My past 3 semesters in SGC have been very educational and have given me purpose in some of what I am studying to pursue my degree. Learning about the danger humans are in as a result of the climate crisis gives me inspiration to think about ways I can contribute to resolve this issue and what I can do with my education to combat the global crisis. During, my first two semesters in SGC, I learned all about the history of humans and climate, which set the stage to learn about ways in which we can combat the looming dangers presented by our changing climates.Over the past 3 semesters, I have learned to think scientifically and have a significantly stronger understanding of climate change and its importance to the longevity of our species. The most persistent example of a logical fallacy I have seen in the past year has been how some people discredit the efficacy of COVID vaccines. Oftentimes, I hear people and the media saying that, because you can still contract and get sick from COVID after receiving the immunizations, they are not effective. This is an example of a hasty generalization as it extrapolates a very small proportion of incidents to a much wider population, which is inaccurate. I think that a lot of the push back on the vaccine rollouts could have been avoided if people had a better understanding of how the vaccines work and how they are such a pivotal piece in our fight against the spread of COVID. One way SGC helped me choose my major and remain confident that what I’m studying has value has been our research on solutions this past semester. As a mechanical engineer, it is interesting to see the different proposals for technology that can help fix climate change, and it is clear that in order to accomplish this, a lot of engineering will be involved. This has given me more purpose as I often make connections between what I’m learning in my engineering classes with different proposed climate change reversing technologies. I am currently working on a project in a club, Terps Racing, and I am making the car more efficient by lightweighting the transmission. Projects such as this have become increasingly interesting to me as I have a passion now for making current things in the world more efficient and have a lessened impact on the climate. By taking existing technologies and making them have greater outputs while having lessened impact on the climate, we can decrease the harm we cause on the Earth. Two SGC supported courses which have helped me in my studies to pursue my major have been CHEM135 and MATH241. These courses have proven very relevant as I continue my studies as I find myself frequently referencing what I learned in these courses and have provided a strong foundation for my studies. An interaction with an SGC scholar that has helped me has been that I coordinated with another current SGC student in order to find something to fulfill our practicum requirement for next semester. I recognized that we were both in the same club and that we were both in SGC, and we figured a way to make our work in the club we were in count towards an internship for the practicum. I am really looking forward to this project as it will allow the car we are building in the club Terps Racing to run further, faster, more efficiently, all while using less gas, which will decrease the car’s environmental impact. I think I have contributed to SGC by giving a unique approach to the solutions proposed and their feasibility. As an engineering student, I like to critically analyze the technology behind the solutions, such as in my project researching Direct Air Capture. Through my research, I compared the amount of carbon removed by the plants to the amount of carbon removed via other methods such as planting trees in order to determine which approach would be better. I was able to use some things I have learned in engineering to compute the usefulness of these two approaches and I presented my work on this topic to the class. I have changed my beliefs since first joining SGC in that I have a much higher priority for efforts pertaining to resolving climate change. I think that it is much more important that science based majors study fields that can help make our Earth more clean and even reverse our negative impacts on it. I think much more critically when I hear people discuss scientific issues, especially those relevant to climate change, and I think more critically myself when I decide my stances on certain issues. SGC has had a strong impact on what I think my future will look like, as I really wish to find a job in the future that will allow me to have a noticeable positive impact on our climate. I find it harder now to imagine a future where I would be satisfied with a job that does not have a positive change on our climate, as it is by far the most important issue society is facing and must be addressed as soon as possible. I have recently began looking into internships at government agencies and companies interested in technologies that will improve the future of our planet and help improve the climate, and have changed the way I view certain companies that have a history of knowingly having a negative impact on the environment.