3 Semester Review

Alex Obolensky

December 2023

My experience as a student enrolled in College Park Scholars: Science and Global Change has profoundly shaped my worldview and changed the way I look at science, my education, and the world at large. This has manifested itself in many different ways, some of them completely unexpected to me. For instance, as a civil engineering major I have long known that my work will leave an impact on the planet and its inhabitants. Although I had always hoped that the legacy I leave behind would be a positive one, and that my work would be beneficial for the greater good, up until taking several semesters of SGC courses I had never really given much thought exactly how I would do so. Now, however, I have a better understanding of climate change and its various impacts on the planet, as well as its causes and effects. In particular, the lectures that discussed the different technologies that are currently being used or are being developed to stop greenhouse gas emissions and pollutants has caught my attention and interested me enough to do my own research regarding strategies that engineers can use to build greener and better. Armed with that knowledge, I now know that green architecture is a field that I am very passionate about, and intend to pursue this subset of engineering in the future. This has allowed me to consider a whole new approach to my major and has allowed me to start thinking about green technologies and development. Thus, knowing the intricacies of climate change’s potential solution will now be able to shape my career and work towards a better future. Additionally, I remember reading a news article about how nuclear power has been declining, and how Americans still tend to favor other sources of renewable energy instead. Normally, I would read such an article and give little thought to it, but after a series of colloquium lectures during the 3rd semester of College Park Scholars where we delved into the various types of renewable energies and their benefits and drawbacks, I started to question why that is the case. As with any renewable energy, nuclear power has a lot of benefits and generally speaking is a massive boost to the fight against climate change. However, it still has some issues which, unless you are somewhat familiar with the topics, may not be very obvious. First of all, nuclear power is incredibly expensive to build and maintain, meaning that it is a massive commitment on behalf of the government to open and run new plants. Additionally, other sources of energy such as solar and wind can be implemented in larger scales more easily, meaning that they may be more beneficial for a given community to invest in. Had I not taken Scholars, my mind would have never even considered these possibilities, but as a student in the program my thought process has been rewired to consider possibilities such as these and ask questions beyond the obvious.

        This can be seen in other ways as well, even in classes that I took in order to complete SGC requirements. For example, GEOL100 discusses a lot of changes that have happened on Earth in the past millions of years. A casual observer may think the past is just the past; however, after attending Scholars Colloquiums my mind kept trying to draw connections between the class content and what is currently happening in the world. Rising temperatures that we are experiencing right now are incredibly alarming, and although the future cannot be predicted we can look back and see how other catastrophic events have shaped the history of the planet in order to gauge at least some of the magnitude of the potential climate disaster that is approaching. I also took AP Physics in high school, which satisfies one of the requirements for Scholars. Although physics is often far removed from climate change and questions about how the world is getting impacted by the warming climate, looking back I feel that I can get a lot more out of my experience now that I have taken three semesters of colloquium. Just as physics formulas may first appear to be complex and convoluted, they are all based on certain principles and facts which define physics and therefore the world. The same can be said for climate change; it may seem random or coincidental at first, but once you look at the data and analyze how humans have impacted the world with their activities you soon realize that it does in fact add up, and arguing against that is the same as disagreeing with a proven formula in physics.

        Because during freshman year most Science and Global Change students lived in one dorm together, it led to a lot of interactions and conversations between us. For example, some of the friends that I made through the program have majors (or at least profound interests) relating to climate and the environment. Therefore, sometimes we would discuss the information we would be covering in class, whether it be the increasing amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere or carbon-neutral sources of transportation. This allowed me to continue to learn about the topics we would be covering in class and apply those general concepts to the real world, discussing and mulling over various topics that otherwise might have been covered once or twice in lecture but then forgotten.

        To be honest, Scholars did not necessarily bring me in contact with people and even concepts that challenged any previous beliefs or opinions that I had. I consider myself to be fairly on top of things regarding science and the environment, as are most people in the program. Therefore, I wouldn’t say that I was introduced to any information that made me reconsider my beliefs or engage in contradictory discussion with my peers. In fact, it was quite the opposite; my classmates and I often had very similar views on the topics we covered in class, allowing us to continue to discuss these issues outside of class and solidify the ideas and beliefs that we had. However, this was still beneficial as the more conversations are had about climate change and other similar topics the better we are prepared to handle them and fight for our collective future.

        I believe that my Scholars experience will greatly affect me in the future. In the next few years, as I continue to work towards my civil engineering degree, the ability to think critically about the world and the issues facing the planet can easily be applied to my other classes. Whether it be in a math class, being able to read through a complex word problem and be able to quickly take away all the necessary information, or in a history course, looking for connections between the past and the present and thus attaining a better understanding of our story, the skills I have learned will help me greatly throughout the rest of my time at the University of Maryland. Even further into the future, as an engineer I will be able to take this theoretical knowledge of the causes and effects of climate change and be able to actively fight back against it, one project at a time. By truly opening my eyes to the problems the world faces, College Park Scholars has allowed me to make a bigger and better impact on the world, and by being able to apply the theory behind green infrastructure, carbon neutrality, and resource conservation I can make the world a better place for myself and the rest of humanity.