The Science and Global Change colloquium material has given me a lot of insight into how I want to apply my major to a career after I graduate. The course material for the colloquium largely centers around responses to climate change and how, as individuals in a larger society, we can invoke this change. One of the main avenues of response to climate change is improving or designing better systems to generate, store, or reuse energy, specifically renewable energy. As a mechanical engineering major, learning about these different systems through the colloquium has shown me the future of possibilities in this range. In my major courses, I learn plentifully about chemistry, energy, and machine design. While I continue on through my major, I will be thoughtful about how I could apply my learning in these courses into a career for designing new and improved energy systems to aid in the fight against climate change. If I find a career in this path, I will have great satisfaction in my work.
Through the many discussions and assignments we’ve had in SGC, I feel as though I have been prepared to conduct ethical science, as well as participate in scholarly debate. For example, over the last three semesters, we have talked extensively about the hypothetico-deductive method. In this framework, students are expected to start with a hypothesis, test the hypothesis by collecting valid data, evaluate the hypothesis, and continue the process again to refine their model. While working in my physics lab this semester, I have had the opportunity to test my understanding of “good science”. Personally, I always read through my prelabs, try to understand the physical theory that governs the lab, and conduct valid experiments to test those physical theories. This way, either the theory is confirmed or disproved depending on the results of the lab, which can be written about later or retested. However, not all students follow the same framework. I vividly remember conducting one of my first labs of the semester when my lab partner began rejecting data points that did not fit the physical model we’d been given. They were using confirmation bias to disprove real data that we had collected during the lab. When I heard him discussing this, I immediately rerouted to simply re-testing the data set, making sure each of our instruments were being used properly. This way, we can ensure the validity of our testing, and not fall victim to bias that defeats the entire point of the experiment itself. Science is largely about gathering and interpreting results, not starting at a finished framework and working backwards off of it. This extends to discussion in other subjects as well. In my English 120 class, we have discussions each Friday about different characters from various Shakespeare plays. Sometimes, a student will make an argument about a character’s motive, citing various lines that back up their claim. For example, a student argued that Malvolio deserved punishment in Twelfth Night depending solely on the feelings of the other characters perpetrating the villainous prank. However, when they were making their argument, they only cited these lines, and omitted the ones concerning Malvolio’s vulnerability and emotional manipulation used against him. This confirmation bias made Malvolio look like a villain, without considering an entire other side of the story. SGC has armed me with weapons to defend myself against invalid science and arguments as I move forward in my academic and professional career.
The SGC community on campus is alive and well. Meeting new people and finding out they too are a part of one of the scholars community gives you an instant connection. Throughout the various courses and events that SGC has offered, I have met many new friends that have helped me grow academically. Most memorable of these connections were the fellow Scholars in Cumberland Hall who I would work with in the study lounges. In these spaces, we’d share stories of our hometowns and different pasts, and I gained lots of knowledge of different regions and backgrounds from the diverse student body that UMD upholds. This helped me grow as a person, but the scholars community has also helped me grow as a student. In one of my supporting courses, Astronomy 100, I had the opportunity to study with a fellow Scholar of mine throughout the course. The reason I had this opportunity was because the student was my friend in a different scholars program that I met through living in Cumberland Hall. Studying with this person helped me to stay on top of the work in the class while also better understanding the material. Study groups are almost always beneficial to your learning, and the scholars community offered me endless opportunities. For this reason more than any other I am ever grateful for the Scholars program.
As a Scholar, it is a part of your responsibility to contribute to your scholars community, as well as the broader academic community as a whole. Within SGC, I contribute by actively participating in Colloquium, both in classroom discussion and especially through group projects. In Colloquium, we often have a lecture followed by an in class assignment where we discuss information each student personally researched before class. It is my responsibility to diligently learn and understand the content assigned to me so that I am prepared to come to teach the other members of my group. This way, we can collaborate and help each other learn in a more efficient way, and I very much enjoy contributing to others learning in this way. This process has also helped me with the skill of sharing scientific knowledge effectively. I have also used opportunities in SGC to strengthen the broader academic community at UMD as a whole. For example, for my excursion last semester, I chose to attend a graduate student’s presentation of research they’d been working on. The topic was very interesting to me and I was expecting a high attendance for such a cool event. When I arrived, however, I found I was the only student to attend. I sat attentively while he explained the research and participated in all of the interactive activities he had to offer. After the presentation was finished, I stayed for a while and asked him personal questions about his time as a researcher, what he hopes to do with his research, and how I could get involved with research in the future. I could tell that my expressed personal interest in his presentation was very valuable to the student, and that he was happy to share his project with me, even though I was the only one in attendance. It gave me so much joy that I could help him out and learn along the way, and SGC gave me this opportunity.
In the same vein, Scholars has challenged my previous belief that science is a technical activity, and not a social one. In high school and even early college, I saw scientific knowledge as something that just existed, something objective and independent of people’s beliefs or social contexts. However, as I’ve progressed through Scholars, this idea of mine has been challenged time and time again. I’ve been shown that scientific fact does not exist in a vacuum. Various times, we have examined how individuals interpret data through different cultural or socio-economic lenses. We’ve looked at the many different ways citizens receive information, whether that is through close academic reading or through flashy news titles on social media platforms, and how this information can be skewed or misrepresented if handled improperly. In Colloquium, students are responsible for researching different topics and describing those topics to other students in the class effectively. My belief that science is purely technical has expanded to include all of the necessary social aspects that come along with it. I better understand just how important communicating scientific ideas effectively to a broader audience is. Science isn’t science without effective social interaction. If this was not the case, the world would be stuck and unable to advance and grow in collective knowledge. Without the social aspect of science, the world would change greatly for the worse.
Aside from showing me what I would like to do as a future professional, my Scholars experience has informed me how I would like to live as an adult. One of the most important lessons I have learned is to understand where you are consuming information from, and if those sources can be trusted. In today’s age, media platforms profit from flashy titles that are meant to grab your attention through fear or awe. However, it is important that you check the validity of the source itself, as well as the sources cited, so that you know they aren’t taking advantage of your oversight. This way I can be a well informed adult without being tricked into believing the nonsense we see on our phones or TV. Another aspect of SGC that I will carry with me onward is faith in collaboration. Lots of the material in our Colloquium relies on collaboration between fellow Scholars. I have found time and time again that attentive collaboration has greatly improved my learning and enjoyment of academic effort. If you work well with others, it is an enriching experience that adds to both the joy of your work, as well as a deeper understanding of the material provided. This faith in collaboration will help me through my next two years in University, as well as my professional career. Finally, and most importantly, I choose to carry with me the hope that the human race can fight against anthropogenic climate change. This semester especially, our colloquium content has included many different methods and strategies that different nations can execute moving forward to mitigate the effects of climate change before it is too late. Even though we talk so much about how much harm humans have caused, I will choose to focus on hope, and employ myself to be a part of the change the world needs to reach a safer future for all.