Sunday, May 17, 2026

Imago from Chrysalis

My experience in IS101 would always be memorable to me. It's where I experienced having fun despite being challenged to try things I have never done before, thus, making me a better individual both with in-class skills and outside of class where I can apply said skills practically.

The course was confusing at times, the names of assigned tasks being a letter and a number made it hard for me to keep track of which thing is which. However, my seatmate Kevin has been really helpful. Not only that but he always inspired me to do more than just enough, he always did things perfectly and as early as possible. This kind of self-discipline is one of a kind and makes me want to become a better student and person just like he is.

Another person who inspired me to do better is Vania. We never got to talk a lot, and we only bonded over the similarities in culture after creating and presenting a slideshow together. She told me that she is not fluent in English and often struggles to explain things that she's capable of explaining, but cannot find the English words for. This is inspiring to me because despite living in the United States without her family and not being fluent in a foreign language, she still persevered and gets things done very early, and does her best to make everything perfectly smooth. Being the first to do her presentation, telling me about memorizing her scripts weeks prior to the day of presenting, and wanting to collaborate with someone with no hesitation. I think it makes her brave and I really admire her for it.

Lastly, I of course admire Professor Wu for being the most present and helpful professor I have ever gotten. He would adjust to the students' needs and take time out of his own day to help students when he could just use it to finally get some rest. He never made me or I presume anybody feel small for making mistakes. He always supported and rooted for me, and even the most pessimistic students. He wants everyone to do well not only in his class, but outside in the real world.

What I've gained from this class and its people is inspiration, motivation, and a lot of new set of skills (like Excel) that I can apply for my day to day life, for the times I'd feel like there is no hope for me and I'm bound to fail. I would honestly probably think of Kevin & Vania's bravery in trying to do things despite facing struggles.

I chose 6.4.3 - Slide Design Facts as it helped me save time by being short but still really informative. Designing is a very important part of PowerPoint since it is mostly about creativity. Sure, you want to relay information to the listeners in the best and most efficient way. But one of the best methods is to have creative and eye-catching slides. This was the perfect chapter to help you achieve that.

Below is an image I took from mine and Vania's A8 Improved Slideshow Presentation. I know a lot of people didn't like the idea of pairing up with someone to do something, neither did I honestly. But I don't regret it, in fact it's quite the opposite. I really enjoyed everything that came with choosing to step out of my comfort zone. I learned more about Vania and her culture, it was very fun taking an 'imaginary trip' to her home country just by listening to her stories. I also want to dedicate this part of the blog for her. She had everything down to her script prepared, yet she still decided to help me conquer my fear of trying to present as a duo. It completely (in a way) put her back to square one. She had to review the changes I made to her slides, she had to scratch her entire plans and script, she had to make time for me for around a week consistently just to practice with me. 30 mins to an hour consistently everyday, she showed up to our google meets practice on time. For all of these reasons, I commend her and I'm grateful to meet such an amazing classmate! I enjoyed presenting because of her, things became a little less scary.



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Another little side story of what the title means.
Imago is the final and fully developed form of an insect (a butterfly!)
In this stage, it is typically already winged. It has grown from its chrysalis stage to something that can fly, be free, and be capable to do things on its own.

12 comments:

  1. Hey Chae! I loved your presentations, and I think it is so cool that you are the first person to do the improved slide show with a partner! I also agree with everything you said about Prof. Wu! He is the best!

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  2. Hi Chae, thank you for the kind words, and I am really glad IS101 became a good experience for you because I saw firsthand how much effort you put into your work and presentations too.

    Also, your partnership with Vania honestly sounded really wholesome, it takes a lot of courage to step outside your comfort zone and present together like that. I am really happy I got to be your classmate this semester, and I wish you the best in your student life and wherever your future takes you.

    Please do not lose that creativity and kindness because those are honestly harder to teach than Excel formulas.

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  3. The most impressive part about doing blog posts is slowly knowing our classmates while being in separate classes. How you describe our classmates is actually admirable given that I am on the Friday class yet I feel jealous that I never met the Saturday class formally. That said, our professor really gave a way for us to communicate, both student and teacher. What he did for all of us is something that other professors should look up as they supported their students until the end of the semester and even outside of our classes. And congratulations on being courageous on being the first to have a duo presentation! With all that being said, laban lang sa lahat ng pagsubok na ibibigay ng buhay! (Keep fighting in every challenge that life gives you!)

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  4. Hi Chae, reading this honestly made me really emotional in a good way 🥹 thank you so much for saying all of that.
    I also want to say I admire YOU too for stepping out of your comfort zone. Presenting with someone new and adjusting plans isn’t easy, but you handled it really well and we ended up making a great team.
    I’m happy we got to know each other better through this class and I’ll definitely remember our presentation too 😊

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  5. One thing I really liked about your post was how genuine it felt. It’s clear that you put a lot of effort into this class and grew from it.

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  6. I also struggled at times navigating to find the assignments having to play close attention to find what I was looking for. It's great you were able to receive inspiration and assistance from your peer to help you throughout the course.

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  7. Hi Chae, I like your creativity for the title! I feel the same way about IS101, it's been challenging, eye opening and fun.

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  8. Hi Chae , i love this blog post and I love what you wrote for Vania this blog post was very well put and i can tell how much love and effort you put in this! It was an awesome to have you as classmate i wish nothing but the best for you.

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  9. It was really thoughtful to mention the people that were inspiring to you. It's nice that you had a good social system in this class, that always makes everything feel a little better.

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  10. That was a nice genuine post you gave Chae, and yes Professor Wu never gave up on us and he did mention about the presentation pairing of two students from the Saturday class to us in the Friday class so I was wondering who you both were! Seems like you all did a great job and I commend you for your bravery out of your comfort zone. Good job and I wish you the best of luck for all your future endeavors!

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  11. Hi Chae. The partnership that you had with Vania on your improved slideshow presentation stood out to me. The amount of preparation and teamwork you described shows how strong collaboration can help make presentations less stressful and more enjoyable.

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  12. Hello Chae. I was really impressed to hear two people paired up for the second slideshow! It was very courageous. Great job!

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