A news-related item that I encountered outside of SGC colloquium dealing specifically with global climate change that struck my attention was the impact of climate change on agriculture especially in recent years now that sufficient data has been gathered. There were studies done in the United States on maiz production and it is interesting seeing how production in some areas has decreased due to drastic changes in weather or abnormal weather phenomena such as droughts. This extends outside of just plants and also affects livestock who are at higher risk of extreme temperatures that may cause heat stress or just lower food quality. Another study was done in California on grape production and amount of acreage in future years that can bear them. In all there was a decrease over the years in grape bearing acreage. While this may not be a direct cause of climate change it may be related to it. Another news-related item that I encountered outside of SGC related to climate change is rising sea levels and its effect on major cities such as New York City. Engineers have proposed walls to protect certain areas of New York City that are most likely to flood in future years either due to rising sea levels or more rainfall.
The topic or set of material that connected me most with my major was that of scientific thinking. Many ways of thinking that I was aware were wrong, were brought up and gone into detail about why they were wrong or misleading. The ‘why’ part is what I learned the most from because of the difference between following something taught versus understanding why you are following that something. With this deeper understanding I transfer many of the correct ways of thinking better and implement better critical thinking in my coursework and leadership. I find myself often questioning the way things run and being able to trace down the root of such questions helps me understand the answers I find better and often lead to amazing results.
My learning has improved and enhanced by interacting with one of my fellow SGC scholars by the name of Mathew Chan. We have held several conversations about SGC related lectures outside of class. We took particular interest in the SGC lectures about critical thinking and how it pertains to science. We noticed that many people including ourselves were not aware of the many flawed ways of thinking that the majority of people accept as valid. These discussions allowed for more thinking about the topics outside of class and the creation of new ideas that were not brought up in class. Unrelated to SGC, I have also made connections with SGC scholars who share similar classes. We meet up to study or do homework together and assist each other when needed if difficult concepts challenge us beyond one’s understanding. Being in this living-learning community has allowed for me to live closer to other SGC students which in turn helped create opportunities for easy access to them when needed and helped create new friends.
My contribution to SGC was minimal this semester. However during freshman year I contributed a lot more and remember going on field trips such as the DC trip. I would mainly only contribute to any academic assignments as needed including group projects such as the most recent one where I assisted my group in presenting about intranational train systems and their environmental benefits. Asides from the few field trips I went on and the numerous group projects in class I did not contribute much else to SGC. I believe next semester I will be more involved with SGC although indirectly through my research project I will be conducting with my internship. I look forward to such engagement and presenting my finding at the final presentation event.
Being in scholars did not bring me in contact with people that challenged my previous beliefs in fact I don’t remember concepts even challenging my previous beliefs. Rather many concepts reformed my prior beliefs into thinking in a more critical manner and I also learned many new topics with regards to climate change. I would say in general my knowledge and previous beliefs/opinions grew stronger and I am now well equipped with more background to support my beliefs and opinions. My knowledge in particular grew a lot during my time at SGC through the lectures and PowerPoints we made in groups. I found the PowerPoint presentations to be the most informative because it engaged me the most in active research in the discipline or topic my group had chosen.
I believe that the experiences I have had in Scholars may inform my future by giving me the knowledge and background necessary to better understand scientific processes, our impact on the climate, and ways of reducing our impact using technology. I am studying engineering and have the ability to create such technologies or influence them to be more ecofriendly. As a senior I believe I must write a Capstone. I will draw from the scientific methods learned in SGC and apply them to my research to stay true and honest to those I will be presenting and not create false or misleading information that may seem true. I do not plan on having post-undergraduate education, but if I did I am sure that the critical ways of thinking in SGC will carry over. In my professional career thus far, I have found myself recalling skills learned in SGC such as presentation skills, and analytical skills when presented with issues. I have worked on a few projects at work that were relating technology and the climate, and it was fascinating seeing how an engineer can influence the environment with simple choices such as location or type of technology. In all, my experience at SGC has been full of lessons learned and many which I hope to carry over. I have met new people and built connections which are hopefully long lasting and am grateful for the opportunity SGC has given me to be a part of the program.