Jonathan Rawley

Environmental and Natural Resources

Year in Review

4/28/16

At the beginning of this year I came into ENR Scholars very opened minded and excited to see how the year would turn out. In my new adventure at The Ohio State and being in a place I have never seen before, I found a comforting place which was ENR. I remember the first service day we did as a group with FLOW; working on the Olentangy and cleaning up the surrounding area. This day really set the tone for that semester and how ENR Scholars would be for the rest of the year. Being a part of ENR scholars have given me so much more than I thought going into my freshman year of college. I found some of my best friends, and a group of people who actually care about each other and want to make the world a better place. At the beginning of the semester I really didn’t know a lot about conservation and what I could do besides recycling to make a difference in my community and even the world. I found simple and challenging ways other than recycling to make a difference. Many choices that I have made this year has really shaped how I am as a person and how I look at issues that affect the world that pertain to the environment.

At the beginning of the semester, I would take the bus, sit in the shower for way longer than needed, and keep the lights on for longer than needed. Being a part of ENR Scholars I realized how wasteful I was being and how I needed to change my bad habits so I could be more eco-friendly. So far these changes have really shown me what I can do as one person to make a difference and be aware of what I am using and ways I can reduce my carbon footprint on my home which is earth. I have also learned how to educate people on what they can do themselves to make little differences. Looking towards the future I want to try more challenging things including; lessen driving and substitute a bike, reduce the amount of overall energy I use as a person. These are distant goals which will allow me to strive for something in the future, to keep me motivated as an eco-friendly being.

Doing things as small as turning lights off, or taking shorter showers, or walking more. These things make you feel good because you know you are helping the planet that we need to take care of to have for future generations. This is the best way to promote doing challenges like this, and to keep motivated as a person to keep being eco-friendly and help save the earth. As a college student living on campus, I take a lot from the earth that include meat, energy, fuel, and many more. The Ohio State University consumes major amount of resources to run this “small City” of a campus. Being 1 of thousands of students it is hard to see how much you take, and what you give back. The Earth month challenge really showed me how much I take and how little I give back. The challenge opened my eyes to what I can do, and what I need to do to help give back what I take.

As I mentioned in the last paragraph the Earth Month challenge has really shown me what I can do to make a difference in conservation and the environment. The Earth Month Challenge for was the center of the year for ENR Scholars because it really showed what ENR is about. Going through each week it showed what you can do to as a 1 person, and what you can do to influence hundreds of people. My choices for the Earth Month challenge I chose things that I knew I could do on campus and that would make a difference for me. Some of my weeks were easy and others were more challenging. I learned that many things that are convenient aren’t always the most sustainable. Taking the stairs when you are used to just using an elevator, or taking a colder shower when normally it’s a hot shower for several minutes. All of these things can be fixed with simple ways to be more sustainable and reduce the amount of energy you use as person. Looking to the future I hope to continue the things I learned this semester and try new things to challenge me to be more sustainable. Looking back ENR scholars is one of the things that has made my year amazing. My first semester I was lost and ended up on academic probation, and really didn’t know what I wanted from college or my future. Why I changed my major and being a part of the scholars program gave me the confidence to turn around my GPA and be excited to go to college and be a part of something.

In conclusion I want to just thank ENR Scholars and the staff apart of the program. It was a great year, and I am excited for next semester and hope to be a part of this great organization.

Thank you,

John