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Month: August 2015
Year in Review
Coming into college, I knew a few things about how reduce your carbon footprint, how to recycle, and other ways to be more environmentally friendly, but I was still fairly naïve and did not take much action. I recycled when it was convenient, although looking back I frequently recycled the wrong things, and made a small effort to unplug things when they are not in use. Now, at the end of my first year, when a friend was cleaning out their fridge and throwing away old food, I found myself cleaning out an old glass jar of their jelly so that I could recycle it instead of letting them put it in the garbage. I have also found myself taking the stairs to the tenth floor of Morill, and know more about how to properly remove honey suckle than I ever thought I would. What caused me to make these changes? Environment and Natural Resources Scholars did. Of course, I cared about the environment before I joined ENR Scholars, but the program showed me dozens of different ways that I could actually make a significant impact in my daily life and gave me the push I needed to actually make a change. Not only did I start taking steps to limit my carbon footprint, like taking the stairs, but I also decided to make an effort to actively improve the environment around me by removing invasive species and planting trees throughout the year.
One thing that really pushed me to try harder in my daily life to be more environmentally friendly was the Earth Month Challenge assignment. My more difficult challenges, which were to take cold showers and use the steps, would have never seemed like a realistic possibility before Earth Month, but during the last few weeks of the assignment, I was forced to at least give them a try, and after doing these challenges a few times, I realized that they were not that bad. Additionally, while I thought the challenges of the first few weeks, like turning off appliances, were more than achievable, before April I almost never thought about them enough to do them on a regular basis. The fact that I was keeping track of what I was doing and that I was receiving a grade pushed me to remember to turn the lights and TV off every time no one was using them and to try some new ways to be eco-friendly, which showed me that I can do more than I think and made the assignment into an overall enjoyable experience. In addition to this, by logging my activities online and adding up the carbon and money savings of each challenge I did, I was able to actually see what difference I can make. When people talk about the environment, they often tell you how many tons of carbon or Kilowatt-hours of energy you can save, but to see a dollar amount put on each activity, and to see how significant the sum of them all could be, really made the numbers mean something to me. Seeing, through this, that the change I can make really does make a difference is a large part of what made me want to keep doing the challenges I began for this assignment, and it also opened my mind to trying even more new things.
Finally, after seeing how easy some of the most difficult-seeming challenges were, there are a few others I would like to try. One of the challenges that I would like to try most is to become a vegetarian for one, or multiple days a week. Almost all of my favorite foods include meat, so I have never really thought of myself as the type of person to become vegetarian, but I have also seen the enormous difference that doing this for even one day a week can make, so I think it would be worth it to try. Tin addition to this, I would like to try to spend a week or more with the rue that I am not allowed to drink anything out of plastic bottle. Whether or not I get a drink from the gas station when I stop for gas makes no significant difference to me, however the bottle that it would come in does have a significant impact on the environment. If I can remind myself to stop buying plastic bottles like this for even a little while, the habit will likely stick and I will likely stop buying them forever.
Overall, my experience with ENR this year has been a very positive one. Not only has the program made me more motivated to do my part, but it has also showed me new ways that I can do that. After spending a year learning about different aspects of plant and animal biology, spending time camping, and putting in the work to actually help a hurt ecosystem, I have gained a much greater appreciation for the world that we live in. Environment and Natural Resources Scholars has changed my outlook for the better and made e a much more conscious person.
G.O.A.L.S.
[ “G.O.A.L.S.” is a place where students write about how their planned, current, and future activities may fit into the Honors & Scholars G.O.A.L.S.: Global Awareness, Original Inquiry, Academic Enrichment, Leadership Development, and Service Engagement. For more information, go to: http://honors-scholars.osu.edu/e-portfolio. Delete these instructions and add your own post.
Global Awareness: Students cultivate and develop their appreciation for diversity and each individual’s unique differences. For example, consider course work, study abroad, involvement in cultural organizations or activities, etc .
Original Inquiry: Honors & Scholars students understand the research process by engaging in experiences ranging from in-class scholarly endeavors to creative inquiry projects to independent experiences with top researchers across campus and in the global community. For example, consider research, creative productions or performances, advanced course work, etc.
Academic Enrichment: Honors & Scholars students pursue academic excellence through rigorous curricular experiences beyond the university norm both in and out of the classroom.
Leadership Development: Honors & Scholars students develop leadership skills that can be demonstrated in the classroom, in the community, in their co-curricular activities, and in their future roles in society.
Service Engagement: Honors & Scholars students commit to service to the community.]
Career
[“Career” is where you can collect information about your experiences and skills that will apply to your future career. Like your resume, this is information that will evolve over time and should be continually updated. For more information, go to: http://honors-scholars.osu.edu/e-portfolio. Delete these instructions and add your own post.]
