Samantha Wilson

NR 1234
12/4/14
Prompt 1: Describe an event from your past including academic, co-curricular, and non-school
related events that you feel has influenced you and the experiences you have had this semester
either in or out of the classroom.
Describe the connections, if any, you draw between this past event and your current classroom
experiences and the academic knowledge you are developing.
Describe the connections, if any, you draw between this past event and your current out-of-class
experiences at Virginia Tech.
Can you identify any limitations to those connections? What are they?
Two summers ago now, I went on a backpacking trip to a National Park called Isle Royale, an
island on Lake Superior. As I have stated in my personal narrative, this is the reason that
reinforced what I wanted to do with my life and the kind of lifestyle I hoped to have one day. On
the trip, the group met world-renowned wolf biologist, Rolf Peterson who had been conducting
the longest wolf-moose study known. At this point in time, I had no idea what sorts of people and
efforts were involved with a project of this magnitude; I figured it was mostly biologists and
conservationists collecting data all year round. However, after taking this course and seeing the
variety of professors, majors, and disciplines, it occurred to me that this project I had witnesses
involved far more people than I had originally realized. The class made me understand that the
environment needs all kinds of people to sustain it; not just biologists and conservationists. It
needs geographers to determine where and why the populations are where they currently are, it
needs educators to teach people why we need to preserve more places like this, and lastly a study
like this wolf-moose project needs informatics to determine what to do with all this data being
collected. As for out of class experiences, I have used this same concept in clubs. Often times
when a speaker comes in to talk about their work, often in a foreign country, they bring in more
than just the simply biology; they talk about the geography, animal behavior, the surrounding
humans behavior, and bring it all together into one cohesive idea. I do not see any limitations to
this idea because more and more every day, it is easy to see how every single major is connected
and dependent on another.

Prompt 2: Think about the coursework you have pursued this semester.
What connections can you make between different disciplines/subjects that you have studied?
What are the strengths and limitations of such connections?
Of all the disciplines/subjects you have studied this semester, what connection were you able to
make that surprised you the most? For example, something from art history that had
relevance/application to a science course, etc.
If you were not able to make connections between different disciplines/subjects in your
coursework this semester, explain why?

The simplest connecting would be between my organic chemistry class and my biology class. It
was interesting to see the more basic concepts in my chemistry class apply so well to my biology
class during our section on photosynthesis and cellular respiration. My biology professor told us
to follow the electrons during the biological pathways; and well, by that point in time, I was very
familiar with these so-called electrons. But by simply using a small concepts in my chemistry
class, it allowed me to trace and understand the processes of photosynthesis and cellular
respiration that much more quickly and efficiently. My most surprising moment between courses
was a connection between my economics class and my biology class. My professor in economics
was talking about diminishing marginal utility and how it applied to human nature. He gave an
example of the dwindling endangered animal species and gave an explanation as to why people
may not care as much as they should. He suggested many people do not see the value in having
thousands and thousands of species in the world. Their knowledge and education may only allow
them to value 5 animals of a specific species and after that they see no purpose in continuing a
population if they see no benefit for them. This shocked me a bit, but gave me even more of a
purpose; if you give people substantial reasons, then they will see the marginal utility and be
more willing to conserve these endangered animals.

Prompt 3: How would you describe your approach to learning when you first arrived at Virginia
Tech?
Has your approach changed at all during your time as a student? How?
What factors most influenced your sense of yourself as a student this semester?
Coming in from high school, I was a straight A student that knew how to study and get a good
grade in a difficult class. However, after struggling in organic chemistry and putting in long
hours of studying and practicing just to hang on to a C+/B- it became clear to me that I cannot be
good at every single subject. No matter how many hours I study, how many review sessions I
attend, my understanding of the material remains at that same grade. I would like to be a
veterinarian, and I know to do this grades are of high importance. However, I also know that at
some point I cannot wallow on my mistakes or weaknesses, but instead learn how to study a little
better and move on. In the beginning of the year, this was hard for me to accept because I was
told over and over again I need an A to get into vet school because of the high level of
competition; nevertheless through this class I have learned that life is no linear and that if I fail to
get into vet school solely based on one grade during my first semester of freshman year, then life
must have other plans for me.