Blog #5

1. List ten things that make you feel human.

• Creating wood burnings (artwork)
• Sympathizing with other humans or living beings
• Enjoying listening to music
• Creating plans to achieve a variety of tasks based on logic and prior experience
• Learning new information – intellectual wealth
• Making up my own opinions about various topics
• Stress about non-life threatening situations (getting schoolwork done, maintaining social relationships, etc.)
• Determining what my goals are each day as well as longterm
• Feeling close to someone else
• Having the freedom to do as I please

2. Articulate your philosophy of engagement as it pertains to your work with the GSIF / LVSIF.

Specifically discuss

1. Why should I engage?

I must engage in order to efficiently and successfully use my skills and effort to give aid to those who need it. If I completely disregard the stakeholders who I am looking to impact then there are two negative outcomes which are negated by successfully engaging. One of these outcomes is that the solution I create is not integrated into the lives of the stakeholders and my efforts in essence were for nothing. The other outcome is that the solution is forced upon those who I believe can benefit and it damages the existing system and creates a feeling of disdain for outside support in general. Thus not only would it negatively impact myself and the community but also the broader swath of individuals looking to provide aid.

2. How must I engage?

I must engage in terms of three perspectives: environmentally, economically, and most importantly socially. To environmentally engage means that whatever my project is it should not negatively affect the environment which would lead to further issues down the line. Economic engagement is ensuring that the solution is financially feasible for the stakeholders, and hopefully even brings economic benefits to the community (jobs, money, etc.). Lastly, social engagement is making sure that the solution and the system which is implemented follows the social values of the community and the method that they things are introduced do not offend any parties.

3. With whom must I engage?

I must engage with other experts in the field which I am working, however the most important population to engage with is the stakeholders who will ultimately be the end user/beneficiary.

4. What kinds of challenges, opportunities, and approaches should I care about?

I should care about the social impact of the project and an essential challenge/opportunity that I must care about is creating a system which is sustainable instead of just developing a technology/practice and throwing it at the stakeholders and expect them not only to use it, but to also develop their own system. An approach I should care about is using local sources and integrating them into the system. This provides legitimacy that I am trying to do good with the stakeholders, and the locals are much more knowledgable than I could ever be.

5. What might my epitaph read?

“Pain and challenges in life are a present and not a burden. They are the most transformative events one can experience, and proper understanding and response only positively influences one for the better.”