Running Head: INTEGRATIVE STUDIES 1

What Is Integrative Studies?

Margarita Salgado

Texas Tech University

9-11-2014

Running Head: INTEGRATIVE STUDIES 2

What Is Integrative Studies?

My Definition of Integrative Studies

When I was younger, my sister and I would determent who would go first during board

games by flipping a coin. When we would call it in the air, one of my brothers would always yell

out, “edge,” meaning that the coin would land on its edge, not heads or tails. This made both my

sister and I laugh. We would always tell him that it is impossible for the coin to land on its edge.

It wasn’t an option. He would reply along the lines of, “You never know,” or “Maybe someday.”

The point that my brother inadvertently brought up for me was that most issues or problems in

the world are most always seen from two sides. A third option or way of thinking is really never

consider. Integrative Studies is that third option to me. What Integrative Studies means to me is

taking what you know and have experience about many different disciplines and combing them

together to find unexplored solutions. The benefit of seeing the world like this is that you might

be able to add something new such as a solution to an old problem and reconsider the options

that were not dismissed beforehand. That is what first caught my eye about the University

Studies program. I wasn’t having to choose from a list of majors that were already set in stone

and that offered very little flexibility when it came to my interests. I was able to choose which

areas of concentrations suited me.

My Concentrations

My BUS degree consist of General Business, Media Strategies, and Spanish. How these

three areas came together was through my endless searching of trying to pick a major. I took a

discovery test, a personal interest test, even took classes in a few different areas that I thought

would peak my interest.

INTERGRATIVE STUDIES 3

My sister, who is a Texas Tech alumni and has her bachelors in Public Relations,

suggested I should look it something within the college of Media and Communication. So I

followed her advice and in the fall of 2012 enrolled for a two classes. I really enjoyed my mass

communication classes, so in the next semester I enrolled for two more classes. What I came to

find out about myself is that I had a general interest for the area of Mass Communication.

My General Business minor was a choice that came from the personal interest test I took

at Texas Tech. I have had some experience with business by working in a few different retail

stores, but I never considered giving it a really chance as a major or a minor. Not until I obtain

my recent job as an Admission Clerk with South Plains College. During this past spring

semester, I took my first two courses in the Rawls Business College to testing the waters and see

if this was a good match for my other two minor choices. I learned so much in my classes that it

help me with my job and to see the connection to the real world.

Now I came to the decision about my minor for Spanish because I wanted to be better

versed in my native language. Both of my parents are immigrants from Mexico and only speak

Spanish. I was born in the U.S. and predominately use English at school, work and with certain

family members and friends. I’m not able to converse in Spanish as easily as I am in English.

Speaking Spanish with people other than my family is a little outside of my comfort zone. In my

current job at SPC, I’m seeing the need to refine my Spanish speaking abilities. Recently I’ve

seen an influx of students that have Spanish speaking parents that don’t have a very good grasp

of English. Like most parents, these individuals still want to be a part of their children’s

education despite their lack of English.

I believe that the degree I will receive is allowing me to studies the disciplines that are

important for my job, the string that is bring these areas of concentration together. I’m seeing

INTERGRATIVE STUDIES 4

how aspects from each of my disciples are helping me to become a better asset to the college.

Many people would rarely see education this way, but each college and university is a business.

The students that are in enrolled are your customers, the individuals buying into the product that

is being sold. If you can’t communicate the benefits to students and their parents of why they

should come to your school (your business) versus a competing school, these students (your

customers) will lose interest in what you trying to offer them.

A Complex Problem

One complex problem that has caught my eye recently is the issue of the young orphans

and families that are crossing over to the United States illegal along the Mexican-U.S. border.

Many of these individuals are coming to the U.S. seeking asylum because of the drug cartels and

violence in their home country. This is a complex problem, because although the laws of our

land are very clear that illegal immigrants must be deported back to their home country, how can

we? Some of these children have seen their parents or family members killed in front of their

own eyes. How do we send young children and families back to a place where they are in

constant fear for their lives? But how as a country, can we set laws and not abide by them. How

do we maintain social order? A few different perspectives we could use to find a solution to

these problems are from the fields of Psychology, Foreign Policy, and Economics. The

discipline of Psychology could help us to understand the rationally of why these individuals

believe coming to the U.S. is the answers to their problems. It could also explain the actions of

local and federal law enforcement. Foreign Policy would help us comprehend the conditions of

these countries and to see what could be done to help. Economics would explain how the

activities of the drug cartels have effected their nation’s economic system. It can also explain

INTERGRATIVE STUDIES 5

how these illegal immigrants will affect our own economic system because of the resource that

are currently being used for them, such as housing and food.

Bring it all together

Before transferring to Texas Tech, I was a student at SPC. I’m also a first generation

student and a graduate from a very small high school and home town. The thought of going to a

large university after graduation wasn’t some I was open to. At SPC, I had more of the one on

one attention I was accustomed to from high school. I was a part of a program called the STAR

Center that addressed many of the needs of first generations students. This program helped me

transition from a small town to a bigger city and school. I want to be able to encourage those

students that come for a background similar to mine. My career goals are to move up in ranks at

South Plains College. Currently, I’m just a part-time employee. After graduating from Tech, I

hope to obtain a full-time position with the Admission and Records Office. What I would like to

see happen in our office is a separate division of Admission sole for the purpose of our high

school dual credit students and their families. As I have worked with these students for the past

year and many of them are not fully aware or well informed of all the requirements and

paperwork need before enrolling for dual credit courses. There is a lack of communication

between the high schools; the students and their families, and SPC. With my BUS degree, I

believe I could create a program similar to that of the STAR Center that communicates and

address the needs of our dual credits students in a more effective way. In doing so, this would

help our dual credit students in become SPC students once the graduate from high school.

INTERGRATIVE STUDIES 6

What is Integrative Studies? Grading Rubric

CriteriaPoints

PossiblePoints Earned

General

Paper adheres to APA formatting (title page, citations, references page, etc.). This rubric pasted at the end of the assignment.

15

Writing is clear with appropriate grammar, spelling, and punctuation. Headings are appropriately labeled

10

Definition (250 words)

Defines Integrative Studies in a personal way. Definition is clearly derived from course definition.

10

Student discusses how Integrative Studies is beneficial. 10

Education (500 words)

Discusses 3 areas of concentration and connections. Also discusses the specialized nature of degree program.

20

Complex Problem (250 words)

Identifies a complex problem and perspectives (outside 3 areas) that might be used to research problem.

20

Connection (250 words)

Discusses future plans/next steps. 15

Total 100

Instructor Comments: