My Global & Environmental Identity
I am a Black Caribbean-American from Bloomfield, Connecticut, and in my culture, it is normal to reuse and repurpose items, such as plastic take-out containers and utensils rather than throwing them out. Having had grown up with this custom, I find taking care of my environment to be second nature. When I go out in nature, whether it’s for a walk or sightseeing, I feel at peace. I feel like I have a sense of place and like I belong there. So, when I think about my happy place, I envision myself in a space overflowing with plants, trees, animals, and more.
My definition of global and environmental studies entails caring about the betterment of the people and the communities around me. It means working to improve the quality of life and nature. It means working to maintain a mutually beneficial relationship between humans and nature. There are various ways that this can be done. One foundational step towards making sustainable efforts is shifting and lessening the weight of human dependency on natural resources.
As a global and environmental citizen, I want to continue to commit myself towards a sustainable lifestyle, which contributes to both the reducing of carbon emissions and unequal accessibility to goods and services. I want to create something that will have a long-lasting impact on the environment and people around me. I want to make something that will contribute to improving the environment and influence people to make more sustainable choices and efforts.
Global & Environmental Resume
- Spanish
- Middle East: Peace and Conflict
- World History
- Digital Photography I
- CL Environmental Science
- English IV: Graphic Novel
- CL Statistics
- CL English IV: Literature and the Environment
- Ceramics I
- CL Guided Research In Environmental Sustainability
- Philosophy of Nonviolence
GESC Elective: Philosophy of Nonviolence
Philosophy of Nonviolence is a course intended to teach students about the how communities work together through utilizing peace and what leads other groups of violence through different religious and social contexts. The course also intends to allow students to think about the development of philosophies and religions to gain a better understanding of these complexities in real life. These observations will lead to knowledge gained on how these aspects interact with how we treat our environments.
GESC Experiential Education: Rome, Italy and Sardinia, Italy
My experiential education in Italy focused on Blue Zones, which are areas that have the oldest human populations on Earth. Within this focus, we observed the culture and norms of Italy to gain a better understanding of the cause of their longevity. This experience allowed me to adopt healthier eating and exercise habits (seen in the photo on the right) that the Sardinian Italians have been living by. It was an amazing opportunity that allowed for me to spread my gained knowledge on healthy lifestyles with the people around me.
Environmental Proctor
As an Environmental Proctor, a group of student leaders that lead numerous environmental initiatives on campus, I am a part of the Hydroponics leader cohort. In this cohort, we utilize a hydroponic system to grow various herbs and sell them to the community at the end of the school year. The purpose of the initiative is to help students understand modern day planting methods that can be utilized in various, differing environments. A hydroponics system is a very useful way to adapt to our changing environments and learning about alternative methods that can sustain life on earth.
Philosophy of Nonviolence: Personal Philosophy Project
In my Philosophy of Nonviolence course, we explored a variety of philosophical ideas in relation to nonviolence and historically important people that have experienced nonviolent movements. One of the assignments I completed during the course was my Personal Philosophy Project! The objective of the project was to explore and present solutions to a belief of our very own!
In my project, I chose to explore my passion towards environmental sustainability! The object seen in the photo to the right is the physical object that resulted from my exploration.
I created a globe out of leftover scrap materials in the Pearse Hub for Innovation (PHI) to represent the presence and need for unity in efforts towards tackling environmental issues. On the inside I give advice and examples of courses of actions that anyone can take in order to work towards a more sustainable lifestyle individually and in their communities.
The pieces of advice and recommendations are easy to integrate into everyone's current way of life on an individual and communal level. I also provided a section with some specific community resources on campus for members of the Loomis Chaffee community.
