Category: Introductions

In this introductory Blog Post, please include the following elements:
1. Describe your previous experience with science including the courses you have taken in college or high school, and explain which ones you liked most, and why?
2. Explain what would you most like to get out of taking this course.
3. Explain which of the four Watershed UGA projects you are most interested in working on and what Watershed UGA could get from having your perspective on this issue.
4. Provide examples of things you might learn relative to civic engagement by helping with this service learning.

Introductions – Harina Som

My name is Harina and I am a second year honors student pursuing the dual degree program in Computer Engineering and M.B.A.

  1. I enjoy science, in high school I took AP Physics and AP Chemistry. Then in college I have taken a few more Physics courses required for my engineering degree.  I enjoy Physics the most because to me Physics seems very logical and is a science used to explain life’s phenomenons such as gravity.
  2. From this course, I would like to get a deeper real world understanding of Biology because the last Biology class I took was honors bio in 9th grade, I have never taken a higher level bio class. Biology was always the science that challenged me the most. Being an engineer, I like to see the logical process when I am learning something which I was not able to see with bio. So through this class I want to get a logical understanding of the subject.
  3. I would ask questions centered around why and how. Such as why are there antibiotics in soil, how does this happen. I believe this will help me get a logical understanding.
  4. I believe students these days like to think about the big picture and how a little thing makes a big difference. So I believe students will want to know how these antibiotics found in soil can help save people and make a positive impact on the world.
  5. I believe I will learn how one persons service can have such a big impact. Then this will lead me to continue to take part in service projects and by others seeing the difference my service is making, they will join in as well.

Hey, I’m Sarah Kate! – Blog Post #1

Hello! My name is Sarah Kate Brewer. I like to play my clarinet in the Redcoat Marching band, and I do NOT like the University of Alabama football team! GO DAWGS!

This introductory biology course will be my first science course at UGA. In high school, I did not take many advanced science classes. I took a physical science class, a chemistry class, an anatomy class, and a biology class. Of these classes, I distinctly remember that while the biology class was the most challenging, it was also my favorite. My teacher was extremely passionate about life sciences and sustainability, and I really enjoyed how enthusiastic she was about having class discussions on hot-topic issues. Because there is a lot of controversy and political/financial debate about certain biological subjects, I really enjoyed learning more about these issues so that way I could engage in these discussions.

I hope that by the end of this semester, I will be able to engage in the global conversation of sustainability. I would also like to contribute confidently in these discussions and help work towards saving our planet. I think I will be able to achieve these things by retaining the information I learn in class.

I would like to know more information about how these antibiotics in the soil are harmful. As a student, I would like to learn more about the biological processes that happen in the soil and how the antibiotics affect these processes.

I think the issues that might appeal most to my fellow students are the financial issues that would arise by promoting composting and sustainability. Specifically, it might interest my fellow students to learn about how these sustainable projects can be funded properly. I believe these financial issues would be most important to them because I believe we have a lot of prospective Terry College graduates in this class.

Something that I might expect to learn from the service learning experience is just how much the community knows or does not know about composting and sustainability. I would be interested to see what the community’s idea of sustainability is and whether or not it seems to be an important issue to them.

Introduction

I’m Sahir, a sophomore doing computer science as his major. I’ve always enjoyed science as a topic. My earliest interest in science started when I was only six or seven years old, starting with a fascination with outer space. One of my earliest memories from that age was hearing about Pluto’s declassification as a planet — something that I remember really bothered me at the time! My mom is a doctor, so I guess I should be inclined to be a doctor as well. However, I’ve seen the amount of effort she has to put into her work, and given how much of the medical profession seems to be testing and bookkeeping, I firmly decided long ago that I was not going to be a doctor.

In school, I always enjoyed our science classes. Up until ninth grade, we had general science classes (except perhaps Life Science in seventh grade), but in high school we had more specific subjects. I took biology as a freshman, physical science as a sophomore, chemistry and human anatomy as a junior, and AP Biology as a senior. Out of all of them, I enjoyed chemistry and the early stages of biology the most. I say “early stages of biology” because in our biology classes, my favorite parts of biology (cellular biology, genetics, and evolution) were covered at the beginning of the semester. I have mixed feelings about ecology and a particular dislike for plant biology — the latter because I feel like plant biology always ends up being a long discussion about pine cones and tree trunks, which feel like low points compared to viruses and DNA.

In all honesty, I wasn’t sure what I expected to get out of this course when I walked in about an hour ago. It felt like I was simply fulfilling one of my degree requirements, walking in because I have to — and hey, as long as we weren’t spending the entire semester talking about legumes, I might just enjoy myself. But after being introduced to what we’re actually doing, I think this class is going to be a lot more enjoyable than I initially thought. I like that it’s going to be interactive and doesn’t look like it revolves entirely around reading and note-taking. So I suppose what I hope to get out of this course is everything it can offer, for me to involve myself in it fully and have some fun with biology on a more active level.

