As a student at Penn State, I am regularly assigned projects that revolve around group work. Early this school year I was assigned a group project that would focus on ways that the State College Borough could save energy or use it more wisely. Our group thought that it would be easy to find programs that State College could get involved in, but it proved to be more difficult than we anticipated.
We found that generally it is very hard to make a large scale change due to already existing federal and state laws. We discovered that working in a small group on a local level can achieve even more understanding than a large group, which creates a less cooperative atmosphere. I found the most compelling part of the project was that even though some of us disagreed on ideas, we were still able to cooperate and work together. Once we allowed everyone to contribute their ideas, we researched an excellent compromise. The State College Borough is looking for create ideas to make the Borough more sustainable. I chose to suggest a solution that could help with energy consumption. ! Our group came up with an idea that would reduce carbon emissions, and encourage citizens to look into more efficient sources of energy. I have learned a lot about energy throughout this semester, but more importantly I have learned that cooperation can lead to success.
I believe that working at a local level to solve problems which are nationally debated can lead to great compromises. Locally we need to take the initiative to do more for our cities and towns. We need to work to keep them clean and beautiful, (which has to start with the local government) so that future generations can enjoy what we have had the privilege to enjoy.
Jennie Ryan
University Park
PSU Geography Project