GESC Seminar Reflections
My trip to the Islamic Association of Central Connecticut in New Britain contributed towards my enhanced understanding of the Islamic and Middle Eastern cultures. During my visit, I was able to speak with Yemeni and Syrian teenage girls about Islam, in which we mainly spoke about marital traditions and its variance within the Middle East. The customs on interactions with their fiancés differed in the sense that one culture allowed them to begin getting to know their fiancé after they were engaged, while the other culture only allowed this after the marriage was finalized. I found this to be very interesting in comparison to American marriage norms and customs, where the marriage process stems from getting to know each other beforehand. It was also interesting to see how all of their thoughts on marriage ranged from wanting to follow through with the custom to not wanting to get married. Another aspect that I found interesting was the popularity of Falafel, which is a vegetarian street food in the Middle East. I found this interesting due to the fact that Falafel is a vegetable-based food, which is a more sustainable food choice in comparison to meats. This could be an indicator of Middle Eastern cultures having more sustainable food cultures in comparison to other parts of the world. This experience pushes me to want to learn more about the varying cultures around the world and how they interact with each other. I believe that the importance of educating oneself on differing cultural identities largely contributes towards understanding where we currently stand on a worldwide scale in terms of our environmental identities and helps to contribute towards devising a plan for future sustainability measures.
My interaction with Mahinalani Cavalieri, a sailor and educator in her homeland of Hawai'i, was an interesting insight into one sustainable lifestyle. We talked about her experience with the Polynesian Voyaging Society (PVS) in terms of adjusting to life on water. One interesting thing she talked about was their usage of traditional sailing methods, which solely relies on constellations and compasses. Another topic we discussed was their food sources and she informed us that they fished in the oceans they traveled in for food, which is vastly more sustainable in comparison to importing food and then transporting the food to their boats. Cavalieri also works with Kupu, a non-profit organization focused on providing real job experiences to the youth of Hawai'i, by influencing the younger generation to experience Polynesian Voyaging, not only for the opportunity to experience a sustainable lifestyle, but also to continue their indigenous traditions. This experience has opened my eyes to the endless possibilities and forms that sustainability can take on for people of varying identities. I believe that interacting with Cavalieri has inspired me to invest more in buying local products, using more sustainable modes of travel, and exploring other sustainable customs in my culture's traditions. Our interaction also reminds me to maintain and share my traditionally sustainable method of reusing plastic containers with the people around me to ensure its continuation.
GESC Elective: Ceramics I
My Ceramics I class in the fall term was one of my favorite GESC courses. The final assignment for the course was to create a mug using the firing technique, glazing, and design techniques of our choice. For me, Ceramics was an amazing class that showed me how I can use biodegradable materials such as clay to create an everyday item. This is a very environmentally friendly alternative to plastic cups and students at the Loomis Chaffee School have the opportunity to implement this in their lives. This class is also the inspiration behind my senior project focus, which is introducing middle schoolers to the artistic and environmental benefits of ceramics.
GESC Experiential Education: Rome, Italy and Sardinia, Italy
In this photo, my group visited Sardinia's sole World Heritage Site "Nuraghe Su Nuraxi," which is an ancient stone structure built by the Nuragic civilization. This experience gave me another insight on historically sustainable lifestyles, which built the foundations for the world we live in now. I believe that learning about the ways that the Nuragic civilization built their homes using stones is important to consider when thinking about what factors led to Sardinia being named a blue zone.
This is a water fountain that we took a break at while touring around the city of Rome. Across the city, water fountains are open to the public and the water is fresh spring water. This makes water accessible to everyone and renders bottled water unnecessary, whereas in the United States, it is more common for people to have access to bottled water than free, fresh spring water. This is something that our campus has moved away from through the addition of our new water fountains that promote the use of reusable bottles over the purchasing of single-use bottles.
This photo is of a pond in the park that we rested in. While resting at the park, I was able to reconnect with nature and embrace all of the natural sounds around me. It was a really good time to reflect on the numerous experiences and the enhanced understandings I had gained from the trip on sustainable lifestyles.
This photo was inside of our Sardinian tour guide's parent's home. While there, I learned how to make traditional Sardinian bread. Home made goods and trading are still some very common ways of life in Sardinia. Getting to learn a way that I can take on a form of sustainability through opting out of buying goods and instead growing or making them myself has been an eye-opening experience.
