My experience as an Earth, Life, and Time Scholar has greatly increased my understanding of the physical world and its components in relation to time. The program has taught me information that I never would have gotten in my other classes, and almost everything that I learned was presented in interesting, engaging ways. Not only did I feel as though I was learning a lot of new information, I also enjoyed the experience. Overall, Earth, Life, and Time has been a fantastic program that has enhanced my knowledge on scientific material that I probably would not have obtained otherwise.
During my first semester in this program, I learned about pseudoscience in colloquium discussion. This was a topic I had always been interested in, but I never thought I would be able to learn about it in a class. We discussed topics such as aliens and UFO’s, crop circles, the existence of plesiosaur remains, and other intriguing topics, as well as how to detect pseudoscience. Learning about government cover-ups and shark carcasses that some people insist on believing are the remains of a prehistoric creature was not just interesting, but informative, as well. I learned that it is not rare for the media to support pseudoscientific claims and then not follow up those assertions with more accurate information once their dubious claims become exposed. I doubt that I would have been taught this material in any other classes here, so I am glad that I found it in Earth, Life, and Time.
Also during my first semester, I visited the Koshland Science Museum in order to receive extra credit for colloquium. I am deeply concerned about climate change, so this museum was extremely informative and interesting to me. I learned about the main causes of global warming, but more importantly, I learned about what people can do to prevent its further increase. From simple changes in people’s everyday lifestyles such as driving less to national changes like wind-powered energy that could immensely reduce climate change, I gathered information about what I personally can do to help decrease global warming. I had never heard of the Koshland Science Museum before, and I doubt that I would have discovered the museum if I had not been offered the opportunity to go there for ELT.
My favorite ELT field trip was the one that I took this semester to the Maryland Science Center. This trip taught me very much about the nature of science, specifically regarding how science is presented to children. I even learned some new concepts from some of the exhibits there, such as the effects of different air pressures on the ability of a ball to float in midair. The most impressive aspect of this museum, however, was its capability of catching and holding the attention of the general public, especially children, and inducing interest in science. I witnessed various ways that science can be made interesting to the younger generation, such as hands-on approaches and visually stimulating exhibits. I found myself wishing that I had been brought to such a place when I was a kid because if I had, I probably would have formed a greater fascination in the sciences at a younger age.
The supporting courses that I have taken for ELT include CHEM 131 and BSCI 105, both of which I am taking this semester. I have not found either of these classes to be as interesting as the ELT colloquiums or as informative in terms of the actual nature of science. I have, of course, learned about the science of nature in these courses, whether that be in terms of the characteristics of the chemical elements and their interactions or the methods of cell division and bacterial growth. However, topics such as pseudoscience, “science fiction”, raw animal sexuality, the historical perspective of my family history, and so many others were not even touched upon in these classes. I honestly feel that there is so much useful, intriguing information that I would not have received, and a variety of informative activities that I would not have performed if I had not been a Scholar in the ELT program.
The living-learning community provided by the Scholars program also benefited my learning. For instance, the group projects that we did in class not only helped to acquaint me with other members of my program, but I also learned new perspectives on certain material from them. When we shared our media reports this semester, it was interesting to do our own report, but the opportunity to hear about what other people found out made the project even more informative. Additionally, going on the field trips was much more fun because I could go with friends that I had made in the colloquium, and I was also able to gather more information from the trips. For example, when I visited the zoo in Washington, D.C., my friend and I wanted to work on the assignment, but also take time to get as much out of our zoo experience as possible. We did not do the bare minimum requirements just to get the report done, but instead we tried to enjoy ourselves and explore the zoo in order to learn about various exhibits, not just a few. If the ELT program were not conducive for interactions with fellow ELT Scholars, I would not have learned as many views or gotten as much out of the out of class assignments as I did.
I contributed the most to the ELT program when I volunteered as a Student Leader for Service Day this fall. I had enjoyed my Service Day experience and I wanted to offer more community service, but I also wanted to help encourage the new members of ELT to get excited for the program. I ended up having even more fun when I volunteered for the second Service Day. This was partially because the freshmen in my group seemed enthusiastic about the program, but also because I wanted to answer their questions and help them feel comfortable in the great program that they chose.
My membership in the ELT program helped me overcome a challenge by helping to steer me in the direction that I want to take with my life. When I started college, I was a journalism major, but I was not positive about what I wanted to do for the rest of my life. I had never been a huge fan of the sciences in high school, yet my mind started to change throughout my first semester, and I attribute that partially to the ELT program. The class made me reconsider my attitudes towards science in general, thus helping me make the decision that I wanted to change my major to animal science. So not only did my experience in ELT assist my overcoming this challenge, it also informed me about my future. I know that I want to be a veterinarian, and this class helped me make that decision; it also prepared me for how to think in terms of the nature of scientific methods and topics in my future science courses. In my other classes, I have not learned anything similar to what I have learned in ELT, so I feel that I have benefited greatly from my experience as a Scholar.