Final Paper: Environmental Studies 190

ES 190 Final Paper Environmental Studies 190 has been an extremely beneficial course to me. This was my first quarter at the University of California, Santa Barbara as a transfer student. My first quarter was difficult for me because I was not accustomed to the pace of the system. I came from a community college that was on the semester system. There were a few classes that I was not as excited to attend every week. This course was not one of them. I was excited to come to class every Wednesday to come and listen to the wonderful people who donated their time to speak to students. I have known for a while that I want to be an environmental studies major, but I was never sure of the type of job I could have after receiving
my degree. I still cannot say with certainty what career path I want to take after graduation, but this course has given me some ideas on what is possible. There are careers that some of the speakers have mentioned that I want to examine and learn more about to see if that is what I want to do. Kenta Ishii was one of the individuals who spoke to us. I found Kenta’s story to be inspiring because he pursued something that he was passionate about. He was interested in health and decided to leave an internship at NASA to participate in a fellowship with the CDC. He now works for the CDC at the Los Angeles International Airport. I can relate to his story because I want to help make the world a better place and have always been interested in health. Prior to declaring an environmental studies major, I wanted to study biology and attend medical school. Something similar to what Kenta is doing would interest me. The second speaker who I found to be highly motivational and helpful to me was Dr.
Denis Nord. Dr. Nord spoke to us about figuring out what we want to do after graduation. I appreciated that he made it clear that we do not need to base our decision on the skills that we have. He said that we can choose the skills we want to use for what we want to do and develop them. It is important for individuals to be passionate about the work that they do so that full potential can be reached. This was a point that was touched on by several of the speakers that we had. Thinking about what is important to me in the field of environmental studies will help me to figure out my career path. In the past I was interested in environmental consulting, but after hearing Matt Gilliland speak about his experience in consulting I no longer believe that is something that I want to do. He talked about how he did not have much freedom and was at his desk most of the day. I do not want a job where I am inside the majority of the time. I want to have some freedom and choice in what I do. I am glad that he came and spoke about this because that may have been the path that I would have taken and I would have to learn the hard way that that type of work is not for
me. I know that I do want to attend graduate school to continue my education, but I am not sure if I want to attend immediately after graduation or take a few years off to find work or join the Peace Corps. I also know that the work I want to do will be outdoors and in the field. I love to do research and hope to gain some research opportunities during my time as an undergraduate student. I have realized that I am the most interested in the topics of air pollution, environmental health, and food and agriculture. I believe that my time here will help me to develop and narrow down exactly what I want to do. Taking this course has already helped me to begin that process.