Capstone Project: 2023-24 Alvord Center GESC Artificial Intelligence Persona
Rationale
Many people around the world view artificial intelligence (AI) as a threat to life as we know it, and some are fearful of being replaced by artificial intelligence. With that being said, many people tend to completely disregard the use of artificial intelligence without viewing its creative and innovative benefits. Artificial intelligence, such as ChatGPT, has become an outstanding resource that can be utilized inside and outside of the classroom to increase efficiency. This is a resource that many people at Loomis should have the opportunity to utilize.
Who is this for?
The audience of my artificial intelligence capstone project is the Loomis Chaffee community. Loomis' faculty members can utilize the AI for generating ideas for Place-Based Education focused projects on campus and/or in the Greater Hartford Area. The Artificial intelligence persona is meant to serve as a Loomis information hub for the Loomis community's utilization.
Process
In order to successfully complete this project, I worked together with Lily Magliacano, Mike Hoffman, Mrs. Marley Matlack, Mrs. Sarah Griggs, and Dr. Adam Alsamadisi. Lily, Mike, and I worked on three different sectors with the support of one faculty member. My focus was on the environmental aspects of Loomis and I worked closely with Mrs. Matlack in order to ensure proper coverage and accuracy of the topic. My process included interviewing Mr. Jeff Dyreson, the associate director of the Alvord Center and CL Environmental Science teacher, about the various environmental aspects and initiatives around campus. In order to create the information that the AI persona needs in order to fulfill it's role as an informational hub, we utilized ChatGPT in order to create informational reports (one example seen to the left) on each topic for the AI persona to reference when interacting with users. One challenge that I faced while completing this project was getting very specific in the reports about the specific details of the environmental initiatives on campus. This could therefore impact the depth of the AI persona's output to its users.
Visual Interests
Below are two more examples of the numerous reports I created with ChatGPT on Loomis' environmental initiatives and aspects.
Reflection
In concluding my GESC Capstone Project, I feel extremely excited about the future of the AI persona and its usage around campus. I believe that this project will have long term impacts on the Loomis community and will be another initiative on campus that Loomis can be proud of! I also believe that there will always be room for improving this initiative to include more aspects of Loomis and adding more Loomis specific details. The idea of bringing classroom exercises and assignments outside of the classroom will serve as a foundation for students' and faculty's understanding of real world applications. This project with not only help to develop our community's innovative skills, but it will also help students and faculty with applying a global and environmental lens to critical thinking and problem solving exercises. This is a skill that students and faculty can take with them beyond the Loomis community and share with their peers throughout their lives. For me, this project has opened my mind to the interconnectivity of our environment and education. The real world application of Place-Based learning is endless and capable of shifting for the betterment of my mindset on academic topics. I believe that the AI persona will be the future of Loomis' curriculum development and student understanding of the interconnectivity of their academics and the real world.
Overall Reflection
In my statement of intent, I recognized that prior to becoming aware of the environmental issues in the world, I had not been attempting to live my most sustainable lifestyle or positively contributing towards my environment. In order to address this issue, I mentioned that a solution that would expand and grow the environmental consciousness of all people and myself would be necessary. Since writing my statement of intent, I have had numerous experiences that have led me to change my lifestyle and exploring different ways that I could expand environmental consciousness. The GESC program has given me the opportunity to experience all forms of environmentalism, whether it was through the international education program, during the GESC seminars, GESC designated classes, and my GESC Capstone Project. My perspective on what the definition of environmental sustainability and stewardship has bloomed after these experiences because I was able to spread my knowledge with my peers and absorb the knowledge from the people around me. When I wrote my statement of intent, I was under the understanding that there was a global lack of knowledge when it came to the environment, but I didn't know how to tackle this issue. My Capstone Project provided a solution for this issue: creating easy and accessible opportunities for people to not only learn about the environment, but to also form better relationships with the environment. As an environmental steward, I know that I can positively say that I have met my goal through this process and I am extremely excited for my next steps in my environmental and global journey!