As far as composting is concerned, I think what I’d like to learn more about is how the green bins work, and how composting can be incorporated in a community’s culture. My parents live in Phoenix and have a green bin there, but their bin is for recycling plastic bottles and paper — which is what I always thought the green bin was for! In Reed Hall, we have a recycling bin for cardboard and paper, but there’s a notice above it specifically asking students to throw food items into the catch-all trash can. Should we perhaps be looking to correct that, so that students are also encouraged to compost? That could make a huge difference, especially in the big dorms like Russell and Creswell Halls.

I think this topic could also apply to my classmates, as I’m sure that most people would be much more interested in recycling, composting, and generally going green if it were made easily accessible. What if there was a compost bin in the Bulldog Café, and people could throw out their food waste and their cardboard and paper separately? I’m sure that would make a big difference.

I’ve sometimes considered doing something politically related as a career option. If I ever do do something like that, I’m sure that I would have a strong position on the environment and on being eco-friendly in general. I hope that when we do our outreach,  I can learn a lot about explaining why we need to be more environmentally conscious.

Introduction – Saloni Gupta

  1. In high school, I took biology, chemistry, and physics. So far in college, I have taken Physics 1 and Physics 2. I liked physics the most because it was very math based.
  2. I would like to get an informative biology foundation and am looking forward to learning about the properties of soil and its necessary tie with the environment. I have always wanted to help the environment but felt like I didn’t quite understand all the key aspects or most beneficial ways of doing so, so I am excited to get this knowledge through the visits to the watershed.
  3. I am interested in the Outreach program at Clarke Central High School. It will be interesting to work with the students and researching the bacteria since this is a major issue found in our streams. This is also something I have never done before, so I am looking forward to this!
  4. I think issues about how all this can affect our future will appeal to students. A lot of times it is easy to overlook things like the soil and its future importance in the moment, however, when put into perspective on how it can affect our life 40-50 years from now, it becomes more impactful.
  5. With helping with this service learning project I think It will be eye-opening to see the issues of bacteria in our streams. With the knowledge I have gained I hope to be able to motivate people around me in understanding and helping with the issues. I also hope to better communicate the issues with my peers as well and together we can make help preserve the environment.

Allaina Siler Introduction Post

Hey, my name is Allaina Siler, and here’s my introductory information!

1)   a) Although I haven’t taken any science classes at UGA, in high school I took Honors Biology, Honors Chemistry, Physics, and AP Chemistry.

b) My absolute favorite would have to be Honors Chemistry because I learned a vast amount of information about the different types of chemistry without the rigor and element of anxiety of AP Chem.

2. Because this will be the only biology (and science) class I’ll take at UGA, due to my art major and Spanish minor, I hope to learn as much as I can about how biology can relate to every-day life. Rather than simply viewing diagrams about a topic such as the cycling of nutrients, I want to get involved and experience it on a personal scale.

3.  I’d love to learn the ideal components of soil, as well as the different types of antibiotics that contaminate it, so I’ll understand how humans harm this particular facet of the environment. In addition, I’d hope to understand how I can compost as a student living in a dorm (on meal plan).

4. I think we could most appeal to students by informing them of the impact failing to compost has on their food. Because about every college student loves food, if we told them how their favorite dishes could be enhanced in terms of quality and flavor with the help of composting, they would take it seriously. Or, as global warming is a hot topic, the connection between composting and lessening the greenhouse gases would apply to them.

5. Because I abhor public speaking, I’d love to learn tools to both make myself and my potential audience more comfortable when I’m giving them information. I’d also love to learn different types of visual aids I could use to engage the audience.

Introduction

 

Hello!
My name is Delaney Williams, (I’m the one on the right!) and I’m a graphic design major from Gainesville, Georgia. 
1. I took Honors Biology, Honors Chemistry, and AP Physics in high school and sequentially not taken a science course since. Biology was my favorite course because I felt like the material and content was more readily applied to daily life.
2. I am looking forward to the chance to actually apply the knowledge of the principles we learn to the world around us. Learning the material is great but as an art major, it’s not always easy to see how I can apply it in life. Hopefully, through this course, I will be able to bridge that gap between science and art.
3. In regards to the antibiotics, I’d ask what types are currently being found in our environment and what effect specific antibiotics leave. Are there certain kinds of antibiotics in the soil that have a positive impact, or do they all induce negative impacts? Furthermore, are there different ways of composting to help counteract the effects of different antibiotics?
4. In all honesty, the general student body will prove to be indifferent to the issues surrounding excess antibiotics in the soil. Mostly because they are unaware of the extent of antibiotics in the soil. If you go too far into the technicalities of the situation, students will brush off the danger. However, if you can effectively communicate the ease through which the negative impact can be combated in a simple and engaging way, there may be a few students who are drawn in. Those students will draw others and so forth until there are enough students who are willing to become active participants that the spectators will soon follow.
5. By helping with service learning, I hope to learn the extent of the impact youth and young adults can create, not just through formal education, but through civic engagement.

