Since I came to the University of Maryland as a freshman I have been involved in the Earth, Life, and Time Scholars Program. Upon acceptance into the program I thought that it would be nothing more than another class that I would be required to take for two years but I was wrong. Earth, Life and Time turned out to be so much more.
Compared to the other classes that I have taken at the university I would have to say that I have gained the biggest understanding of the nature of science and the science of nature from ELT. I think that the reason that ELT was so effective was because of the way that the subjects that we went over were taught. Although, similar to other classes that I have taken, we learned through lectures, in addition we learned through projects, group projects, field trips and even through living together.
The First field trip that I attended with the scholars was a trip to the National Zoo in Washington DC. Although I had been to the zoo before it was really interesting to go with the scholars. While we were at the zoo we were expected to visit different major exhibit halls, houses, and trails. For each, we needed to record at least five different species of animal, where it is found in the wild, their diet in the wild and its conservation status. My favorite of the animals that we saw at the zoo were the Leontopithecus chrysomelas, also known as Golden-headed Lion tamarin. Not only were they small and cute but while at the exhibits all they did was play and jump around.
Another activity that sticks out in my mind when I think about Earth, Life, and Time was scholar’s day. Not only did I participate in scholar’s day as a freshman but I volunteered to help as a sophomore as well. Although this trip was not unique to Earth, Life and Time scholars the experience that I had and what I got out of it were very unique from anything else I participated in at the University of Maryland. For my scholars day we went to the Kenilworth Aquatic Gardens to help rid the swamp of invasive Hydrilla. Before we left all I could think was “how could I possibly get myself out of this”, but this turned out to be one of the most fun days I had had at school. Although the work was hard, after a while it didn’t even seem like work anymore. Everyone was so eager to put on waders and jump in the water, before we knew it was time to leave and the swamp looked fantastic.
Surprisingly one of some of most interesting activities that took place in Earth, Life, and Time, took place inside of the classroom. In nearly every other class that I have taken at Maryland the lectures are dry and boring but in ELT Dr. Merck and Dr. Holtz find ways to keep our attention. One such lecture was a lecture that was given on Mad science in my third semester at Maryland. This lecture focused mainly on the “scientists” in history who had a belief and felt so strongly about it that they would do anything to prove it , even if that meant ignoring important details that did not support their idea entirely. I thought this was a really interesting topic because it made me realize that this sort of science isn’t just a thing of the past, it is still going on everyday. We see it in commercials, in magazines, books; all over the place. It is really something that I had never thought about before.
In Earth, Life and Time, as a requirement we also must take supporting classes apart from the colloquium. Because I am a Microbiology major my classes were also required by my major so I had the opportunity to kill two birds with one stone. Although I wish that I had had more time to take classes that were more focused on geology and the other things that we learned about in scholars, classes such a BSCI 105 and BSCI223 are some of my favorites that I have taken at school. I find it fascinating learning about the world around me and the parts that work together that make it tick. Even if these classes were not already required for my major I have a feeling that I would have chose them anyway for my ELT requirement.
One thing that made Earth, Life and Time unique from a lot of my other classes was the experiences that I had outside of the classroom with my other ELT students. As a freshman, the floor in my dorm was all Earth , Life, and Time students. Not only did I get to know them through the class but we all became close friends because before classes even started we had something in common. This arrangement was extremely beneficial especially when we had projects to work on outside of class for ELT. One such project was getting this website up for the first time. I had never been so confused about something in my entire life. It was the first time that I had done anything like this and having others around who were just as confused as I was, was a relief. The night before the assignment was due everyone’s doors were open yelling back and forth pointers and tips. It was amazing how well we all worked together when we all had a common goal. By the end of the night, once everyone was finished and set, I don’t think there was a singe person on that hall who couldn’t say that they either helped someone else, had someone help them or both. It was a frustrating, but great experience that really brought us closer. Even now, living across campus, my ELT friends are some of the closest that I have on campus and I couldn’t imagine my college experience without them.
I really think that ELT has changed the way that I would have gone about doing a lot of things during my undergrad career. It has made me more organized and more apt to taking a closer look at things instead of just assuming their validity. It has also taught me that in most cases the best way to learn something is not from a book or a lecture, it’s to go out and explore things for myself. I really think that the things that I learned in ELT will stay with me through my years at Maryland and it will be hard to match a program in which I learned so much. In addition it will be hard to fine another pair of professors who care so much about their students and their success. I don’t know what I would have done without Dr. Holtz and Dr. Merck, they truly are two of a kind.