Deborah Jenkins
Of all the courses I have taken in my college experience this course, "Learning from South Phoenix" is by far the most inspiring. I would like to thank Dr. Koptiuch for organizing and making this course interesting and rewarding.
I am not from Arizona and I did not get to experience much, if any at all, cultural diversity. This course gave me the opportunity to see how other people from different backgrounds live. This course also opened my eyes to many issues that I would not have otherwise been aware of such as; environmental issues, political issues, racism and the price of poverty. You may read about these issues but to experience them by submerging oneself in the environment makes it real.
Many of my fellow classmates have lived in the Phoenix area for a long time and have noticed the changes in South Phoenix. I have only lived here for three years and never traveled to this part of Phoenix, I was told not to go "down" to this area. Now that I have traveled "down" to South Phoenix I understand more about the area and enjoyed meeting the people who live there.
One of the most important things that I have learned in this course was to keep an open mind and not to fear the unknown, experience it!