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Month: August 2015
Year in Review
This year has been an extremely transformational experience for me. Being a member of ENR Scholars has broadened so many aspects of my life, personally and professionally. This picture demonstrates a few different things about this past year. This is from when we went to Waterman farm for apple picking to help out the farm and donate the apples to Mid-Ohio Foodbank. I learned so much about service this year. I learned how important service is to a community and how easily I can engage myself within a community and that there is always work to be done as long as there is a will. However, I also learned quite a bit about having fun while doing important work. Some of the apple picking required me (being one of the shortest and most able to climb in small spaces) to climb the apple trees to clean them of fruit. This activity really helped me to bond with the other scholars and to appreciate my work even more.
Our trip to Hocking Hills also taught me a few important lessons. I’ve always been interested in outdoor adventure but this trip gave me a whole new perspective, specifically because of our hike. Spending hours on a trail with so many interesting people brought up many different types of conversations. There was a lot of talk about the trail and the area and the conservation of such beautiful places. There was also a lot of talk about personal matters and I was so shocked by how quickly I got to know everyone. This brought me closer to the idea that one of the best ways to live is to keep an interest in the planet and the people because of how closely we’re intertwined. I also learned to put down my phone a little more and engage face-to-face as often as possible.
The ENR scavenger hunt in the short north was a wonderful way for me to get to know Columbus. I bonded with my group so quickly and walking through a completely new and undiscovered (to me at least) place was a whole new type of adventure. I learned how much I loved Columbus and that new cities and places are always exciting.
This year, through what I have learned through ENR Scholars and personal interests, I decided to change my diet and it has been an important transformation in my life. I had to re-learn how to eat so that I was healthy and felt good and I was thrown into a new world of exciting food since I cut out meat. This lesson has helped me become healthier since I have become more interested in food and to incorporate healthy habits in even more parts of my life.
Attending the dinner for Will Allen was a huge honor and showed me all that Ohio State and ENR Scholars has to offer. Within my first month of college I was given the opportunity to meet an influential author and revolutionary businessman. He gave such an inspiring speech and I met many members of the faculty. This opportunity was incredibly unique and inspiring.
During this year, I also became a Sierra Club Outings Leader. Through being inspired by ENR Scholars and my studies, I was inspired to follow my passions of outdoor adventure and leadership. Becoming involved with the Sierra Club has helped me to become involved in a transformational conservation organization.
Perhaps one of the most important things I have learned throughout this year is the value of my own and other’s voices. I learned how important it is to have a passion and to follow through with it. Progressive politics have been an interest of mine since the beginning of high school but I never realized how much a single person could change the world until I became more involved throughout this year. I have started to grow my confidence to truly follow what I care about.
The most important thing that I learned about myself this year was my place and my value in a community. Gaining meaningful relationships with so many different types of people has widened my horizons so much and helped me to see the many different cogs and mechanisms of a society on a small and large level. I am incredibly grateful for all of the opportunities I have been blessed with this year.
Earth Month Challenge Proposal
For Earth Month Challenge, I have decided to focus on waste and toxicity for my challenge. Throughout my four weeks, I plan to challenge myself to try four different methods of saving my resources, reducing my waste, and reducing the toxicity I contribute to.
For the first week, my main challenge will be to only buy products with little to no packaging in order to reduce my landfill waste. For the second week, my challenge is to not use the disposable cups when I buy coffee, and if I buy coffee from the cafes at all, to use a reusable thermos. My third week will focus on eating and buying only all natural or organic products in order to reduce the toxicity from pesticides and highly processed food. For the last week of the challenge, I will challenge myself to not throw away any organic food waste, whether that is by not over-filling my plate or composting. These challenges will be cumulative.
I think the most difficult part of this challenge will be finding new products that I can buy that will suit these requirements. However, that is the main reason I chose this focus area, so that I can learn what products are best for the environment and how to better vote with my wallet.
