NDNU Hallmark Portfolio

Hallmark One

“We proclaim by our lives even more than by our words that God is good.”

     This picture of NDNU’s Cunningham Chapel represents my faith. The chapel represents Hallmark One because it is a reminder of promises and commitments. Before entering the chapel, there is a bowl of holy water by the door - I bless myself with the sign of the cross before going in. This signifies my baptism, and how every time I bless myself with the holy water, it is a reminder to me of my baptismal promises and commitment I have with God. I get to participate in the goodness of what the Chapel has to offer to me.

     This artifact is in Hallmark One because “we value life as an on-going spiritual journey of deepening relationships with self, others, and God” holds true in my life. I go to the chapel everyday, either to pray and reflect or to just play the piano and calm myself down. The chapel is a very important place for me to go to because it’s available and open whenever I need it. I get to grow more in my faith and in my relationship with God too. I believe that Hallmark One means believing that God is good all the time, even though you go through struggles.

Hallmark Two

“We honor the dignity and sacredness of each person”

     Back in June when I attended Freshman Orientation, the first thing I received when I checked in was a folder and this book, Martyr of the Amazon. My assignment was to answer questions in response to the book. This is significant because I believe Sister Dorothy’s words and actions truly represent this Hallmark. She lived by Hallmark Two by developing and appreciating the individual difference between herself and the people of the Amazon.

     This artifact is in Hallmark Two because Sister Dorothy did many works in the Amazon to honor every individual. She was able to develop and appreciate the people, despite the very big differences of living circumstances. She was able to create an environment with the farmers in order to build up their faith as individuals. Lastly, she dedicated a great amount of her time in order to help the people of the Amazon have better lives.

Hallmark Three

“We educate for and act on behalf of justice and peace in the world.”

     This artifact is significant because it was my first mini gig. Jim McGarry walked in on me playing piano one day in the chapel and asked me if I wanted to play for the service. I said yes, and had the honor of playing reflective music for the service. This event impacted my freshman year a lot because I played my first gig ever, and I had the chance to portray my talent. Playing for this Veterans Mass Service was important because my grandpa is a Navy Veteran. This is significant because I was educated on the works that veterans had done to bring us peace.

     This artifact is included in Hallmark Three because I was able to educate myself “on behalf of justice”. The Veterans Day Mass was also a campus community event open to everyone to attend. This event is also significant in this Hallmark section because of the “action on behalf of justice in the spiritual practice of reflection-action-reflection”. The veterans and active military men and women were honored at the service, and the people attended were able to reflect on everything.

Hallmark Four

“We commit ourselves to community service.”

    

     This artifact is significant because it was my first Call to Action Day. It took place at Treasure Island Sailing Center in San Francisco. Me, along with my colleagues, were given the opportunity to live out Hallmark Four with the 4th and 5th grade students that were there. Through our community service, we were able to give our knowledge and help to them when they needed it.

     This artifact is in Hallmark Four because “we integrate service-learning into the academic curriculum and co-curricular activities”. Call to Action Day was a great day for community service. Although my colleagues and I didn’t do much, we were able to combine what we already knew ourselves with the co-curricular activities the students participated in. This artifact is significant to Hallmark Four because I was able to commit myself(for the time being) to community service, and it isn’t too often that I get to engage in something like that.

Hallmark Five

“We embrace the gift of diversity.”

     This is called the Circle of Fifths. I took this picture(featuring Dr. Schmitz’s hand)  in my Music Theory class as a reminder to write it in my notes later. I believe that this is significant because the Circle of Fifths in music reminds me of the Circle of Life from the Lion King. When we were first learning of the Circle of Fifths, we were told to think of it as the Circle of Life, but for music.

     This artifact is in Hallmark Five because Dr. Schmitz was and is able to initiate different strategies in accordance to our individual ways of learning. This really helps me when learning new things because I can relate it to things I already know. This is especially helpful because I am able to retain the knowledge more and it’s easier to remember when I have something to refer and relate back to.

Hallmark Six

“We create community among those with whom we work and with those we serve”

     This is significant because it was my first ever college recital/concert. I got the chance to play for the families of my colleagues, as well as my own. I played violin, in collaboration with two pianists who accompanied me. My colleagues and I had put a lot of effort and practice time to make this recital happen. There was actually supposed to be an earlier recital before this, but it didn’t go through. This gave us more time to make the piece we played more musical and the best we’ve ever played it.

     This artifact is in Hallmark Six because “we create interactive and collaborative educational experiences” and “we create an atmosphere of open and direct communication”. The Camerata Ensemble class impacts my life because as it says in the Hallmark, an atmosphere is created of open and direct communication. This holds true, because as musicians, we must be open to all criticism, good and/or bad. We are also able to create interactive experiences where we get to express ourselves through music and say our input on our other colleague’s performances.

Hallmark Seven

“We develop holistic learning communities which educate for life”

     This is significant because Haocheng’s graduate recital was the first live performance I attended here at NDNU. He performed a series of pieces that continue to amaze me. I believe that as his colleague in Music Performance, I should be supporting him in what he does and witness his growth as a performer.  I support his intellect and psychological growth when it comes to music      

     This artifact is in Hallmark Seven because I believe it represents the active support of the intellectual, emotional, spiritual, psychological, and social growth of the members of our learning community. I understand this Hallmark as educating in its entirety. That us, as members of the NDNU Community, should support everyone in all they do because it’s what being an Argonaut is all about. We should support each other, mind, body, and spirit in our intellectual, emotional, spiritual, psychological, and social growth.