Artifacts
Saplings Mentor Interview
My Saplings Mentor is named Brian Hood and he is a sophomore majoring in environmental science. He was originally going to major in biology, however he realized that majoring in environmental science would be more relevant to what he wants to do. After college, his ideal job would be to work for the EPA doing field research in the mountains of California studying aquatic invertebrates in cold water streams. Because this job would involve research, he wants to eventually get a master’s degree and possibly even a PhD, but first he would like to take a gap year to either travel or to work at an internship. What I learned from this is that you should not be afraid of changing your life plan because now is the best time to do it, and almost no one is really sure what they want to do when they first enter college. When asked what the most important thing he has learned outside of the classroom was, Brian actually said that it was to be flexible. He said that most students actually change their major at least once, and although you might end up not needing a few of the classes you have already taken, if you do change, it will be worth it. It is far better to change now than to go all the way through college in the wrong major and then have to go back later, or worse work at a job that you dislike for the rest of your life. This made me think about whether or not my current major is actually the right one for me and because of this, I am going to try to involve myself in student organizations that are related to majors other than my own so that I can get a feel for what I am truly interested in.
Brian and I also talked about having a plan B in case your plans for after college do not work out. His plan B is to be a Zumba instructor because that is something he loves, in fact he is training to be a Zumba instructor at the RPAC currently, and is something he would be okay with doing as his career. From this I took away two things: that it is important to have a plan B because sometimes life doesn’t work out as planned, and that it is important to have passions and pursue them. Brian explained that he really enjoys doing Zumba and wanted to find a way that he could make it a bigger part of his life. This led him to apply to become a Zumba instructor at the RPAC and now he trains for four hours on Sunday in addition to doing Zumba during the week. Seeing that he was able to find a way to get more involved in Zumba and even get paid for while still keeping up with school showed me that is is possible to be serious about a hobby without it hurting school and made me want to get more involved in my own hobbies. Also, although his plan B was not elaborately planned out, he still had one and even though it was not his dream job, it still involved doing something he loves. Until now, I did not really have a plan B in case things did not work out the way I thought they would, but listening to Brian has gotten me t think about how I can make my passions into a plan B for myself.
Finally, Brian and I talked about different activities he had participated in so far. Last year he was a member of the zoology club, which visited the big cat sanctuary and learned about all types of animals, and this year he is involved with FLOW, which he discovered through ENR scholars. Of all of the opportunities he has participated in, Brian said that he was most glad to have been in ENR scholars because it helped him socially and introduced him to other organizations he is now involved in.
Overall, Brian’s advice to me was to simply be flexible. Whether you are trying to decide on a major, join an organization, or even study for a class, you should always be open to change. If you create a plan for yourself and don’t allow yourself to be flexible, then when life doesn’t work out perfectly it will stress you out, but if you are flexible and allow yourself to be open to change, things will come much more easily.
About Me
My name is Michael Wilson and I am a graduate of Gilmour Academy in Gates Mills Ohio. I am also a member of the class of 2019 at The Ohio State University and a member of Environment and Natural Resources Scholars. In high school, I played basketball for one year, football for two years, was on the track and field team in the pole vaulting event for one year, and was a four year member of the lacrosse team. My other hobbies include mountain biking, rock climbing, hiking, camping, skateboarding, and snowboarding. One of my favorite outdoor experiences, and one of my favorite experiences all together, was when I went camping with friends at a camp site near Cleveland called Nelson Ledges Quarry Park. We went for two nights and jumped off of a cliff into an artificial lake created by an old quarry in the camp site. Another meaningful experience that I had while in high school was when drove across the country with my sister and uncle visiting family members. We went from Cleveland to Tennessee, then to Texas and Colorado and back to Cleveland, visiting family members in each state. I got to see more of the country than I ever have before, go hiking in the mountains in Colorado, and see family who I almost never do. Two of my other hobbies include playing the guitar and the piano. I chose to join the Environment and Natural resources Scholars program because I enjoy doing many things outdoors and hoped to meet others who share similar interests. I have also always been environmentally conscious and wanted to join a program where I could learn more about the environment and go on service trips where I can make a difference.
My major is electrical engineering, which I chose because I have always been interested in how electronics and computers function. I became especially interested in electronics when I took physics in high school and learned how circuits function, which is when I decided I wanted to be an electrical engineer. For my senior project I shadowed an electrical engineer at the NASA Glenn Research Center in Cleveland Ohio for a week, and it was then that I realized I wanted to work for NASA eventually. I had always been interested in space technology, so a career in electrical engineering at NASA seemed perfect.