Author: wilson.3317

Earth Month Commitment

The area that I am choosing to focus on for Earth Month is Energy and Transportation. I was drawn to this area because, as an engineer, I am very conscious of energy consumption and efficiency. In addition to this, I attended the presentation on energy at Morill Tower and seeing how much energy we use as a dorm and how much room for improvement there is made me want to do my part. Fifteen things that someone could do to decrease the amount of energy they use and make Morill Tower more efficient include: (1) take colder showers, (2) turn off the water when you brush your teeth, (3) take shorter showers, (4) bike to places off campus instead of taking the bus, (5) walk to and from class every day, (6) take the stairs rather than the elevator, (7) turn the lights off when you leave a room, (8) unplug your phone and laptop when they are fully charged instead of leaving them plugged in all night, (9) do a “light bulb raid” and stop by different places around campus to replace their lightbulbs with more energy efficient ones, (10) go outside instead of playing video games or watching TV, (11) turn your laptop off when you are not using it instead of letting it go into sleep mode, (12) set the thermostat to a few degrees colder (or warmer in the summer) and dress for the weather, (13) do laundry only when you have a full load, (14) do not turn all of the lights on in a room unless you need them all, (15) Wash your clothes with cold water whenever possible.

One good resource around campus that will help you save energy is the CoGo, which is a bike rental service that allows you to get around campus without creating any waste and without having to worry about getting your bike stolen. Another resource that would be helpful is the Car2Go service, which allows you to rent a car and pay a small amount based on how long you use it. Not only does this cost incentivize you to not let the car run for too long, but all of the cars used by the business are smart cars, which are extremely efficient. Finally, a good resource for someone who wants to reduce their energy impact is the OSU Office of Sustainability because you can learn anything you need to know about how to save energy there, including how to get involved and ways that you can personally save energy.

One good website that can help you to reduce your environmental impact is the World Wildlife Fund website, which has a great page that gives examples of how to save energy in almost every aspect of your life. A second example of a website that is extremely helpful in reducing your environmental impact is the FLOW website.  The purpose of trying to use less energy is to try to limit environmental destruction, but rather than limiting it, FLOW is actually trying to restore the environment, thus making your lifestyle less harmful overall if you volunteer with them. A third website that could be helpful is a site called berrybreeze.com, which has a page that discusses many ways to purchase food that is better for the environment. The website also gives several examples of foods that have the least environmental impacts, which can help you eat healthier and keep the Earth healthier. Finally, a great website that can help you reduce your environmental impact is the OSU ARC website, specifically the outdoor recreation page. This page gives numerous examples and opportunities to get outside and away from electronics to participate in activities that have little to no impact on the environment and use almost no energy.

Sustainable Design in Your Career

The two Ted Talks that I watched were titled Leyla Acaroglu: Paper Beats Plastic? How to rethink environmental folkore and Van Jones: The Economic Injustice of Plastic ad both were in some way abut plastic and how they impact the environment. The first was about engineering products, such as refrigerators and plastics, in ways that make them easier to use in sustainable ways. This struck me as an interesting and important point because I am majoring in aerospace engineering and therefore need to keep in mind how people will use the products that I will design. The point that Leyla Acaroglu brought up that was certainly true for me is that most people don’t think about how a product will be used as being the culprit of the environmental harms it creates, most only think about its creation and disposal. She pointed out that poorly designed refrigerators could be the source of a significant amount of wasted food and oversized electric tea kettles could be causing significant wastes of electricity. More than anything, this helped me become aware of the fact that I may actually be the source of pollution because of my particular usage of everyday products, which will certainly make me think more frequently about whether or not I am using things in a sustainable way and help me change my usage accordingly.

The second Ted Talk was about another thing that many people do not think about, but this time it had to do with the demographics being affected most by pollution and what parts of the manufacturing process affect them. Van Jones talked about how not only does the manufacturing of a plastic product release toxic chemicals, but sometimes the recycling of such products can be toxic as well. In many areas of the world, recycling plastic simply means to burn it and release dangerous fumes into the air. On top of this, it takes fuel to get the plastics to the place where they are burned. While there is not much I can do about this process, one thing I can do is try to do use less plastics. Finally, he linked our obsession with disposable products with what seems to be our view of people as disposable. What this means is that many people are extremely concerned with making sure every bit of plastic is recycled, but are totally okay with people being “thrown away” in the justice system. Not only is this not fair to the people who are incarcerated when they don’t need to be, but keeping someone in prison costs a significant amount of resources and certainly not good for the environment. Overall, this talk will likely not change my behavior because the issues are on a level that is currently inaccessible to me, but it did change my view of not only plastic production and use, but also the US prison system.

Columbus To Do List

For my Columbus to do list, I chose to go to the Downtown and Franklinton areas. While there were several other lists that seemed interesting to me, I chose this one for three reasons. The first reason was because I plan on remaining a student at The Ohio State University for the next three years and possibly even after that, therefore it will be helpful to know of some good places to eat and interesting things to see downtown, not to mention that it forced me to learn how the bus schedule works. There is also a chance that I will end up working and living in Columbus after college, so I thought it would be a good idea to get some experience navigating new parts of a busy city in order to prepare myself for a future here. The second reason that I chose this list is because I have a lot of family that lives in the area, so knowing how to get to and what to expect places like the science and art museums could be helpful when my family members want to get together with me and do something. The third and final reason that I chose this list is because, although I have family in the area, I have only really been into the city once and did not do much while there, so I wanted to be able to experience the city more. The downtown and Franklinton list seemed to have a little bit of everything, including museums, parks, and places to eat, therefore I chose to go to some of each of those places.

The five locations that I chose to visit were Dirty Frank’s Hot Dog Palace, the Columbus Art Museum, The Scioto Mile, the 16-Bit Barcade, and COSI. Out of these, the two that I was most excited to visit were the Scioto Mile and the 16-Bit Barcade.

