Hi, I am Roberto Sanchez, a freshmen at CUNY, City College of New York’s Colin Powell School for Civic and Global Leadership. As a student currently pursuing a degree in psychology, my research area of interest lies at the intersection of human behaviour and social activism.
This portfolio consists of assignments for Bridges to Success (FIQWS 10115) and U.S. Experience (FIQWS 10015) and includes works ranging from research papers, reflections, and presentations.
The Bridges to Success semester kicked off with a survey to gather data for our research narrative around the impact of free metro-cards for the CCNY community. Through crafting a source report that included various sources and evidence for the research paper, I was able to improve my skills with citations and research. This research project (The 6th Demand) concluded with a CCNY Demands PSA commercial and an intertwined verbal presentation of my key findings and argument. Additionally, I collaborated with a team of 2 other students to conduct a class facilitation presentation in which the goal was to research and present a topic correlated with problems at CCNY, in this case, Starbucks’ takeover of the local cafeteria and it supporting Israeli Zionism.
Simultaneously, in U.S. Experience, I prepared an elevator pitch to sharpen my communication in making strong first impressions during introductions. Additionally, I prepared a personal statement that gave me the opportunity for self-reflection and storytelling around how I navigated neuro-divergency during the cusp of the COVID-19 pandemic.
At the beginning of college, I struggled with transitioning my composition to meet the standard of college level writing. Before, I was struggling with organizing my thoughts into a cohesive story that prevented me from achieving the intended outcome whether that be a brief introduction or a persuasive argument. An example of this was my lack of proper punctuation in my earlier drafts and lack of knowledge when it came to research and citations.
Some of my favorite projects that helped me improve these issue areas were the 6th Demand research paper and PSA. Even though I had strong evidence in my first draft of my 6th Demand (advocating for free metro-cards for CCNY students), I wasn’t able to leverage my evidence to construct a persuasive argument because my overall essay lacked a comprehensible structure. A turning point in my writing was when I worked on my source report because I was able to take a step back and familiarize myself with the sources I was working with. I was able to better understand how they related to my overall argument and analysis, compare my sources, and organize my thoughts to formulate a stronger argument.
Building off of my first draft and source report, I began my final draft by making a clear cut thesis statement that contained my 6th Demand and my 3 supporting arguments.
“To continue advancing diversity and inclusion on campus, CCNY should implement a ‘6th Demand’ that gives students free metro-cards because it advances CCNY’s mission of being a catalyst for change, alleviates the financial burdens of low-income CCNY students, and CCNY is a majority commuter school.”
This thesis statement framed my entire persuasive essay and helped me stay organized. A major difference between my first draft and my final was my strategic connections and comparisons across different sources including my student survey data, CCNY student demographic, and academic journals. As I was proofreading and editing, I made sure that each sentence advanced the thesis I was arguing for. My final draft came across as more persuasive because I used evidence from academic experts and researchers, not just students’ perspectives, to push my case forward as to why free metro-cards would be beneficial for the CCNY student body and help prevent college dropout rates.
The video PSA was interesting as it allowed me to portray the same information in a new medium which is beneficial for reaching broader audiences. As a result of having a clear thesis on hand, I knew what key points I wanted to address and my call to action. I made sure that my images emphasized the point I wanted to make. Two examples of this is when I used an image of CCNY to emphasize how a free metro-card would strengthen the school’s mission and portrayed students’ financial burdens with images of a stressed student, textbooks, and transportation. Overall, the different components of this project allowed me to strengthen my preliminary research skills and led to a breakthrough in my persuasive argument abilities across different mediums both written and visual.
As my first semester of college comes to an end, I would recommend future students who are also looking to improve their writing to approach their research with curiosity and willingness to learn. In terms of the actual composition, having a clear thesis statement can allow you to stay focused with your writing and present a strong message across. Additionally, it helps give you the necessary structure for story composition, no matter the medium in which you’re sharing your argument. Writing is a learning process, and I’m glad to have the support of my classmates and professors in my CCNY writing journey.
