1. Write a paragraph about the lessons and assignments that best developed your communication skills. Be specific in describing how they were helpful. Basic Counseling Methods (taught by Regina Green and Aaron Welch) was one of my most memorable courses for helping me develop communication skills. This lesson detailed the framework for creating open communication that involved open-ended questions, reflection, synthesis, and the importance of reading body language. This, in addition to advanced counseling methods, involved role-playing these communication techniques in different scenarios. While they were initially intimidating, practicing what I had just learned helps me cement these essential concepts into my learning. Oral communication also helped me overcome my fear of public speaking. Dr. Williams also made the experience lighthearted and helped me not take myself so seriously. He also emphasized the importance of memorizing an outline rather than a manuscript. Professor Walton also liked to break his lectures into small groups for discussion. While this was already a strong area for me in communication, it helped me grow into the leadership role in this position more by asking questions of others rather than knowing all the answers and telling others what to think.2. Write a paragraph about communication opportunities you have experienced outside of the classroom. What were the strengths and weaknesses you demonstrated in those contexts? Most of my extracurricular communication during my time at Central consisted of one-on-one counseling and relationship building or small and large group discussions. In these contexts, a fundamental strength that I demonstrated was the ability to... middle of paper... the feeling of waiting for God's promise to be realized. From the time God called Abraham in Gen. 12:1-4, it took twenty-five years for Abraham to see the fulfillment of what was just the beginning of his transformation into a “great nation.” There are both successes and failures that are demonstrated through waiting for Abraham. One of these successes can be seen simply in Abraham's faithfulness in responding in obedience to the circumcision, a sign of the covenant (Gen. 17). However, her greatest failure was to succumb to the pressures of the cultural practice of giving birth to a son through Hagar, Sarah's servant (Genesis 16:1-4). These opposing responses teach me the need to be obedient to do the hard work of eliminating those things that keep me from making God my only priority. Furthermore, the danger of conforming to culture to try to accomplish in my own way what God has designed and that only He can accomplish.