Provide a summary of the contents of your video and a rationale for why YOU chose this topic, in paragraph form.

For our video, we looked at the problem of food insecurity when people don’t have enough affordable, healthy food to eat. We interviewed someone who doesn’t have enough food for their family and kids. To which they talked about the stress of not knowing if there will be food on the table. We also shared some important facts, for example; 1 out of every 8 households in the U.S. doesn’t have access to enough food, and it’s even worse for Black and Latino families. I picked this topic because food insecurity affects millions of people, but it’s often hidden and ignored. These people are being neglected by the government when we actually have ways to make sure everyone has enough to eat. So, being able to be a voice for the people who aren’t heard with an issue like this seemed very important, which is why ultimately I chose this topic.

What did you do well and what could you have done differently?

Don’t think that anything went “well.” I feel as though if my group had more time and didn’t procrastinate as much we could’ve put together a way better video with more information that was also engaging. With that being said, if I were to do anything differently, I would do everything in a timely manner and map out and plan everything before actually doing it.

What was the most meaningful part of the experience of creating the PSA?

To me, the most meaningful part of the experience was being able to advocate for an issue that is not really spoken about often, and that even the government has ignored. Before we learned about the subject in school I had never heard of it, which is kinda crazy to me. Also, just being able to learn more about the subject and educate myself on the issue, causes, and who it effects was also pretty meaningful as well.

Unit Essential Questions:

1. What value do we see in the biodiversity and natural resources of the earth? The variety of living things on Earth (biodiversity) and natural resources like forests, rivers, and minerals are extremely valuable, more than most might even recognize. They provide us with food, clean water, and medicines, and even help regulate the climate that makes life possible. Without biodiversity and natural resources, human life could not be sustained.

2. What human actions are associated with altering Earth’s natural systems? Human activities like burning fossil fuels such as gas, oil, coal for energy, cutting down forests, overfishing the oceans, and releasing pollutants into the air and water are major factors altering and damaging Earth’s natural environments. These actions disrupt the balance of nature by causing climate change, habitat loss, and ecosystem decline.

3. How can individuals, communities, and nations live sustainably? To live more sustainably, individuals can reduce energy use at home, recycle, eat less meat (even though I’m not doing that), and choose environmentally friendly products. People who are for their community can create green spaces, improve public transportation, and start recycling programs. Nations can and need to transition to renewable energy sources like solar and wind power, protect natural areas, and enact laws to limit pollution and waste.

Reflection Questions:

1. How did this project deepen your understanding of sustainability? This project deepened my understanding of sustainability by examining how an organization like SEPTA can transition to more eco-friendly and renewable practices to reduce its environmental footprint from transportation. It gave me a good understanding of how much comes into play when trying to make something more sustainable for the environment!

2. What information about your chosen industry surprised you most? Why? The information that surprised me most was how much SEPTA currently relies on fossil fuels to power its bus and train fleets, contributing to air pollution and climate change impacts. To me, if the company is well aware of how much this impacts its community why is there no change being implemented? It’s necessary that we start to make change and most people are semi-aware of that, which is why this is so surprising to me.

3. How did you contribute to your group’s project? Provide specific examples. What were you proud of, in terms of your overall project?

How didn’t I contribute to my group’s project is the real question. From the start, Anaiya and I had a huge workload since our group was smaller compared to the others. But we stepped up to the challenge, for all the checkpoints, we divided the work up, and I made sure to complete my parts thoroughly. When it came to the physical component, I collaborated closely with the CTE students, communicating and working as a team to create the best possible structure. Initially, I didn’t think we would do that well given our smaller group size, but I’m really proud of how our project turned out in the end.

How do the earth’s systems affect each other?

• Each and every one of our Earth Systems works hand and hand. With that being said there are times when they might affect each other. For example, when it comes to droughts when there’s less rainfall and more dry conditions in the atmosphere that causes there is a lack of water availability throughout parts of the hydrosphere. This can lead there being desertification in the geosphere and eventually probably ends up affecting the biosphere as well since they all go hand and hand.

geosphere releases its gases that can cause the

How can an understanding of environmental science aid in handling natural disasters?

• Having an understanding of Environmental Science can aid in handling natural disasters because it allows us to handle and mitigate the impact of natural disasters. With that, I mean that it allows us to use a more holistic approach when it comes to how when can be prepared, how to recover, and what we can do to prevent it. Finally, it allows us to extend our research and better our understanding of natural disasters.

Your reaction to your findings and overall project

• Nothing necessarily surprised me when doing all of the research on Droughts. The only thing that was “surprising” was that I expected there to be way more information on the subject, and way more people who are advocating for change/support. Outside of these things, I think it was interesting to learn about something that isn’t spoken about enough, and now I am able to express my understanding to others and help spread awareness on this topic.

In short, I would define this career as the combination of four core studies: biology, engineering, mechanics, and medicine which all work as a team in order to improve the quality of human life with technology. In all honesty, as a whole, I believe that this career is extremely interesting. I say this because it’s crazy how important technology has become when it comes to improving our society’s health issues. In fact, I think that it’s just a tad bit concerning about how much we rely on technology nowadays, but the fact that there are people who are able to combine all these different studies in order to create things super innovative is astonishing. Some advice I’d give to someone who wanted to pursue this career in the future would be that I hope you recognize the time and dedication that’s needed in order to do the things that biomedical engineers do, and if you don’t want to sacrifice your time, you don’t need to pursue this career.