The information I have learned from my time in SGC has helped enhance my understanding of the severity of global climate change events and has given me a greater appreciation for the scientific method. During my three years in SGC, there have been ample examples of climate change-related news occurring around the world. However, the event that caught my attention the most was the California wildfires that occurred last year. Through my time with SGC, I have come to understand that these increased wildfires are not random but rather the result of rising global temperatures. The increased intensity and frequency of these wildfires is the result of increasing global temperatures which contribute to longer, more frequent periods of high temperatures along with drier soil and vegetation. My time with SGC has taught me that these fires are only the beginning and the world will continue to experience extreme weather events as temperatures climb in the coming years. Additionally, these climate events will begin to affect people all around the world and entire populations of people will be forced to relocate or face the consequences of these natural disasters. Moreover, in my GEOG140 course, I was once again reminded of the severity of climate change events as my professor discussed that storms like tornadoes and hurricanes will only intensify in frequency and strength over the next couple years. On this note, my professor explained that floods once labeled 100-year floods are now expected to occur more frequently and approximately every 30 years. This information alludes that natural disasters are set to occur more often and be more dangerous in the coming years on the account of rising atmospheric temperatures. This GEOG140 course did an excellent job at explaining how and why natural disasters occur. However, this class failed to emphasize the urgency to which climate change needs to be dealt with. CPSG has allowed me to grasp the gravity of climate change and the cruciality of immediate action so that future generations can exist on Earth.
Additionally, SGC has allowed me to appreciate the value behind the hypothetico-deductive method and the importance of closely applying it when executing experiments. I have employed the scientific method within my chemistry lab courses, but most specifically CHEM242 due to it being in person. Additionally, I have utilized my knowledge of the hypothetico-deductive method in my BSCI360 course to evaluate the work of other scientists and critique points of weakness in their research. Prior to CPSG, I understood what the scientific method was and had previously applied it in my studies, but I failed to grasp how important this method was in making novel discoveries and retrieving trustworthy data. By learning about individuals who failed to carry out the scientific method properly in their research, like Trofim Lysenko, it became clear how important it is to utilize the hypothetico-deductive method to produce actual significant and empirical data. The scientific method is essential to making meaningful contributions to scientific knowledge and must be applied meticulously to ensure that the information gained is representative of fact.
Furthermore, through the SGC program, I was able to meet people with similar passions and academic goals as me. By living at Centreville, I was placed in close contact with these people and was able to make friends with people who were in many of my classes. This gave me an advantage when taking on my course load as I had peers struggling with the same homework or exams that I was and we were able to overcome academic challenges by either working together or helping one another learn. For instance, I formed study groups with the people on my floor at Centreville for the Organic Chemistry I final last year and we would teach each other confusing topics or recommend quality practice tests. These friendships helped me to grow both academically and socially during COVID last year and helped us all to stay locked in even when our studies felt cumbersome.
Additionally, I have tried to stay involved in the SGC program and take part in activities I find interesting to me. I have participated in Scholars through groups like the Peer Mentors which provided me with the opportunity to welcome freshmen mentees into the program and prepare them for college life. This has been a very enjoyable experience for me this far and I have loved getting to meet new college students and introduce them to the fun things this campus had to offer. Outside of Peer Mentors, I also took part in the excursion trip to the American Museum of Natural History in New York which I found to be a very exciting and entertaining event. I had a great time at the museum and exploring New York City with my fellow SGC scholars and this trip made me feel lucky to be a part of the SGC program.
Furthermore, Scholars has opened my eyes to climate change and presented evidence and examples that I had never previously heard of before. Prior to my time in SGC, I was unaware of the extent to which our Earth was in danger and I failed to understand how the effects of climate change will affect the future of our planet. I had known climate change was an issue, but it became very clear just how urgent this issue was when I took this course and it was alarming to learn that even drastic measures will not be enough to reverse what has already begun. I now recognize that we need to act immediately to prevent further damage from occurring to our Earth and to allow future generations to live on Earth. I think the information I have learned in this course will help me to be more environmentally-conscious and to persuade others to do so as well. Through this course, I have also found a novel passion for conservation of the Earth and I am interested in incorporating this into my future career. Additionally, I intend to make more sustainable decisions in my everyday life to reduce my carbon footprint and contribution to global warming. For example, I plan on substituting meat protein for plant-based protein three times a week to do my part in conserving arable farmland for agriculture instead of livestock. In the future, I hope to employ more strategies to further combat climate change.
My time in the SGC Scholars program has been a very enjoyable and positive experience for me and I plan on taking the lessons I learned through this course into the future with me. Additionally, Scholars provided me the ability to experience novel opportunities and meet some amazing people along the way. I am thankful I got to be a part of such a great program here at UMD and will forever value my time spent with Scholars.