Semester 1
This semester in Biology we focused learning about cells, tissues and organ systems. We had the opportunity to dissect a fetal pig in order to have a hands on learning experience to see where each organ was located with in the body. We also traveled to the Fort Lewis Campus to have more in-depth learning about cancer and cancer cells in their lab. For a final project we researched a specific type of cancer and had to learn everything from how it affects the body to how it is treated. I chose Non Small Cell Lung Cancer. You can see my work below.
I really enjoyed Biology class and our final project this semester. I have always enjoyed biology. However, I had never explored biology from a medical perspective before. I really connected with this project and feel like I took something meaningful from it. It got me thinking about my future and how I might be able to find a career path that allows me to further my knowledge and interest in the human body. Recently, I have been looking at opportunities to explore EMT, Paramedic or Firefighting careers as well as careers in a hospital setting.
Semester 2
This semester in Biology we learned about climate change and how it impacts our world. We took the knowledge we gained and looked at different ways climate change was negatively affecting the earth. We researched different effects the climate had and solutions to help alleviate the problems. For my personal research project, I looked at the effect building new Olympic venues every two years had on the environment. I focused on the effects that the construction of new venues had on greenhouse gas production. I proposed the solution that the International Olympic Committee build a sustainable, reusable venue site that was LEED Platinum certified. I have always have been interested in the Olympic Games. I, like many people, enjoy watching them. However, I had heard that the Olympics were often considerd very wasteful. When I first began my project, I wanted to understand if the stadiums were being reused and what happened to them after the Olympic games were over. What I found was really horrifying. Many of the venues were left abandoned to rot. Some were immediately torn down after only being used for 2-3 weeks. In some cases, entire forests were plowed down just to build a venue that would never be used again. Building these huge venues is not only a waste of resources but the constuction of them increases greenhouse gas emissions. For the exhibition, I built a large scale diorama of a permanant, sustainable, LEED certified Olympic Village. In my paperI highlighted the nine categories of LEED certification. Below, you will see my research paper on Olympic Waste as well as photos of my diorama.
During this project I learned valuable skills on how to gather reasherch and how to creat a fisical peace to prove my point. In short this project was an amasing expearance and helped me understand what climate change really is and how I can help prevent it.