I was accepted to participate in the Melville Fellowship at the Arrowhead Museum in Pittsfield, MA.

June 2023 Honors Scholar Program

BCC Undergraduate

Sep 2023 Phi Theta Kappa

BCC Undergraduate