Job Shadowing with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
Camping trips, morning hikes, exploring nature preserves, and a love of science throughout my childhood all led me to one place; destruction of the planet and species must stop. Throughout high school, I struggled with my love of biology and I was always unsure whether I wanted to work in a lab as a geneticist or if I wanted to put my love of nature towards conservation efforts. After reading numerous articles about both fields, working in a lab at a hospital, and the evidence for the destruction of the planet building, my choice became clear. I loved research, but I knew I needed to be in the field, or somewhere that would allow me to see the direct impact of my work. During Dan Everson’s presentation in class, his description of his work fit all of those criteria and I couldn’t miss out on the opportunity to possibly see what kind of difference I may be able to make in my future.
After speaking with Mr. Everson, he invited me to his office so that I may job shadow one of the biologists. Mr. Everson designed a different type of job shadowing day for me since the summer season was coming to an end and the fieldwork demands were lessoning. Each biologist in the office was given one hour with me to go over their particular work in the office and the field work that they partake in. I loved this method, it allowed me to experience more than one particular job in the field and I was exposed to multiple different people with different education backgrounds and different research experience.
I started the day off with Mr. Everson. He introduced me to everyone in the office and sat down with me for an hour to answer any questions and give me an overview of the type of work done by the office. This is when I learned of the type of people that worked in the office and the type of work that they did. Each person has a biology background and a passion for the planet and the creatures that live on it. Each biologist also has to have strong people skills and a passion for learning. These skills increase the success of projects and make their information more accurate and plentiful. I was delighted to find that passion was the main quality that Mr. Everson looked for in his employees.
I then spent the next hour with Karen Hallberg, a wilflife biologist hat graduated with a PhD from Ohio State in Evolution, Ecology, and Organismal Biology. This also was a great relief to hear, as this is my own program and knowing I am on the right track was incredibly reassuring. Karen told me how her main job is to work with the Ohio Department of Transportation to ensure that each project considers and abides by the Endangered Species Act so that no endangered species are harmed because of human interference. She also informed me of the work she has done in the past, where she studied coyotes and tracked their populations. This type of work greatly intrigued me since Karen spent many years out in the field in order to aid in the recovery of a species.
Next, I shadowed another wildlife biologist, Jeremy, who worked with Ohio coal companies. He showed me the maps of Ohio coal mining to emphasize the shear size of this threat to wildlife. I also learned the many different policies involved with mining and how miners are required to keep the wildlife intact after their work. Jeremy’s research ensured that the land has actually recovered from the mining and that it is intact. He also introduced me to one of the most threatened species in Ohio: mussels. I handled samples and learned about many of the endangered mussel species in Ohio and how each of the unique projects work towards preserving them.
After lunch, I shadowed Megan Seymour, another Ohio State graduate and wildlife biologist. She walked me through her most recent projects, which were all incredibly fascinating. She is currently working on the reduction in population in endangered bat species due to the increase in wind power. She works on how to regulate windmills throughout the day so that they can reduce the number of bats killed by them. This concept fascinated me since it is necessary to find that unique balance between sustainability, such as green energy from windmills, and conservation, such as making sure endangered species are not wiped out due to human activity. Megan also worked on saving the Lake Erie Water Snake. She worked in the field for months near Lake Erie with a graduate student that helped her raise awareness so that people would stop killing the snakes and build their homes or properties with a sustainable design so that the snakes could survive in their habitat. Megan conducted the research that put the snakes on the threated and then the endangered species list, and then she continued her research and conservation efforts which led to the species being removed from both lists. This was one of my favorite parts of the day, because I would love a job where I could personally be responsible for the recovery of an entire species.
Lastly, I visited Keith Lott, who helped me conduct my own virtual experiment using the office’s mapping software. I had a road project I had to analyze and make sure it did not interfere with any endangered species, and when it did, I had to modify the project so that it benefited both people and protected the endangered species. I also did another activity with Keith. He placed a small stuffed bear in the brush next to the office with a tracking device on it and allowed me to find the creature with a bat sonar detector, to simulate when they track their marked organisms in the field. It was interesting that I was still able to see the extent of their fieldwork even though we were only in the office.