 

Vivian Lee-Boulton Self Portrait

I attended a liberal arts magnet high school that focused on social studies and English and was rather lacking in good science teachers. I took Biology my freshman year. The teacher was very sweet and I did well in it, but I learned very little and remember even less. However in comparison to the next three years of science, that course might have been my favorite science class from high school. Sophomore year I was stuck with a moody soccer coach for chemistry. My AP Physics teacher my junior year was a talented physicist, but had no idea how to teach to anyone without prior knowledge of several years worth of calculus and physics. Senior year I gave up and took Forensics, a joke class, so that I would get my last science credit and graduate, yet I still ended up with a disaster of a teacher.

I am very interested in the outreach portion of this course. As a public relations major, it is important to me to learn the best way to present information to the general public.

I am most interested in the composting portion of the class. My mom has her own garden and compost, but I have never taken the time to learn more about the actual process of how compost is made. I would love to learn more about the process of turning food waste into nutrient-rich soil.

I think that fellow students would be most interested in the reversing climate change portion of these issues. We are all young adults hoping to still have a healthy world to grow old in, and we want to better our environment.

Working with kids in high school could help teach us how to approach these issues in a way that engages younger generations and ensures that people in the future continue to make an effort to improve the environment.

Reflective Writing Assignment 1 – Self Portrait

  • Describe your previous experience with science:
    • Most of the science classes which I’ve taken have been physics based. I haven’t done anything relating to biology since my freshman year of high school, so it is nice to experience something different from what I’m used to.

 

  • What would you most like to get out of taking this course?
    • I’m really excited to talk about to social implications of how humans impact our environment. I think one of the most interesting anomalies in nature is our ability to shape the world around that, and I think I would enjoy discussing our responsibilities surrounding that.

 

  • As a student, what further information would you ask to find out about antibiotics in the soil or composting?
    • I would like to know what I can do to try to prevent this from spreading and becoming a bigger problem than it has to be.

 

  • Thinking about your fellow students, what issues do you think would appeal most to them about these issues?
    • I think prevention might also appeal to them in the same way that it does to me.

 

  • What are some examples of things you might learn relative to civic engagement by helping with this service learning
    • It will be interesting to see which parts of Athens suffer from antibiotic resistant bacteria, if other cities suffer in similar areas, and the various ways this can be reduced.

 

Idan Kirshenbaum’s Self Portrait

  1. My experience with science began with biology my freshman year of high school. I soon discovered that biology, while a very useful and important science, did not interest me at all. The following year, I took AP Chemistry. Although it was an extremely difficult course (with an equally difficult AP Exam), I enjoyed chemistry for the most part. My junior year, I was finally able to take the science that I enjoyed the most: physics. Although AP Physics 1 and 2 were difficult, I learned a lot in those classes. My senior year of high school I took AP Environmental Science, a class that I found quite boring. Overall, I enjoyed  physics the most because it isn’t an information-retaining science like biology or chemistry, but because I am a math-oriented person, and physics is a science that applies math to the real world, and this helped me understand physics the best.
  2. I would like to get two things from this class. Firstly I would like to acquire an understanding of what we, as humans, do to affect our environment, and how we can fix the negative effects and increase the positive ones. Secondly, I would like a good grade in this class, and I am hoping that the studying and work I will put into this class will yield positive results.
  3. I would like to know how different antibiotics affect plant growth, what antibiotics are found in the soil in different areas, and which antibiotics should we avoid putting in the soil entirely.
  4. I think my fellow students would be interested in finding a way to make composting more accessible and more prevalent.
  5. I am hoping that this class helps me be better able to present scientific data and explain information related to the environment.

Below is a picture of me with my sister who just graduated from UGA at a tailgate that my fraternity had.

First Assignment Self Portrait – Jackson

My previous experiences with science involve a childhood wrapped around my parents’ jobs either teaching environmental science, particularly stream hydrology, or applying science as a civil engineer focused on city water and sewage systems. In high school I took basic biology and chemistry, as well as AP Environmental Science, and in college thus far I have only taken Geology. What I’ve enjoyed most has been that Environmental Science course back in high school, as I felt it dealt with important matters to my and every person’s everyday lives, and appeared more immediately applicable than did chemistry and basic biology.

I would like to get a better understanding of the way the earth functions, as well as how human activies affect these processes.

In relation to antibiotics, I would like to get a better understanding of the spread of resistant bacteria in nature outside of direct human influence – how things are indirectly affected beyond our immediate actions

The issues that appeal to me the most, and therefore I assume appeal to others as well, is how I and they might be affected in the immediate and far off future by current human activities and mistakes.

Learning how to interact with the community and what can be done to help people are things I hope to learn through the service learning projects.