SGC has gone into intricate detail about every facet of climate change, including the various solutions and strategies to combat it. Ranging from widely-known to the public to newly emerging technologies and hidden techniques. Additionally, we have covered the side effects of warming in every single sector, even in areas that wouldn’t be initially obvious to most. This structured decomposition of our planet’s climate and how it's changed, comes with a thorough understanding of science and how much more important that word really is to us and the world. These two main ideas of climate science working in tandem with definitions of science have created a successful environment for academic and personal understanding.
I initially came into SGC as an applied math major, but I was essentially STEM undecided. After a few months at UMD it became clear engineering was the right fit for me. When deciding which branch I felt most aligned with it, the content from SGC helped aid in that process. I ended up choosing Civil and Environmental engineering because I have always been interested in large structural construction. Due to the information from SGC, I was aware of all the various ways structural engineering could aid the effort to sustainability. The university itself is an extreme proponent of green efforts and sustainable design/policy, so the connections from SGC to my major are everywhere. It’s clear the campus is avid about this issue both professionally and academically.
During the two years of my SGC program, the political landscape has been full of many controversies related to environmental protection. I believe I had the unique opportunity to be in the program at this time. When hearing about the many policies passed at the beginning of the most recent presidency, I instinctively related it to our geopolitical and economic discussions within colloquium. The weight of this news would not be as impactful if it weren’t for the lessons from SGC.
Related to the topic above, I took ENSP102 (Introduction to Environmental Policy) as a supporting course for the program during Spring 2025. Within this course we analyzed many of the current news articles dealing with environmental policy or protection, I was able to understand what many of the terms meant and exactly the processes to get there. This was a class that deals with the political and social aspect of environmental issues while the rest of my classes were all technical. The final assignment was the culmination of all our learning and work. We created a written memo about an issue of our choosing, similar to that of a memo that a real government official would create. I was able to use information I learned in SGC to help me write this memo from the perspective of a mock official. It was a class I would never have taken if I weren’t for SGC.
Another supporting course that helped reinforce SGC ideals was BSCI151 (Human Biological Diversity). While this wasn’t a truly climate focused course, it still involved the practice of the scientific method. So much so that it was the first thing we talked about. This class dealt with speculations about genetics and humanity’s origin. We spent time going through the different models of evolution itself, and then human evolution models separately. The theorizing tools I gained from SCG translated right into these topics and I was able to analyze them and enjoy them with a true scientific lens.
During colloquium and even at orientation it was very easy to find and meet friendly faces. Having friends in scholars was an enjoyably large part of the experience. These people were always just a few-minute walk away and it truly made a difference academically. When seeing fellow scholars outside of class it was very natural to strike up conversation regarding SGC material. Having one thing such as scholars in common makes it much easier to bounce ideas off one another and amplify our understanding. In the third semester, I noticed we had substantially more peer-group discussions in class. I personally found this to be quite helpful. These activities got many people to meet each other, and genuinely talk about our discussion questions. Overall, the peers I have met from scholars have been an integral aspect.
SGC has given me multiple opportunities to contribute to the program community. I believe I have helped my peers and through the SGC practicum I was able to provide service. Through the semesters, we have had multiple groups projects. I strive to never let my team down in these projects and make sure to do my part timely and diligently. With my groups we have made some fun and informative projects. In addition, I utilized the course CPSS340 “Infrastructure and Society” for my practicum. This course involves an in-person service learning experience where we assess a facility for mission functionally and quality. This assessment genuinely provides information for the MDDF (Maryland Defense Force) to take into account.
In terms of challenging my beliefs I would say that scholars did so in a reinforcing manner. l have always had an interest in climate change as an issue and its lack of response. I thought it was a very select few who even had an idea it was real. After extensively learning about the current and theoretical responses to global warming I was both disappointed and impressed. There are a lot more people taking action than I realized, yet there is still so much action to take than I had realized too. I was also under the impression that solutions to this problem were flat out more expensive and it was simply the trade off we have to make for the planet, but that isn’t fully the case either. It represents how little I knew about this topic at the start of freshman year compared to this year. I know much more about the societal and economic scope of this issue, and it still remains at the top of my international interests.
I know that I will use lessons from my scholar's education in my near and distant professional life. The core lessons of scientific understanding are going to be present in all learning from now on as a STEM major. Viewing information with skepticism and under the idea of wanting to understand will be essential for an engineering career. Knowing how to weed out the misleading info, ask questions that dig beyond the surface and appropriately communicate extensively technical ideas are all lessons I have gained from this program.