I wanted to participate in GSIF because I wish to allocate my free time to being productive and meaningful. Before I knew about this program, I used to waste my free time by being on social media, viewing or using the productive works of others (such as videos on YouTube). Despite that, I still engaged in other opportunities. I became the United Nation’s Youth Representative for Tarumitra and advocated for a healthy environment for future generations. Also, I assisted in research at Lehigh’s Civil and Environmental Department. However, everything came to a pause when the pandemic occurred. One day, I received an email about “Application for GSIF is Open”. I immediately learned about this opportunity and applied to programs that are interesting and relevant to me. Not only because I want to have something to do, but also being able to apply the materials that I have learned so far (as a Junior in Environmental Engineering) into use; at the same time, becoming exposed to the current global problems around the world. Ever since when I was kid, I was aware of global environmental problems in the news. Since then, I am interesting in learning more about various types of environmental issue. However, I haven’t been able to engage in an opportunity that addresses those issues until I learned about the GSIF projects, which are designed to provide solutions for those global issues. I wish I was able to participate in this program during my earlier years at Lehigh, but I am still glad to be apart of it now. Finally, being on the GSIF Air Quality team, I hope to remediating the health concerns caused by air pollution at Almaty, Kazakhstan.
This course can improve my quality as a student in multiple ways. First, the class encourages teamwork as each project involves completing tasks collaboratively and this can strengthen my communication skills, productivity, creativity, and etc. Teamwork is common in many of my other classes as well. With better teamwork skills, I can carryout projects and assist other team members with clear directions and efficiency. Furthermore, because the GSIF projects requires long-term efforts, I will be equipped with resolution and determination to overcome any difficulties on the way. However, there will definitely be failures and times outside my comfort zone; for example, objections to ideas, exposure to unknown topics, and etc. But, the feeling of achievement after the long-term effort will be worthwhile and encourages me to take on more challenging problems. Similarly, I will not be afraid to tackle new projects in my other classes and step outside my comfort zones. In addition, these improvements are not only beneficial but also critical skills in conducting research and working in the future. Finally, these are some but not all of the process I envision to help me become a better student.
The limited supply of eyeglasses in developing countries can be solved by a common and charitable way. For example, organizations like salvation army, goodwill, and other thrift stores in the United States take worn clothes donations from citizens and sell them at an affordable price for ones who needs clothes. This is not only beneficial for poor people but also good for the environment as there are less clothes being thrown away. Citizens donate their clothes because of many reasons such as too small, old, or not fashionable anymore. Eyeglasses, just like clothes, are often replaced because eyesight deteriorates and requires a different prescription, so the old pair of eyeglasses are redundant and unnecessary. Thus, we can create an organization similar to those thrift stores but only designated for collecting donations of old prescription eyeglasses. The eyeglasses will need to be organized according to their prescription level. However, before being able to distribute the eyeglasses, we will need to measure ones eyesight level. Since there are very limited optometrist in those countries, we will need to come up with a simple and cheap way to assess ones eyesight. Though I do not have much knowledge about eye exams, we can certainly advice optometrists in the United States to figure out a simple and affordable eye exam at home. After collecting a sufficient supply of eyeglasses and formulating a viable eye exam, we can send them abroad to needy developing countries. In order to distribute the eyeglasses efficiently, we will need volunteers or workers from those countries for distribution of eye examination kits and eyeglasses. This is only a rough solution to resolve the limited eyeglasses supply but I believe it can be done similarly as providing affordable worn clothes for developing countries.
