Group interaction is an essential component of NCC and life in general. Throughout the year, learning to use individual talents and skills in a group process was not easy at first. There were many difficulties and challenges in listening to the ideas of others and using those ideas to come up with a feasible and efficient solution to the problem. During NCLC 110, one of the first experiences that I had the pleasure of partaking in was going Hemlock which is a park owned by George Mason University. The purpose of the visit was to get to know everyone through team-building exercises located throughout the park. Going to Hemlock was important because it gave every individual coming into NCC a chance to bond and become more familiar with their fellow classmates. Without understanding how to respect and work with others, it would not have been possible to survive my first year of college.

          As a result of the Hemlock team-building experience of NCLC 110, I was tasked with writing a paper explaining my role as an individual amongst the larger group dynamic. This paper enabled me to reflect on the purpose and extent of Hemlock on my approach to learning and view of life as a whole. Throughout the writing process, I referred to a course text called Communication: Principles for a Lifetime. This book was very useful as it laid out a basic overview of group communication as well as specific roles of leadership. I took the book example and applied it to a specific obstacles and scenarios my group and I faced at Hemlock.

          Overall, I learned from both the course text and the Hemlock experience itself that there are certain “roles” that every individual has a responsibility to do their job within the group. These roles became a re-occurring theme as I integrated and made them applicable throughout the paper by citing the course text and providing an explanation of how that role was evidenced in the most significant challenges of Hemlock. I referred to the three challenges as “The Human Knot”, “The Plank Bridge” and the “Wheel of Death”. The scenarios presented a way for the scholarly concepts of communicative leadership learned to be evidenced in the early developments of my understanding in teamwork. Reflecting on and combining both the course text and the hands-on experiential learning allowed me to construct a solid paper that allowed me to learn much from my experiences.

            During my primary educational career in elementary, middle and high school I was given many assignments in which I was required to work as part of a group. There were many problems that I ran into. I often found myself either completing the assignments alone or working with a very select number of individuals within the group.  My entire first year was full of various group experiences and surprisingly, I noticed many themes and challenges within group collaboration itself that required innovative negotiation skills patience and understanding.

            I titled the paper “Hemlock Overlook- The Role of the Individual Amongst the Group Dynamic”. I chose this title because it conveyed and integrated the relational concept of the individual as part of a group. A key part of the Hemlock paper was to define roles. In terms of macro-roles I wrote about “task role”, “societal role” and “individual role” to clarify and distinguish between and clarify the importance of the individual throughout the group process (see example 1.1). I then went even further as I discussed the micro-roles of “elaborator”, “encourager”, “tension reliever”, “follower”, “dominator”, “initiator/contributor”, and “orienteer” (see example 1.2). As I used these texts to strengthen the reader’s personal understanding of Hemlock, the concepts of group interaction were imbedded in my memory. Looking back, I now see how enjoyable to see how the drying and boring words of the Communication: Principles for a Lifetime that I was reading transition from the page of the book to the hands-on experiential learning I had the privilege of participating in at Hemlock Overlook.

          Group interaction is a trial-and-error process. Writing the Hemlock paper made my ideas more fluid and allowed me to acknowledge and cope with certain obstacles that I faced in becoming competent in group interaction. The biggest difficulty I noted upon reflection was the fact that each individual has certain ideas, talents, and self-interests that sometimes conflict or wander off topic from the overall goals of the group itself. Another big factor of success is motivation. If the individuals within a group are not motivated to work and contribute to the group process, the end product of the effort put forth will be lacking. Learning to respect other’s opinions is also needed because it bolsters confidence to ensure trust and comradery within the group. Understanding the essential components of communication through the writing process of the Hemlock Assignment provided me with a foundation for group interaction. I built upon this interactionin my in future group learning and interaction experiences throughout the year by discussing course text in study groups, participating in long and short term project work and working together to teach the class on several occasions.

          Strengths and weaknesses are all part of the game. In the Hemlock paper I identified that I am a good listener in acknowledging others opinions, a good worker as I am able to complete any tasks assigned to me with both quality and efficiency, and a team player as I learned that sometimes I do not have the best solution to the problem. I like the idea of majority but I also acknowledge that my major weakness is not tolerating the voice of the minority. Minority voice is often a helpful contribution as it points out details that may be overlooked. In the future, I will do a better job at acknowledging the voice of minority amidst the group dynamic of majority rule. I recognize that I still have a lot of building to do as a first-year student but I am confident that the skills and lessons acquired will carry me to future success in my undergraduate, graduate and professional careers.