This experience was extremely beneficial to me. Everyone in the office was so kind to me and they were actually very excited to show someone their work in order to get more people interested in conservation. Megan’s work greatly fascinated me because it is the kind of work I have always been interested in. Near the end of the day, Karen Hallberg welcomed me back into her office and gave me a few gifts, many journals I could read through about current conservation efforts and posters of endangered species. She also left me with an invitation to volunteer with them when they have opportunities for students and with information about possibly interning at their office, which is exactly how two of their current biologists began working in the office. This opportunity opened so many doors for me and only reiterated the fact that I am on the right track for my career.
Saplings Mentor Meeting
My saplings mentor, Zoe Tyrity, was incredibly helpful and kind during our meeting. Zoe is a rank three Evolution and Ecology major, like myself, and she is class ranked as 3. She offered a wide variety of information to help me through not only my first year, but for the years to come during my college experience. I asked a series of questions during out meeting in order to get to know Zoe and the university better.
- How did you decide on the major you have chosen?
Zoe was always very interested in animals while growing up but she also found an interest in biology. While looking at majors and their requirements, Zoe found evolution and ecology to be the perfect combination between her love of science and her love of animals. She was also fascinated by the courses available for the major, such as Dynamics of Dinosaurs. Discovering a major with such a wide range of choices and interesting classes helped Zoe make her decision. This helped me realize that it would be helpful for me to look deeper into my class requirements to discover how to get the most out of my major. I also realized how much I had in common with Zoe when it comes to our career goals.
- What types of volunteer hours, internships, etc. have you done since you have been a student at OSU? How did you first get involved with them?
Zoe became involved with many of her volunteering and internship opportunities through ENR Scholars. She learned that volunteer work builds connections with important people in her field and helped her experience more things that apply to her career. Zoe also learned the value of exploring connections, whether that is with people at school or in her personal life. She earned a research position at the Natural History Museum at the Smithsonian in Washington D.C. over this coming summer through connections from a family friend. I thought this was very helpful information because it outlined the importance of staying involved in ENR Scholars for my own and others’ benefit.
- What ENR Scholars opportunities are you glad you participated in?
Zoe participated in many of the ENR events such as wetland projects and rock climbing sessions at the Ohio State Outdoor Adventure Center. She also participated in many of the ENR volunteering opportunities. However, her favorite ENR event was the Hocking Hills camping trip because of how close it made her to the other scholars. I also enjoyed the camping trip for the same reasons and I hope to have a similar amount of opportunities through ENR as Zoe did. I also realized how important it is to find my own ways to become involved outside of ENR, such as going to OAC on my own time and finding my own volunteering opportunities and clubs.
- What do you plan to do with your major after graduation? Graduate or Professional School? Enter the work force?
Zoe’s plans for graduation are not set in stone but she has a fairly good idea of how she wants the next few years to go. She plans to take advantage of AP credit and graduate a year early and then hopefully acquire a job related to her major. She hopes this job would possibly be a continuation of her internship at the Smithsonian or at an organization such as the Cleveland aquarium. Once exploring her career options, Zoe plans to consider different paths such as graduate school, museum work, conservation work, or research. These ideas directly corresponded to how I hope to spend my time after high school. I hope to have a similar type of job and to hopefully go to graduate school if need be. Knowing that a second year has a similar path in mind was reassuring for my major choices and my current path.
- How do you balance academics and involvement? Do you have any tips?
Zoe has found a few different ways to balance academics, involvement, and time with friends. She has found that scheduling a few classes with friends helps to motivate her to put in as much effort as possible and it helps to have friends to study with. She has also found that keeping an updated planner is very helpful with schoolwork and involvement as it can show you the time you have available and keeps activities and schoolwork organized and well spread out. Zoe also found that becoming involved in residence activities helps to make more friends and finding time to relax in the midst of working hard is beneficial to everyone. This advice was extremely helpful because it made me realize being organized is the most efficient way to get the most out of both my personal life and my academic life in college.
About Me
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