The first location that I visited was Dirty Frank’s Hot Dog Palace. To get there, a few friends and I took a bus from campus for about fifteen minutes and then walked for about five or ten, but when we arrived, it was well worth it. Before we were even seated I liked it there because of the décor, which consisted of rock and roll posters, skateboards, and snowboards all over the walls. While the atmosphere was interesting, the food was the best part. I ordered two hot dogs and was a bit skeptical about how a hot dog could be as good as people told me they were, but when my food got to the table I was not disappointed. My only complaint was that for only two hot dogs, it was about eight dollars, but both were delicious so I would go there again anytime. Of course, after having had such a good experience, I would recommend this to any hungry friend.

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               After Dirty Frank’s, we tried to go to the 16-Bit Barcade, which I was very excited for. Unfortunately, when we tried to go in, we were informed that because it was a bar, we had to be 21 to enter, so all we could do was look in and see what it looked like. From the outside, it looked like they had some good games and it probably would have been fun if we had been allowed in. Overall I would say that, if you are already at Dirty Frank’s and are over 21, then you should stop in for a few minutes and at least play some games because of how close it is.

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               The next place on my list was the Scioto Mile, which was also slightly disappointing. The day that I went, it was rainy and slightly cold, so it was not a great day to be outside in the first place, but on top of that, there was construction underway. This meant that there was not a whole lot going on: the outdoor rock wall was not there, the interactive fountain was gone, and the landscape was full of construction equipment, dirt, and a minimal amount of grass. Even though there was not a lot to do, I still walked down the path next to the river for a short time and looked at all of the structures such as pavilions and bridges that were around and those were very nice. Even with the construction, the river was still beautiful and it was an overall good experience. I would go again and recommend it to a friend but I would say to wait a while until the construction is done.

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               The last two places that I visited were the museums: COSI and the Columbus Art Museum. To get to each, I had to take a bus and walk for about fifteen minutes through the city and both had a lot of interesting things to see. At COSI, there were exhibits on space, electricity, and many other science related topics. I was particularly interested in the electricity related exhibit because electrical engineering is my major and it talked about the importance of not being wasteful with electricity, which directly relates to ENR Scholars. The art museum also had some very interesting exhibits, my favorite of which was a combination photograph of the sky at different times of the day. Unfortunately, I do not remember the name of the piece or the artist, but I do remember that, in order to make it, the artist had to take hundreds of photographs of the sky during all times of the day and in all types of weather. They then edited them seamlessly together in order to make one picture. This resulted in it looking like one big sky that was night, day, rainy, and clear all at once.

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Finally, I watched the documentary Columbus Neighborhoods: Downtown & Franklinton and learned a lot about the history of Columbus. The most interesting thing that I learned was that early Columbus had a massive fire problem, with fires occurring every single day of the year. They happened so often that every citizen was required to have a leather fire bucket at their house and whenever a fire occurred in the area, they had to take their bucket and help put it out. Even this was not enough, so the city hired one of the only full time paid fire departments to help the citizens put out the city’s many fires. I also thought it was very interesting that the city had been asking for funding for a brick capital building for a long time and was not getting any, but then the old capital building caught fire and was replaced with a brick building. It is thought that the building was set ablaze by an “unknown” arsonist, which was funny to me.

Overall, I learned that Columbus is an extremely nice city with a lot of fun things to do and see and many delicious places to eat. I did not think that I would be interested in the Art Museum at first, but I fund that it was actually fun once I got there, so I would say to someone else trying to complete this assignment that they should keep an open mind and try something they have not done before because they might actually like it. I would also recommend that, if you are new to Columbus, you should get detailed directions before leaving and bring a smart phone if possible because construction is frequent and changes the bus schedules sometimes, which can make getting to your destination very tricky.

Resume

                                              Michael Wilson

                  1900 Cannon Drive, Columbus, OH 43210, Room 1034

                  Phone: 440-313-4332 n Email: Wilson.3317@osu.edu

 EDUCATION

Gilmour Academy                                                               GATES MILLS, OH 44040

Graduate                                                                                         May, 2015

  • GPA: 3.54
  • Activities:
    • Lacrosse team captain
    • Competitive Debate
  • Relevant Courses:
    • AP Physics B
    • AP Physics C
    • AP Calculus AB
    • AP Calculus BC
    • AP Statistics

THE OHIO STATE UNIVERSITY                                                             COLUMBUS, OH

B.S. Electrical Engineering in progress             Expected Graduation Date: May, 2019

 

EXPERIENCE

 

Alpine valley ski area                                                               CHESTERLAND, OH

Lift Operator                                                December, 2014 – February, 2015

Helped guests on and off of the ski lift.

  • Responsible for safety and satisfaction of guests using ski lifts
  • Responsible for maintenance and line management in lift area
  • Interacted with customers regularly and gave assistance when necessary

CITIZENS LEADERSHIP ACADEMY                                                     CLEVELAND, OH

Volunteer Tutor (fall and winter sessions)                                       2013 – 2015

  • Helped students with homework and studying after school
  • Acted as role model

 

SKILLS

 

  • 3D CAD – Ability to use Solidworks software to make 3D computer models of objects
  • Programming Experience – Ability to write basic code in C++
  • Microsoft Excel – Ability to create graphs, tables, equations, etc. in Microsoft Excel
  • Argument formulation/Public speaking – Learned how to effectively and efficiently formulate and convey an argument to a group through four years of experience in competitive debate
  • Teamwork – Learned how to communicate and work towards a common goal with a team through four years in two-person debate teams and sports teams
  • Leadership – Captain of the Varsity lacrosse team

 

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

lacrosse

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.