Halfway through the first semester…

As much as I thought I was ready for college, I was wrong. College is a tremendous step up from high school; the workload, schedule, and time management are on a whole new level. It took me a while to adapt, and during this time, there was a lot of trial and error. The most challenging thing for me was balancing studying and making new memories with new friends. CODES has made this college experience incredibly unique and memorable. The amount of learning opportunities has been endless and has immensely helped me throughout all of my classes’ projects and assignments.

Goal 1 (20%)

Develops clear, innovative central messages with significant
supporting materials.
I want my oral communication to flow and make smooth transitions.

Below is my source analysis, where I wrote out the main key points to discuss while I had to lead the discussion. Writing down the main ideas and supporting details helped me prepare for the discussion and ensured that I was well-educated about the reading.

Goal 2 (20%)

Identifies and evaluates multiple approaches for solving problems. I want to be able to see a problem, consider various viewpoints, and consider all factors.

On our class field trip to Heartlands, I took the pictures below while getting a tour. Throughout our tour, I took multiple pictures that I could refer back to when working on finding a series of solutions for our problem.

The MC#2 assignment really challenged me here, especially when I had to find various sources to support my main idea.

How Youth Education Can Improve Water Equity

Our ultimate goal is to implement more water infrastructure education for the youth, influencing a new generation to become further aware of issues regarding all-around water infrastructure in the future—complex systems are composed of many interconnected parts. Simple systems are systems in which components interact with each other to serve a purpose but aren’t connected in a way like complex systems. Understanding water equity amongst youth is essential because “although we can certainly do our part to conserve this valuable resource, today’s youth will ultimately be responsible for sustaining Earth’s future water supply” (KEYE). 

Regarding water infrastructure, constructing awareness about the importance of conserving water is vital, especially for the youth. Eventually, we will put the importance of water infrastructure in the hands of a new generation. Therefore, we must teach them the reasons behind water conservation and practical usage. Water infrastructure is complex; if one factor changes slightly, the rest of the system can easily be thrown off. This is why we need to aid in introducing water infrastructure to the youth, and this must be done in interactive ways. Interactive activities keep people engaged and active in the topic of conversation.

Goal 3 (20%)

Evaluate texts’ scholarly significance to apply reading to other contexts or issues.

I plan to work on reading comprehension and apply that knowledge to other problems.

These are my organized notes, which I wrote while completing my source analysis and leading the class discussion. Writing notes while I was reading helped me comprehend and gain a deeper understanding on the reading.

Goal 4 (20%)

I want to invite others to engage in conversations and ask them what ideas they have.

Here I have shown 2 miro boards which were done during class time in groups. In my group I shared my opinion, and asked my group members what their view points and thoughts were. I gave feedback on their opinions and based off of eachother’s viewpoints we bounced off of each others ideas and created a brainstorm map.

Goal 5 (20%)

I want to gain skills to help me write clearly and efficiently

I have noticed over time that with each paper I write, I am learning new skills, and gaining better knowledge on how to make supporting claims with relating details. Here is a summary I had to write based off a reading from my Sociology class, and I realized how easy and fast I was able to write this summary. The practice of writing that I am getting in this class is helping me become an efficient writer in all of my classes.

I have also noticed how much I have improved in my writing, comparing my writing to my MC#2 assignment, it has gotten much better. I’m using better synonyms, running into less grammar mistakes, and creating better intro and conclusion paragraphs. This is all because of practice from every single writing assignment I do.

How Youth Education Can Improve Water Equity

Our ultimate goal is to implement more water infrastructure education for the youth, influencing a new generation to become further aware of issues regarding all-around water infrastructure in the future—complex systems are composed of many interconnected parts. Simple systems are systems in which components interact with each other to serve a purpose but aren’t connected in a way like complex systems. Understanding water equity amongst youth is essential because “although we can certainly do our part to conserve this valuable resource, today’s youth will ultimately be responsible for sustaining Earth’s future water supply” (KEYE). 

Regarding water infrastructure, constructing awareness about the importance of conserving water is vital, especially for the youth. Eventually, we will put the importance of water infrastructure in the hands of a new generation. Therefore, we must teach them the reasons behind water conservation and practical usage. Water infrastructure is complex; if one factor changes slightly, the rest of the system can easily be thrown off. This is why we need to aid in introducing water infrastructure to the youth, and this must be done in interactive ways. Interactive activities keep people engaged and active in the topic of conversation.