Daniel Torres

ACCT 210

01/25/2024

Learning Your Purpose and Finding Purpose in Learning

1. Think about the following questions on your mission and vision and write out your responses:
a) What are your goals as a student overall? My goals for being a student here at Texas A&M I feel are
quite simple. I hope to graduate in a timely manner and enter the workforce with the proper experience
and knowledge to maintain employment. I hope to also bring honor to my family as I am a first-
generation college student.

b) What drives you forward? I am driven by the desire to bring a better life to my family and bring
prosperity to my community. I wish to make this world a safe and honest place for future generations.

c) What are your goals for ACCT 210? My goals with this course are to learn how the inner workings of
business and accounting intertwine in the real world so that I can utilize these applications in my future
occupations.

d) Will those goals drive your work within this course? Consider the following aspects at a minimum:
i. The type of work you do.

I hope to do work that improves and increases my knowledge over the various subjects covered by
studying and keeping up with the assignments.

ii. The amount of work you do.

I don’t want to do the bare minimum because that will only grant me the minimum outcome so I hope to
be involved and active in my learning endeavors.

iii. Your engagement in those course activities.

I expect to have a level of engagement that will help properly convey the information we are covering
into practice so that I can properly understand the material.

2. Conduct a personal SWOT analysis related to your role as a student and your vision of achieving a
particular grade in ACCT 210. That is, consider your own personal strengths and weaknesses, and
recognize the external opportunities and threats that you must embrace and overcome. Think about
the following items/questions and write out your responses:
a. How can you use your strengths to improve your educational experience? I believe that I can utilize my
strengths in improving my educational experience by using the motivation and the company that I keep
around me to help keep me on the track towards accomplishing my studies.
b. How can you use your strengths to capitalize on some of the opportunities you recognized? By
maintaining a good group of people around me that will hold me accountable, I know that I will be
considerably more compelled to capitalize on what is presented before me.

c. How can you work to address your weaknesses? By putting myself in environments that promote one's
focus and provide inclinations to stay on task, I have found that my main weakness, which is distraction,
is almost entirely eliminated.

d. Is there anything you can do to address the threats and/or turn them into opportunities? The best
way that I have found to address the threats against my coursework completion is to avoid situations in
which the distractions around me are increasingly limited.

3. To assist in determining your strategies to accomplish your mission and reach your vision, please
view, and read the following:

a. Watch the 10-minute YouTube video of Dr. Carol Dweck’s TED Talk as posted in e-Campus, on the
START HERE tab, under the heading “The Growth Mindset or the Fixed Mindset: Yours to Choose.” If you
need to read more on the growth mindset and the fixed mindset you will find lots on it online.

b. Review the content in the Chapter 1, Learning Objective 4, “Why You Should Learn How to Learn.”

4. To determine the strategies you will personally implement to accomplish your mission and vision,
consider the following questions, and write down your answers.

a. What strategies have you used in the past to achieve your educational goals (for example, to earn a
high grade in a specific course)? Dedication and grit I feel are what I use as strategies amongst those of
setting goals and awards for myself to keep me moving in the right direction.

b. Do you believe those same strategies will work in future courses? Why or why not? I believe that they
will work for my future courses along with other strategies such as teamwork and proper studying
habits. The biggest objective is to hold myself accountable for my education.

c. What other strategies could you employ to increase the likelihood of achieving your educational goals?
As previously stated, I plan on holding myself accountable for completing my course all towards earning
my degree, and keep the same mindset throughout the journey to promote consistency.

d. Are there costs involved in employing such strategies? Explain. I believe that there re costs attributed
with these strategies as on of the largest challenges I have had since being here is setting aside time for
outside activities with friends and family as it is a challenge to properly allocate time for school, work,
and family time.

5. Based on your answers to all of these questions, reading and viewing the listed material, and your
own keen self-assessment, succinctly articulate:
a. Your mission (purpose) as a student. (This should only be about two to three sentences maximum.)
As a Student here at Texas A&M University, it is my obligation to only strive for the highest level of
achievement possible. To bring honor and distinguishment to my family should be my primary goal. I
must put forth all my effort to do so.

b. Your vision for a particular grade in ACCT 210. (This should be one or two sentences maximum.)

I like to keep my goals realistic and though I know I may not be very proficient in this subject matter, I
believe that a “B” is definitely within reach although an “A” would certainly be ideal. I hope to achieve
this goal by maintaining focus and holding myself accountable in my studies.

c. The specific strategies you have selected to accomplish your mission and achieve your vision.
(Somewhere around 5 to 6 strategies makes sense, and include no fewer than 3 and no more than 10.)

The first strategy that I would apply to accomplish my mission would be to maintain focus on my
obligations. The second strategy I would apply would be that of maintaining accountability for my actions
and decisions. Next would be maintaining good company along with a support system to keep me on
track. Following that I would make sure to utilize all the resources available to me like the Writing and
Mathe Learning Centers to aid me in my coursework. Lastly, setting goals and milestones along with
proper planning should keep me from going off the rails and help keep me moving toward completing
the tasks ahead of me.

6. Once you are satisfied with your final result, reach out to your group, and exchange your work with
a group member.
a. (Groups have already been assigned in Canvas. Select “People” at left to see your group members) You
will want to establish contact with your entire group so that everyone has someone to exchange papers
with.

b. Write comments on each other’s work and at least one major takeaway you learned from them. (You
can do this electronically – no need to meet in person.)

7. Submit the entire body of work including written comments from your group member, your answers
to background questions, and your completed mission, vision, and strategies by uploading to Canvas.

Comments:

Overall, this was a great explanation for his motivations, strategies and purpose in learning and
participating in this course. One major takeaway that I think I can even apply into my own studying was
the importance of where you are doing the work. By placing yourself in environments that discourage
distractions and promote productivity will positively affect your outcome and learning as a whole.

-Georgia Ray