Capstone Summary

My University Honors Teaching Capstone Project was a new 1 credit hour seminar course over the Enneagram and its vital impact on every interaction you take part in. The enneagram is a nine-sided figure which represents the spectrum of possible personality types. My course taught students about each number on the enneagram, covering 1 number per week, as well as time in the last few weeks focusing on their own enneagram number. Each number is unique in their emotionally healthy and unhealthy states, deadly sins, common experiences in childhood, mindsets in relationships, in the workforce, and in situations of stress and security. By actively learning why people are the way they are and what experiences have shaped them to see the world how they do, then our entire society can be shifted to being more compassionate, empathetic, and understanding of others’ experiences. In the divided society we live in today of one-sided mindsets and toxic polarization, a class that teaches people how to understand and empathize with the viewpoints of others is what our society needs- even if only 20 people could sign up for the course. This course benefitted Texas A&M University because being aware of your own Enneagram type assists leaders in better understanding what drives and motivates them as well as the impact that they have on others. Global Leadership Foundations take the time to learn the Enneagram, and Texas A&M is full of future global leaders, so my course started to train their brains to see the world through a new lens.

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During this course, I spent the first week introducing the history of the Enneagram and its importance in society, as well as having the class take their own Enneagram test. For the nine weeks following, we covered one number of the enneagram per week, starting with Type 1s. In these weeks, I discussed each number in their emotionally healthy and unhealthy states, deadly sins, common experiences in childhood, mindsets in relationships, in the workforce, and situations of stress and security. During the 11th week, the students retook the Enneagram test and self-diagnosed their type, as well as tried to diagnose the types of the other students in the course. We spent the rest of the semester focusing on our own Enneagram types, and how to take steps towards self-growth. I also integrated a discussion time during each class where I would ask an open-ended question, applying the class content to my students’ own lives, and they would each participate for a grade.

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From this course, my students took away a deeper understanding of the society around them. Now that the class has ended, my students have had a mindset shift and are focusing on why people are the way they are and what experiences have shaped them to see the world how they do. This course provided students a lens to become more compassionate, empathetic, and understanding of others’ experiences.

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I used the book "The Road Back to You: An Enneagram Journey to Self-Discovery" by Cron and Stabile for reference throughout the course, because this is where I obtained most of my own knowledge on the subject. I also utilized https://www.eclecticenergies.com/ as the standard Enneagram test to give my class.

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This experience helped me grow in so many ways and was truly unforgettable. I really do feel like I am making my mark on this University! This Capstone relates to my personal desire to become a Registered Nurse, because nurses interact with all different kinds of people every single day, and being able to understand how different people see the world will help me be more compassionate towards every patient I interact with.