EMILY HOOK

Creating an ePortfolio for my capstone project gave me an opportunity to discuss my experiences as an undergraduate at IUPUI. Creating this capstone project allowed me to strictly examine the skills and lessons I learned during the last four years. I was also able to research a topic that will be extremely relevant to my future career. When planning my research, I worked closely with Dr. Micheal Fagin because he treats a patient who suffers from HCQ retinopathy. Dr. Fagin actually suggested this research topic to me and allowed me to view his patient’s exam records and retinal images. I think it was really beneficial to be able to see first hand how these symptoms present and how quickly they can manifest.  At my job, I have seen other patients come in for Plaquenil eye exams, so it was very interesting to learn about the screening tests our doctors are referring them for. I really enjoyed being able to research a topic related to optometry that I will likely be learning about in the next few years at optometry school. 

 

Although I enjoyed creating my ePortfolio, I did face some challenges. As a biology major the research section was pretty straightforward, as I am used to this type of writing, but I cannot say the same for the other sections. I was forced to really consider my experiences at IUPUI and what I learned from them. It is easy to say that I have developed certain skills, but I struggled to pinpoint exactly how I learned them and write about the experience and what it taught me. Having to look back on the last four years helped me see how much I had actually learned and grown as a person. 

 

I definitely learned a lot about creating and designing an ePortfolio, as this was something I had never done before. Although I struggled at first with learning how to use all the tools on Wix, I enjoyed the creative freedom that came with completing the project. Overall, I am grateful that I had the opportunity to create this ePortfolio to showcase not only my research, but also my personal and academic development.