This engagement assignment will familiarize you with our department’s cornerstones. Our four cornerstones are democracy, diversity, technology, and globalization. Please review our department’s mission and our cornerstones at http://www.sjsu.edu/comm/about/ (Links to an external site.). In this essay, you will write a summary connecting the cornerstones to the department/university and a reflection connecting them to your academic goals.

There are 4 steps for this engagement. Read over all the steps before beginning this assignment.

Step 1. Review all four cornerstones, the history and mission of the department, and SJSU’s history and mission.

Department History – http://www.sjsu.edu/comm/about/history/index.html (Links to an external site.)

Department Mission and Cornerstones – http://www.sjsu.edu/comm/about/ (Links to an external site.)

SJSU History (pay attention to the timeline) – http://www.sjsu.edu/about_sjsu/history/ (Links to an external site.)

SJSU Mission – http://www.sjsu.edu/about_sjsu/mission/ (Links to an external site.)

SJSU Campus Life – http://www.sjsu.edu/students/campuslife/ (Links to an external site.)

SJSU Current Students – http://www.sjsu.edu/students/index.html (Links to an external site.)

Step 2. Choose ONE of our four cornerstones that best suits your academic, personal, and professional interests.

Step 3. Be a detective and research how the cornerstone is reflected in our department and our university. Do not be shy. Snoop around the websites above and draw connections between the information on the sites and the ONE department cornerstone that suits your academic, personal, and professional interests the most.

Step 4. You will write a 4 page (1000-1200 words) essay about what you experienced and learned. Organize your essay into two sections: 2-page summary and 2-page reflection.

• In your summary, you will discuss specific connections between the cornerstone and our department’s and the university’s activities, student organizations, and history, among other entities related to SJSU.
• In your reflection, you will discuss the specific connection between the cornerstone and your academic, personal, and professional ambitions, concerns, and goals.

Reminder: All assignments should follow the Assignment Format guidelines in the course syllabus. All in-text citations and references should follow APA format. You should use quotes sparingly and incorporate page numbers when paraphrasing or quoting from any reading. You should include paragraph numbers when paraphrasing or quoting from web-pages. Please post any questions you may have about this assignment in the Communication Lounge/Help Forum.