St. Norbert College has a unique learning environment, one of which I think helps students reach their full potential not only academically but in the real world as well. Beginning with something simple, the four-year residential requirement, students must live on campus for four years, with the exception of students with commuter status. This requirement is the start of communio on campus, which is the idea that we should learn and grow together to help our college environment and community so that each and every student here can become the person they want to eventually be. Having us live on campus brings us together through sharing knowledge and having the feeling that we are obligated to help one another so that we can become the best version of ourselves. I think this brings a lot of positivity to the students and our surroundings, which encourages us to promote this idea of communio and spend our time here looking for ways to improve, rather than having a fixed mindset. Another important aspect of SNC is that it is a liberal arts college. This allows students, like me, to become generous, powerful, and wise students and teaches us how to bring this with us into the world when graduation comes. I feel by the time I am finished with my studies here, I will be a well-rounded student, and I will feel confident to go out and try to make an impact on the world. This also is connected to communio; students go out of their way to help and impact others around them in order to not only make a difference in our small college community, but also to show other students that they should put in the effort to make a difference too. Being a freshman at SNC, I have felt that everyone here is very helpful and caring, and I have not been afraid to ask any questions when I felt I needed to. I hope that as I learn more I can help others around me as well so I can show others that they can make an impact. Something very unique that I have noticed about SNC is that I have learned as much from my peers around me as I have from my professors in classes. This has shown me the very beginnings of communio, and has helped me learn what my part is and it will eventually be in our college community.

Our discussion in class, as well as the two documents, has given me a better and deeper understanding of the fact that learning is indefinite, and the way learning occurs here is done in a way where failure is promoted. In the classroom, even after only two weeks, I feel that I do not need to be afraid to fail; in fact, it is important to fail in order to learn from mistakes, show me that I should strive to succeed, and help me become a liberally educated person. The learning environment in each classroom is comfortable, and I am encouraged to participate and engage in class. Teachers value challenging us in order to push us to grow and help us through the process of learning. We are not focused on the end goal; rather, we are focused on the path that leads us to the end goal. Not only are we pushed by teachers to be successful, but also by the people around us. Something else valued at SNC is that we have the responsibility to share our knowledge in order to motivate and empower our peers. We should be willing to listen to others, problem solve, and share our thoughts with others; this keeps us always working towards learning because, as mentioned before, learning is indefinite. These two documents have shown me that the values of SNC are unique in ways where students are taught to consider many perspectives in order to eventually lead them to change the world. 

St. Norbert College is teaching me more than just the content I am learning in the classroom; they are teaching me how to make a difference in the world, have a growth mindset, and promote communio wherever I go, not just in our college community. My education has always been very important to me, but the values of SNC are contributing to my growth as a person by showing me that my college experience is more than just my studies; it is stepping out of my comfort zone in order to meet new people and try new things, going out of my way to share my thoughts in order to helps others, and not being afraid to make mistakes along the way. As we all grow into the people we want to become, we will all as one reach our goal as a college, which is communio. Once graduation comes, we can all bring communio into the world with us in order to help make the world a better place and show people that there are values we should all have as a world together.