When I entered SGC, I was surprised to learn how many people within the program had no ties to the Environmental Science department. For me, being an Environmental Science major was a primary motivator in me selecting SGC as my scholars program of choice. Since my freshman year of high school, I have known that our climate is rapidly changing due to anthropogenic activities, and that I wanted to have a hand in fixing issues related to climate change. Thus, with most of the information provided by this course, I found myself at least slightly aware of all the topics being discussed. While much of the material was beneficial to my learning, I found that two books in particular really stood out to me as references I can carry with me throughout my educational career. The Sixth Extinction: An Unnatural History by Elizabeth Kolbert was the first book we read that truly connected with me. The narrative style used in the book that takes the reader through Kolbert’s travels was very engaging to me, as I am very interested in doing environmental field work. For this reason, the section that discusses Chytrid disease and the impact it is having on amphibians was very interesting to me, as the field work that led to the discovery of the disease and the conservation of amphibians is work I would like to do one day. Similarly, the Drawdown book sparked my interest as a resource I can carry with me into my future career. I found each of the climate solutions discussed in the book to be interesting, though the ones related to agriculture drew me in most, as I would one day like to help develop farming practices that are less soil intensive and can benefit the environment. I found it interesting that silvopasture is not more widespread, as it seems relatively simple to implement. There is a non-zero chance that when I take the step into graduate research, I will go in the direction of silvopasture and other similar alternative farming methods in order to help these practices develop and become easier to implement.

While the books related to my major were clearly impactful, I found the literature and resources related to critical thinking and the scientific method to be interesting as well. I have been taking college level science courses since my junior year of high school, so I can say with confidence that I am familiar with the scientific method. What I like about the hypothetico-deductive method is the emphasis on developing and testing multiple hypotheses. During the last three semesters, a time where I have applied this was when I was taking ENST 200: Fundamentals of Soil Science. The lab portion of this course allowed students to test a personal soil sample, taken from somewhere either on or off campus, and determine the properties of the sample such as texture, color, pH, soil organic carbon, and nutrient levels. These experiments culminated in the development of a personal soil report, where students were asked to draw conclusions about these properties and how they relate to one another. This paper challenged my thinking by forcing me to ask myself not only how the properties of my soil impacted one another, but also how my soil compared to other samples taken by the class. In many cases, I had to think critically about the results of the experiment in relation to my hypotheses, as there were several samples that acted as outliers which skewed class data. For instance, generally speaking, samples with higher clay content had higher pH values when compared to more sandy soils. This was true as a general trend, but outliers made this seem less obvious. Thus, I had to alter my analysis to account for potential human errors that may have led to these changes.

While ENST 200 was a class I took for my major, the classes I took to satisfy SGC requirements were enriching to me as well. Due to being in the ENST department, there was a heavy amount of overlap between SGC requirements and classes I already had to take for my major. One such class was BSCI 126: Pollinators in Crisis. This class delved into the role pollinators have in our society, and how different aspects of climate change and human activities have impacted pollinator populations. This class felt reminiscent of topics we covered last semester, as the primary focus was on the impacts of climate change as opposed to the solutions. The final project for this class was to create an infographic about a related topic of our choice, as long as it pertained to pollinator health. My project was on Integrated Pest Management (IPM), and reminded me of some of the agriculture based climate solutions we discussed in SGC, as IPM is concerned with maintaining environmental health in crop systems. Another class that I took both for my major and to satisfy an SGC requirement was ENST 233: Introduction to Environmental Health. Taking this class while being in SGC lectures helped enhance my learning in both, as each class covered similar topics. My favorite part of this class was the discussion, as we were able to talk about environmental topics in small groups and hear many varying perspectives. My favorite discussion in this class was when we delved into forest fragmentation and urban wildlife. As someone who grew up in very rural areas, I rarely encountered urban wildlife as there was often sufficient habitat for animals like deer to reside. However, many people in the class came from cities such as Baltimore or more urban parts of P.G. County. Hearing their perspectives on the subject was interesting, as I likely would not have considered their points otherwise. This reminded me of colloquium, as we similarly got into groups at times to share perspectives.

I felt that some group discussions during colloquium were more beneficial to my learning than others. While others seemingly disagreed, I felt that the group assignments this semester were extremely helpful. When we were discussing the solutions laid out in Drawdown, having each member of the group act as an expert on the subject helped me to stay motivated in completing my parts of the assignment, so that other people did not miss out on this information. One of my favorite memories from scholars in general was the Who Pays for Science group assignment which developed into us roleplaying as nations trading and selling resources in order to implement different forms of energy generation. Seeing everyone walk around and negotiate with each other in order to get more land, money, or resources was so much fun. However, some of the other group assignments from earlier semesters felt forced at times. It is possible that my group members were at times to blame for this, but I wish the earlier assignments were more collaborative, as opposed to working on a worksheet together.

I personally contributed to SGC through the Peer Mentor program. It has been very interesting being on the other side of the program, and trying to coordinate events. There has been some nostalgia as well. Katy Banovic, our peer mentor captain, hosted several events which other peer mentors such as myself participated in, where we helped the SGC freshman with their HTML assignments. I expected the freshman to struggle in the same ways that I did, however each student brought a unique challenge that we often needed to collaborate on in order to tackle. Another aspect of being a peer mentor that I found to be nostalgic was participating in Service Day again. I remember last year, many of the peer mentors did not participate in the activity, and instead provided feedback and support from the sidelines. I found a lot of enjoyment in getting into the ponds alongside the freshmen I was mentoring and helping them clear out the weeds. Though I wish more of my so-called “mentees” participated in my events or face-to-face check-ins, it's been very rewarding to interact with those who have participated and try to guide them as much as I can.

It has been similarly rewarding to find ways to communicate issues surrounding climate change to my family in ways that feel not only more hopeful but also in ways that can communicate the impacts humans have had on climate change. My dad’s side of the family is very conservative, and many of them are skeptical about the fact that climate change is even happening, let alone what the cause of it is. Prior to taking this course, I felt isolated, and felt that there was no way to connect with this part of my family when it comes to the work I am passionate about. However, learning about the reasoning behind climate skepticism revealed a side of the issue that made it feel more approachable. Now, when I talk about climate change, I understand better how to frame it in a way that allows me to connect with my family. Rather than approach it with statistics which they see as a sham anyways, I find it easier to talk about the aspects of climate change that resonate with them. I speak about how our soil is being depleted, and the cost of groceries will thus continue to rise. I talk about how nature will continue to turn into development, similar to how it has in my hometown. Despite being made to distrust the system, these broader issues are what connect us at a baseline.

Ultimately, it isn't sufficient to say that SGC has had an impact on my college experience. Scholars have allowed me to meet nearly all of my closest friends, as well as my roommate who I wouldn’t trade for the world. These last three semesters have solidified my passion for the environment, and emphasized the importance of finding and implementing climate solutions. Climate change is not nebulous. It is happening now, and will continue to get worse until politicians are willing to make big changes. My goal is to one day develop research and new practices that can help us restore the climate as much as possible, and my time spent in this class has helped me to piece together how I can one day achieve this.

Last modified: 09 December 2024