AUTUMN QUARTER
ENVIR 100 INTRODUCTION TO ENVIRONMENTAL STUDIES
This course was an introduction to environmental studies and built upon a lot of issues I had already learned about in AP Environmental Studies. This class is the class that helped me decide to pursue a degree in something related to the environment, and where I was first introduced to CEP as a major.
ENGL 199 LINKED WRITING COURSE WITH ENVIR 100
General Education Requirement:
This is by far the best English class I have ever taken. I learned from a teacher who was passionate about what he was teaching us, and chose readings that related not just to the environment, but also communities and societies. While I did not know it at the time, many of the readings I read for this class closely alligned with things I would learn in CEP. The most valuable skill I gained from this class was the ability to critically read. We spent most of the quarter learning how to critically read papers and how to break down things that we found complex instead of just skimming over them and missing valuable information. This class introduced me to reading philosophy and made CEP 301 much easier becuase I knew how to read the texts and synthesize the information in them.
GEN STUDIES 199 UNIVERSITY COMMUNITY (FIG)
This class introduced me to many of the resources available at UW, and helped me to explore Seattle my first quarter living here.
GEN STUDIES 297 UNDERGREADUATE SEMINAR: ENVIRONMENTAL MAJORS
This was a seminar that showcased the different environmental majors available at UW, and was designed to help freshmen choose which departments to look into. I enjoyed the things I learned about UW in this class and it helped me solidify my plan of pursueing something related to the environment, but at this point in time I had no idea what major I wanted to choose specifically.
WINTER QUARTER
CHEM 142 GENERAL CHEMISTRY I
I originally took the general chemistry series because it is a requirement for many of the majors I was looking into. In the end it was not a requirement for the major I chose, but it is something that graduate schools, research opportunities, and upper division science classes require. In this class I learned more about chemistry and have used this knowledge in many of my marine biology and ESRM classes.
ESS 100 DINOSAURS
In this class I learned about the history of dinosaurs and what species evolved from them. The biggest takeaway from this class is that the definition of a dinosaur is a land dwelling, quadropedal reptile, that walks with an upright stance. While most of the information that I learned in this class is not going to be stuff I use in the future, what we learned about evolution was helpful to know when I later took BIOL 180.
OCEAN 102 THE CHANGING OCEANS
I took this class becuase I had been reminded how much I love marine systems when I took ENVIR 100 the previous quarter, and wanted to look into oceanography as a major. While I found the course interesting, I realized what really interested me about marine systems was not the chemical and physcial process that are studied in oceanography, but the biological components of the ocean that are studied in marine biology. This class gave me general information on oceanography, that I was able to build off of in future classes.
PSYCH 210 HUMAN SEXUALITY
DIVERSITY REQUIREMENT
This class focused on the psychology behind human sexuality, and how it varies across cultures. It was very interesting to learn about the different norms in different cultures and how those societal norms influence behavior and education when it comes to sex and sexuality.
SPRING QUARTER
ART 190 INTRODUCTION TO DRAWING
I have always loved art, and after taking three semesters of drawing in high school, I wanted to expand my skill by taking a drawing class at the University level. In this class I learned more about methods of drawing three dimensional objects, without taking a picture of it first to make it easier. This class challenged me becuase most of my previous work had been done from two deminsional pictures, but in the end I feel like I became a better artist because of it.
CHEM 152 GENERAL CHEMISTRY II
This is the second class in the three part general chemistry series. Much of the stuff I learned in this class is needed for research opportunities, especially knowing how to titrate a solution, and knowing general information on acids and bases.
URBDP 200 INTRODUCTION TO URBANIZATION
This was a class that I originally took just because it sounded like a fun way to satisfy my I&S credit requirement, but I quickly relized how much I love urban planning and it set me on the track to majoring in CEP. I found this class fascinating, and it made me think about things that I had never thought about before. I learned about how the history of urbanization and what has historically caused the shift of people mainly living in the country, to the majority of the world's population living in cities. After taking this class I realized that I wanted to take CEP 200, and look into CEP as a major, and after taking CEP 200, I knew that CEP was what I wanted to major in.