For the last three semesters, SGC has significantly altered and improved my understanding of global change as it realtes to the climate. It has also introduced me to the dangers of logical fallacies, the importance of various scientific methods, and much more. My experiences have also helped me understand how we as students and individuals can help create a more resilient future.
Outside of colloquium, SGC has helped me understand news related items, especially those related to climate change. In my chemistry lecture, my professor showed our class an article on how many airline companies are aiming to reduce emmissions in order to be more sustainable. When I read through the article, I remembered learning in SGC how many post-industrial transportation methods, including planes, emit high levels of carbon dioxide. CO2 a greenhouse gas that can stay in the atmosphere for over a thousand years after it has intially been released. This article also discussed alternative fuels, a topic that was discussed in SGC. My knowledge from colloquium helped me better understand that portion of the article.
In terms of helping me understand my major, SGC has been very helpful. In fact, it helped me switch my major from bioengineering to chemical engineering. This is because chemical engineering has applications within the energy and renewable energy field, something that has become more important to me due to my time in SGC. Specifically, the search for solutions project helped me realize how many options there are for alternative fuels that could reduce our dependence on carbon-emitting sources. This project further strengthened my resolve to pursue chemical engineering.
Within the supporting courses I took for SGC, I further understood some of the concepts discussed in colloquium. One course, that happened to reinforce what I learned in colloquium and what I need to know for my major, was PHYS261: Vibrations, Waves, Heat, Electricity & Magnetism Lab. As a lab course, this class was able to show me the applications of physics concepts in real life. I was able to test for certain conditions and vary parameters to see what the effect would be. It became much easier for me to visualize the concepts we learned in lecture. Another course that helped me understand my major better was CHEM242: Organic Chemistry II. In this class, we learned about the polymers which make up plastic. These plastics are made in huge quantities to help humanity live our lifestyle. However, they are nevertheless bad for the environment. Colloquium has helped me recognize this fact, and now I try to image alternative options I can employ in my own life.
Due to the nature of the topics we learn about, there are many opportunities for collaboration in SGC. This class' projects and homeworks allowed for intellectual discussions of climate change, and how we are able to mitigate its effects. The living-learning community provided proximity to people in my scholars program at almost all times (we lived in the same building!). Discussions about colloquium or projects were commonplace and further contributed to my learning.
I feel that I have been a good contributing member to SGC. I participate in all colloquium projects with enthusiasm. Each time there is a colloquium project, I try my best to do my part as thoroughly and properly as I can. Additionally, I am a Scholars Peer Mentor, so I interact with the freshman in SGC on a regular basis. I have planned events for my mentees to attend and I believe they are enjoying their time in SGC as well.
My scholars experience has already altered my future career path, pushing me to pursue chemical engineering. As a upperclassman, I expect that my time in SGC will keep me aware of logical fallacies and other lapses in critical thinking which I am sure to encounter.